The India-Canada row
The political leadership in India needs to understand that Indians are one of the largest beneficiaries of the Canadian permanent residence programme. Thousands emigrate to the country for education and in search of work opportunities due to a liberalised visa regime. There may be people on social media and on television with nationalist fervour who think that India has arrived on the global scene due to the success of the G-20 declaration or India’s mission to the moon, and so the country cannot be pushed around. But this may not be the case. The political leadership may court domestic audiences since elections are due in both countries. However, one cannot brush aside serious allegations. Officials of both countries need to cooperate and keep channels open for talks, share the evidence and hold people responsible to account.
Ranjith Rajan,
Bengaluru
Mere accusations have ended up creating a rift. Indians are one of the fastest growing communities in Canada and 40% of international students in Canada are Indians. The entire education ecosystem will collapse if there are visa restrictions. A majority of the labour force in low-skilled jobs are Indian students. Both nations must engage in negotiations to settle the dispute.
Dr. Bineet Kaur Maunder,
Patiala, Punjab
Canada is a nation that welcomes immigrants with open arms and which offers them good job opportunities. Indians, and a significant percentage of them, live in absolute peace, hold tall positions, are well set in finance and have become citizens of that country. Many are Members of the Canadian Parliament too. Indians who live in other nations prefer to immigrate to Canada as it offers some of the best living conditions and, more importantly, treats all immigrant-citizens equal to native Canadians in all respects.
The Indian government needs to diffuse the situation with Canada, at least in the interest of Indian immigrants who are only going to face the problems.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
There seems to be a tough face-off between the diplomats and governments of both countries. One hopes that the tensions die down.
N. Visveswaran,
Chennai
There are many Indian students who are in Canada for higher studies.
Indian Hindu and Indian Sikh populations live peacefully in many cities such as Toronto. Indians in Canada are largely from Punjab and the Telugu-speaking States, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Hindus often visit gurudwaras and offer rice and other consumables for mass feeding.
Baru Rajendra Prasad,
Hyderabad
India needs to remember that Canada has reached out to The Five Eyes, the alliance of the intelligence agencies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Washington Post says that the killing of Nijjar was raised privately by officials of the alliance in the weeks leading up to the G-20 Summit. These are countries with sophisticated intelligence networks. Let us not discount this in the terrible and caustic reportage and opinions being aired on some television channels in India.
S. Gupta,
New Delhi
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