The Indian community in Canada is concerned about the current deterioration in relations between the two nations as a result of claims made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the Indian government’s role in the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force commander Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
According to veteran Canadian journalist Harleem Sadia, there are very real fears within the Indian community. She claimed that going to India and Canada is now tough for regular people. People who live normal lives and hold regular jobs find it challenging. Gurjant Singh, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, stated that as a Sikh, both India and Canada are very important to him and that the current tensions genuinely worry him.
Gurjant Singh believes that communication should be used to find a solution. “I am very concerned about the matter and I think everything should be resolved through dialogue. Anything, any issue can be discussed, solved at the table. Both the Indian and Canadian governments should put up their point of views while remaining within their lines, boundaries.” he said.
Last week, Justin Trudeau claimed that his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government were behind the fatal shooting of Hardeep Nijjar. “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau had said.
On Trudeau’s claims, Gurjant said: “Being a Prime Minister, you cannot claim anything that you cannot later prove. Whatever the Canadian PM said was wrong. Now that he has said it, he should be able to support his statement.” Gurjant further said that his parents were supposed to come to Canada in January. “But for now, for this reason, they won’t be coming. But my problem is small when looked at from a larger scale,” he said.
He further said that any demands should be made within the line, by keeping control on “our language, emotions.” Meanwhile, Canadian citizen Ajaib Singh has said relations between the two countries should get better for the sake of Indian students studying in Canada.
