During his meeting with top US officials, India’s minister of external affairs emphasizes on strategic relations with the US but minces no words in condemning Ottawa. Is Canada casting a shadow over Indo-US ties?
Our Bureau
New York/Washington DC
There is no limit to the India-US relationship as New Delhi and Washington see each other as “desirable, optimal, comfortable partners”, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said in the US capital. The foreign minister was addressing the people of the Indian diaspora at the ‘Colors of Friendship’ event at India House in Washington DC. Hundreds of diaspora members gathered at the lawns of the official residence of India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, in honor of Jaishankar, listening and watching performances by local artists.
Jaishankar has been on a visit to the US from September 22-30. He addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He also held meetings with several top US officials during his visit.
At the event, Jaishankar said, “I am often asked, where do you think this relationship (India-US) is going…now it’s hard for me today, really, to put a limit on it, to define it, to even voice expectations, because in every way…this relationship has exceeded expectations, which is why today we don’t even try to define it. We actually keep raising the bar”.
“We keep finding new domains, the more we do with each other, the more we find we are able to do, explore together and achieve together,” he added.
Emphasizing “chemistry and comfort”, Jaishankar said that today India and the US have come up as “desirable, optimal and comfortable” partners.
“In this changing world…I would say, today, India and the United States have moved to a position where we really see each other as very desirable, optimal partners, comfortable partners, with whom it’s a natural instinct today…So, the chemistry and the comfort today of the relationship gives me enormous hope about where the prospects are,” he said.
Several senior officials of the Biden administration including; US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, President Biden’s domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden, and Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Dr Rahul Gupta were part of the reception.
US lawmakers Shri Thanedar and Rick McCormik, Democrat and Republican, were present at the event. Just days away from Gandhi Jayanti, Jaishankar paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and made several remarks about the legacy of Gandhi.
But the Canadian allegations against India cast a shadow over the trip. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated United States’ stand urging India to cooperate in the investigation regarding Canadian allegations, adding that the issue was also raised during his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday.
Stating that the US is “very concerned” about the allegations, Blinken said those responsible behind the incident need to be “held accountable”. Addressing a press briefing on Friday, Antony Blinken said, “As I said before and other colleagues have said before, we are very concerned about the allegations that have been raised by Canada by Prime Minister Trudeau. We have been in close contact with Canada about that”.
The US Secretary of State affirmed hope that India and Canada should “work together” to resolve the matter. “And at the same time, we have engaged with the Indian government and urged them to work with Canada on investigation and I had the opportunity to do so again in my meeting yesterday with Foreign Minister Jaishankar and those responsible need to be held accountable. And we hope that our friends in both Canada and India will work together to resolve this matter,” Blinken added.
Early last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a statement alleging the Indian government of being involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.
Notably, Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has suspended its visa services in Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s allegations of Indian involvement in the killing. Amid strained ties, India issued an advisory for its citizens and those who are travelling to Canada to exercise “utmost caution in view of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence” in the country.
Emphasizing that the Modi government has paid a lot of attention to the issues of the Sikh community, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the extremist elements are just a “small minority” and do not represent the entire community. He was asked about the concerns of Sikh community amid the Khalistan issue, to which the EAM said that the issue doesn’t represent the views of the entire community.
Addressing a press conference in Washington DC on Friday, S Jaishankar said, “…Everyone is aware of the amount of attention that the Modi government has paid to the issues of the Sikh community in the last 10 years and the suggestions it has made”.
“I do not believe that the discussions that are taking place right now are the representative issues of the entire community (Sikhs). Those who talk about terrorism, the separatist people, whose arguments include violence…this is a small minority, and the respective governments should take unbiased actions. We should not take this as a matter of the entire community”.
The EAM also said that the ongoing problem with Canada has been there for some years because of the “permissiveness” by the government regarding terrorism, extremism and violence in the country. He said that the ongoing problem with Canada is because of the “permissiveness” regarding terrorism, extremism and violence in the country.
“The fact is that we have had an ongoing problem with Canada and the Canadian government for some years now. And the ongoing problem really revolves around the permissiveness in regard to terrorism, extremism and violence,” Jaishankar said.
He added, “This permissiveness is also reflected in the fact that some important extradition requests have not been responded to from their side. In fact, that there are individuals and organizations who are clearly involved with violence and illegal activities in India, who have themselves declared it…I mean it is not a secret”.
Stating that he is aware of US’ reaction on the ongoing India-Canada row, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that both sides have articulated each other’s views on the matter. Addressing a press conference in Washington DC on Friday, Jaishankar said, “I saw what the Americans have said, and hopefully, the Americans have seen what I have said. I think both of us have articulated our respective views…so I really don’t know, beyond that, what else I can add”.
Jaishankar further said that the larger issue in the matter is the “permissiveness” regarding the incidents of violence and extremism in Canada, which has been flagged by India. “No incident is isolated and no incident is the totality. There is a context for everything and there are multiple problems out there, so in the case of individual cases, I guess we will have to see…the concerned governments will have to talk with each other, and see how they take it forward. But there is a larger issue, and I think the larger issue should be flagged. I think the larger issue is the permissiveness that I have flagged,” Jaishankar said.
He added, “In India, it will not come as a surprise to anybody if you tell them that there are people in Canada who are advocating violence, separatism, there is a history out there. All Indians notice, I suspect very few Americans know this. I think a lot of what I said at today’s meeting was new to Americans.
The EAM added that it is very important that the US has India’s point of view on the matter as well, because Washington has good relations with both Ottawa and New Delhi. “When Americans look at Canada, they see something, when we in India look at Canada, we see something else and that’s a part of the problem, so it’s very important that we talk it out with the Americans. After all, they are very close to India, they are good friends of ours…so it’s important they have our point of view on the matter as well,” Jaishankar said.
