India’s relations with Canada are in a free fall and likely to get worse before it gets better. But it need not be that way for somebody needs to whisper into the ears of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, that the only way to survive in politics of democratic societies is not to fall into the trap of seeing short term gains at the expense of longer term objectives, nationally and internationally.

Unfortunately for Justin Trudeau, he seems to be learning from all the wrong lessons of his father Pierre Trudeau, the former 15 year Prime Minister between 1968 and 1984 with a short break between 1979 and 1980.

Papa Trudeau also embraced a small group of Khalistanis from out of a vast majority of Sikhs who had settled down in Canada peacefully and working their way through for a decent livelihood.

Trudeau Sr, at the time of India’s former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, refused to even come to terms to strident anti-India elements and the price was paid in 1985 when Air India’s Kanishka with 329 passengers and crew was blown out of the skies off the coast of Ireland.

As many as 268 Canadians went to the bottom of the ocean floor. And in that most wanted list was a person that India had flagged to Ottawa and a person who had pompously boasted earlier that “Indian planes will be falling off the air”, or words to that effect.

Justin Trudeau is quite correct when he says that only a small minority are to blame and that the community per-se should not be faulted. Nobody in Official India is saying this. But what nearly everyone in official and unofficial circles are saying—including in Canada—is that pandering to this small group of Khalistanis who are bent on violence and hate mongering is precisely the problem.

How else does one account for banners with photographs of top Indian diplomats calling for retribution or saying that “Hindu Canadians” should leave the country? And for Prime Minister Trudeau to even suggest that all these come under something called free speech and expression is down right insulting to Canadians and to the civilized in the world. Speaking of extremism, free speech and expression in the same breadth is both preposterous and insulting.  

Trudeau did have a lot of time on his way back thinking of how he was going to face colleagues in Parliament and media folks who were sure to ask his generally seen a “debacle” of a G 20 trip to New Delhi.

Aside from the general lack of warmth in the greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on different occasions, Trudeau was absent for the President’s dinner, and Modi ‘s schedule did not find time for Trudeau for a bilateral meeting in spite of the nearly 15 or so bilaterals the Indian leader had in a span of two days.

What is a better way to jump into the limelight by getting on the offensive by turning the focus on India over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar this June near Vancouver and in then process getting into the “good books” of Khalistani supporting leaders on whose support Trudeau’s political fortunes hinged?

 In the rants over India’s role in the killing of Nijjar, Prime Minister Trudeau should have realized that “allegations” do not carry weight as “evidence” does, something that Canadian politicians have started demanding of their Prime Minister.

And Trudeau should have realised that aside from lip sympathy countries like United States, Britain and Australia, not much could come about. Aside from their own geo-political agenda, every one of these countries are trying to deal with the Khalistani issue with New Delhi, but quietly and letting investigative agencies go about their job.

Furthermore a country like the United States knows the problem of terrorists and extremists and would shudder their growing strength across the border rather from an acknowledged epi-center thousands of miles away! Justin Trudeau needs to bear in mind two things: hobnobbing with extremism, a cancer of politics, will get him nowhere; and that India today is not of the 1980s—it is a global power prepared to punch commensurate with its weight.

Currently Editor in Chief of New India Abroad, the author was Special Correspondent for the Hindu covering North America and United Nations in Washington DC..