India and Canada agree to normalize relations after murder crisis

In a major diplomatic shift, India and Canada have agreed to fully restore diplomatic relations, ending a nearly two-year crisis triggered by Canadian accusations of India's involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.

A handshake on the sidelines of the G7 summit signaled the end of one of the most serious diplomatic crises between two G20 democracies. India and Canada agreed to turn the page and normalize their relations, which had been at a standstill since September 2023. The agreement represents a victory for political pragmatism over a deeply thorny conflict involving accusations of assassination, sovereignty, and espionage.

On Tuesday, June 17, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney held a key meeting during the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada. During the meeting, both leaders agreed to take immediate steps to restore diplomatic relations.

* Appoint new high commissioners (the equivalent of ambassadors in the Commonwealth) in New Delhi and Ottawa to resume regular consular and trade services.

* Reiterate the commitment to a bilateral relationship based on "mutual respect" and "territorial sovereignty," a key diplomatic language given the circumstances.

India's Ministry of External Affairs stressed the importance of resuming high-level ministerial engagements to "rebuild trust and build momentum in the relationship."

The crisis erupted in September 2023, when then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an explosive statement in Parliament. Trudeau claimed that Canadian security agencies had "credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June of that year near Vancouver.

Nijjar was a prominent Sikh separatist leader and advocate for the creation of an independent state called Khalistan, a movement that is banned in India. While Sikh organizations in Canada considered him a human rights activist, the Indian government declared him a terrorist in 2020.

India's reaction was outraged. It called the accusations "absurd" and "preposterous" and, in turn, accused the Trudeau government of harboring extremists. The dispute quickly escalated, leading to the mutual expulsion of senior diplomats in October 2023 and the suspension of negotiations for a free trade agreement.

The normalization of relations appears to have been facilitated by the change of leadership in Canada. Mark Carney's arrival in power has provided an opportunity for a political "reset" without either side having to retract its original position. However, the underlying issue—the allegation of an extrajudicial killing on foreign soil—remains unresolved, and the issue of "transnational repression" was, in fact, one of the concerns highlighted in the G7 final communiqué.