Canada Withdraws Diplomats, India in a Pickle

On 3 Oct, India asked Canada to withdraw 41 diplomats. Canada did so by the 20 Oct deadline without reciprocation. However, when Canada stated that India apparently threatened to ‘unilaterally revoke the diplomats' official status,’ India responded to Canada saying, ‘New Delhi rejects any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.’ Canada invoked the Vienna Convention while India maintains it has not broken the Convention. The United Kingdom and the United States have expressed concern over India breaking international conventions. Global visa agency VFS said on 20 Oct it will operate all ten Visa and immigration centers in India, but also stated, ‘IRCC [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] is reducing its number of employees in India from 27 to 5. IRCC will continue to accept and process applications from India, but reduced staffing levels are expected to impact processing times.’ Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said India is ‘making millions of lives unbelievably difficult.’ This is accurate, as over 300,000 students from India go to Canada every year for higher studies. Now their visas will be immensely delayed. About 70% of these students are from Panjab. 15 Canadian Gurdwaras have raised concerns about the travel difficulties of families in a large Panjabi Diaspora split between the two countries. Meanwhile, in an interview, Australia Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director general Mike Burgess said, ‘I would have no reason to dispute what the Canadian government has said in this matter (of Nijjar’s killing blamed on India).’ It is increasingly apparent India stands isolated among the more powerful nations but sadly this will impact Indians, and the BJP might use it to foment nationalism in the 2024 elections.