The Indian Foreign Ministry summoned the Canadian High Commissioner to India on the 4th to protest against the Canadian Prime Minister’s remarks about India and accusing Canada of interfering in India’s internal affairs.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that India summoned the Canadian High Commissioner Nadir Patel and strongly protested that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and some Canadian parliamentarians’ statements about some farmers protesting demonstrations in India “conceptively interfered in our internal affairs”.
The statement said: “If the above move continues, it will have a serious and destructive impact on India-Canada relations.”
Dissatisfied with the agricultural reforms carried out by the government, farmers in Punjab and other places in India, protested and demonstrated, many of whom were Sikhs. Trudeau said at an event of Canadian Indian Sikhs on November 30 that if he did not notice the news of Indian peasant protests, he would be “delind” and that Canada “will always defend the right to peaceful protest”.
Indian immigrants are an important part of Canadian immigration. In 2019, Indian immigrants accounted for about a quarter of all immigrants in Canada. There are many Indian officials in the Canadian government. Some media reports said that Trudeau was the first foreign leader to comment on the Indian peasant protests, which included considerations such as catering to Indian immigrants.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on December 1 that Canada made “a little understanding” and “baseless” statements on India’s internal affairs, “it is better not to distort diplomatic dialogue for political purposes”.
In a recent statement on the 4th, the Indian Foreign Ministry said that the Canadian remarks “encourage extremists to carry out activities” and that the Canadian government should ensure the personal safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.
In India, some Sikhs seek Punjab’s independence and even launch armed operations. The Indian government lists some Sikhs and Sikh organizations as extremists and terrorist organizations.
