Opinion: India’s response to Canada on allegations of serious crimes is the ultimate in gaslighting

The Canadian government alleges that the Indian government knew about and condoned serious crimes committed by its diplomats in Canada. Countries went to war over less.

But the allegations are also a tragedy. Canada and India should move closer together on issues of immigration, trade and collective security. Instead, relationships are dangerously close to complete collapse.

The RCMP allegations released Monday describe “criminal activities orchestrated by agents of the Government of India and resulting threats to the safety of Canadians,” including “links linking agents of the Government of India to murders and acts of violence.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that those acts included the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year. And he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of knowing about these acts and supporting them.

“The Indian government made a fundamental mistake when it thought it could support criminal activity against Canadians,” Trudeau said at a news conference. He stated: “We will never tolerate a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil, which is a deeply unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty and international law.”

Any democratic government, upon being informed of such serious allegations by another democratic government, would normally promise and provide full cooperation.

Instead, the Indian government issued a statement on Monday saying: “The Government of India firmly rejects these absurd insinuations and attributes them to the Trudeau government’s policy agenda focused on vote bank politics.”

When the Indian government was confronted with the evidence collected by the Canadian police about the complicity of Indian officials in crimes committed in Canada, it responded with counter-claims that could only be true if both the Canadian police and the government were completely corrupt and the Canadian democracy would be a deception. The Indian response is the ultimate in gaslighting.

The result of all this: the mutual exclusion of the most senior diplomats representing their countries in both Canada and India, and a near-total rupture in relations between two countries that are supposedly friends and, on some issues, even allies. This is simply unprecedented.

New Delhi is reacting much more respectfully to US allegations that an Indian official was involved in the attempted murder of a Sikh activist. An Indian committee investigating the allegation will arrive in Washington this week.

It seems that Canada is the weak kid on the playground being bullied by someone who is also very careful not to offend an even bigger child.

Yes, it’s suspicious that this bombshell dropped over Thanksgiving weekend, even as news outlets report that Mr. Trudeau may be facing a backbench revolt. He will also soon testify at the inquiry into foreign interference in Canada.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre claimed on Monday: “For nine years the Liberal government has failed to ensure the safety of our people or take national security and foreign interference seriously.” That’s why Canada has become a playground for these activities .” There might be some truth in that.

It may also be true that Canadian governments have turned a blind eye to the actions of Sikh extremists in Canada for partisan reasons.

But let’s not take our eye off the ball, because it is such a ball. Our government alleges that the Indian High Commissioner to Canada and other diplomats were involved in serious crimes, including murder, extortion and intimidation, with their government’s knowledge. One might expect Canada to accuse Russia, China or Iran of such things. But India? India?

This country is by far Canada’s largest source of permanent residents. Canada and India have worked together to advance the cause of human rights, including the fight against apartheid, within the Commonwealth.

They have a common interest in promoting economic and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and in containing Chinese efforts to dominate the region.

Mr. Trudeau and his Conservative predecessor Stephen Harper both sought improved relations with India, including a free trade agreement. But trade talks were already moribund before Mr. Trudeau first accused Indian officials of possible complicity in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Now everything is in ruins.

At some point, Canada and India might be able to mend their relationship. But that won’t happen until India starts behaving like the responsible democracy it claims to be.