India cautions Canada after Indira assassination tableau

India on Thursday cautioned the Canadian government that the activities of Khalistani elements and violent extremists on their territory could impact bilateral relations and have security implications.

- Rezaul H Laskar and Anirudh Bhattacharyya

The government’s position was laid out by external affairs minister S Jaishankar four days after a tableau depicting the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi was part of an event organised by pro-Khalistan elements in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Canada.

The float depicted the assassination as “revenge” for Operation Bluestar, the military action ordered by Gandhi in 1984 to flush out separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and his supporters from the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. The float sparked anger and outrage in India.

Jaishankar told a special media briefing on India’s foreign policy during nine years of the Modi government that the float is linked to the bigger issue of the “space that Canada has continuously” provided to Khalistani elements.

“Frankly... we are at a loss to understand, other than the requirement of vote bank politics, why anybody would do this... I mean, you would imagine that they learn about history and they wouldn’t like to repeat that history,” he said, in an apparent reference to Canada being a key base for Khalistani elements in the past.

“It isn’t only one incident, however egregious it may be. I think there is a larger underlying issue about this space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence. And I think it’s not good for the relationship and I think it’s not good for Canada.”

Jaishankar’s remarks came after India’s high commission in Ottawa sent a formal note to Canada’s foreign ministry on Wednesday to express displeasure over the float, which had mannequins depicting Gandhi and her killers, two members of her security detail.