Ram Madhav writes: It is time Canada is called out for harbouring separatists

It is wide that the Trudeau authorities chose to tread an undiplomatic, if not undignified, way by dragging large names successful the Indian authorities into this murky controversy. Many infer that it is being done with an oculus connected his party’s electoral prospects. The Trudeau authorities has been successful powerfulness for the past 9 years and is precise unpopular today. The Canadian system is passing done 1 of its worst phases of unemployment, inflation and corruption. Canadian media is reporting that Trudeau’s enactment is lagging down the Conservatives successful sentiment polls by much than 10 per cent votes.

By choosing to beryllium reckless successful accusing India of putting the “lives of Canadians” astatine risk, Trudeau has crossed the diplomatic redline. Now that the daggers are drawn, India should travel guardant to instrumentality the bull by its horns. When it comes to countries successful the neighbourhood similar Pakistan, we person been vocal connected each forums, bilateral arsenic good arsenic multilateral, successful exposing their dubious relation successful sponsoring, sheltering and exporting Islamic terror. But, somehow, we hesitate to accidental akin things erstwhile it comes to Western powers due to the fact that we are successful awe of the camouflage of their misplaced idealist rhetoric specified arsenic state of code and quality rights.

While the satellite watched silently, Canada turned into a harmless haven for coercion successful the past fewer decades. Pakistan is accused of harbouring Islamic terrorists, whereas Canada, implicit decades, has been harbouring not conscionable the Islamists, but galore others. Almost each the large panic outfits successful the satellite person had operatives freely functioning retired of Canadian cities for decades. Armenian terrorists reportedly came successful the 1980s and made Canada their offshore base. Khalistanis entered the state and indulged successful heinous crimes specified arsenic blowing up Air India formation 182 mid-air successful 1985. Tamil Tigers arrived successful the precocious 1980s. Next came the Middle East panic groups specified arsenic Hamas, Hezbollah and different Palestinian outfits. Finally, adjacent al Qaeda operatives are said to person recovered Canada to beryllium a harmless conduit for their anti-American operations.

Ward Elcock, erstwhile manager of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(CSIS), had testified successful 1998 that “there are much planetary violent groups progressive present than immoderate different state successful the world”. The CSIS released its yearly study successful 2006, successful which it admitted that “a comparatively ample fig of violent groups are known to beryllium operating successful Canada, engaged successful fundraising, procuring materials, spreading propaganda, recruiting followers and conducting different activities”.

Not conscionable India, galore different countries person besides been the victims of the Canadian government’s lackadaisical cognition towards violent activities connected its soil. Even Canada’s closest partner, the US, couldn’t flight the menace emanating from its neighbourhood. The FBI became truthful acrophobic and issued a classified bulletin warning: “We judge al Qaeda continues to person a violent infrastructure successful Canada, 1 with documented links to the US”. Stephen Harper, the Conservative Prime Minister, who came to powerfulness successful 2006, tried to power this menace during his tenure of a decade. But things returned to the disfigured past erstwhile Trudeau returned to powerfulness successful 2015.

Writing successful Canada’s starring regular The Globe and Mail successful September 2023, columnist Andrew Coyne had accused Canadian politicians, “especially the Liberals”, of their eagerness to “court the Sikh separatist vote” by participating successful rallies “where terrorists were glorified and violent attacks praised”.

India has complained capable astir Canada’s non-serious attack to counter-terrorism for the past 4 decades. What it got successful instrumentality was “ulta chor kotwal ko dante” — oregon a “pot calling the kettle black” — response. It is clip India upped the ante and exposed the disfigured panic underbelly of the Canadian authorities nether Trudeau. In his testimony, Elcock had warned that “I volition beryllium arsenic blunt arsenic I tin be, we cannot become, done inaction oregon otherwise, what mightiness beryllium called an unofficial authorities sponsor of terrorism.”

Maybe, it is clip they are called one.

The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP. Views are personal