The diplomatic rift has suddenly grown more stark as Canada amplifies its accusations that India is directing lethal operations abroad.
Canada expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday, including India’s High Commissioner to Canada, accusing them of being part of a broad criminal network to intimidate and harass Canadian Sikhs. India responded by kicking out six Canadian diplomats.
The expulsions escalated a dispute between the two countries that began with the assassination of a Canadian citizen in British Columbia last year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of orchestrating the brazen killing, setting off a chain of denunciations and diplomatic clashes between the two countries.
Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about the complicated chain of events that has ruptured once-friendly relations between India and Canada.
Here’s what you need to know:
- How did this begin?
- Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
- Who are the Sikh separatists?
- Why is Canada involved?
- What happened in the United States?
- Why did Canada say Indian diplomats were part of a criminal network?
- What happens next?
How did this begin?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the president of a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, was ambushed and shot dead by three masked men on June 18, 2023. He was a Sikh activist who called for an independent nation carved out of northern India.
In September 2023, the Canadian prime minister told lawmakers that “agents of the government of India” had been linked to Mr. Nijjar’s killing, drawing outrage from the Indian government.
