6th October 2023, Mumbai: Canada is reportedly withdrawing its diplomats from India following a request from New Delhi to reduce the number of Canadian diplomats stationed in the country. The move comes amid a diplomatic row between India and Canada, sparked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accusing India of being involved in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Canada has shifted a significant number of its diplomats
According to reports, Canada has shifted a significant number of its diplomats posted outside of New Delhi to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. India had asked Canada to move 41 of its diplomats out of the country to bring parity between the number of diplomats each country has stationed in the other. The external affairs ministry of India had accused Canadian diplomats of interfering in India’s internal affairs and pointed out that there were more Canadian diplomats in India than Indian diplomats in Canada. New Delhi had given Ottawa until October 10 to comply with the request, but it appears that the majority of Canadian diplomats working in India outside of Delhi have already been relocated to other countries.
Murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
This move to reduce the number of Canadian diplomats in India is the latest in a series of diplomatic actions taken by New Delhi in response to the diplomatic row with Canada. India had previously suspended visa services in Canada. Regarding the accusation that India was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India had stated that targeted killing was not its policy and had requested Canada to provide specific intelligence regarding the accusation. Canada claimed to have shared information with India, which India rejected. India also stated that it had been providing details of Khalistani terrorists to Canada without any meaningful response.
Canada had a higher diplomatic presence in India
India’s aim in requesting the reduction of Canadian diplomats was to achieve parity in the respective diplomatic presence of both countries. The external affairs minister’s spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, mentioned that the reduction was expected given that Canada had a higher diplomatic presence in India. According to former Indian diplomat KP Fabian, India has 21 diplomats in Canada, while Canada has 62 diplomats in India. Therefore, the request was to withdraw the extra 41 diplomats to achieve parity. Failure to comply might result in these diplomats being declared persona non grata, a diplomatic term indicating that they are unwelcome in the host country.
The reduction of Canadian diplomats in India is seen as a measure to exert pressure on Canada to address the imbalance in diplomatic presence and resolve the ongoing diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
By Yashika Desai