NewsRMS:

Did you know that recently we’ve had 41 of our Canadian diplomats pack up and wave goodbye to India? Now, that’s a movie in itself, isn’t it? So, why this sudden departure, you ask? Well, it’s linked to a rather serious matter. A Sikh separatist leader, someone seen as having a significant role in their community, was shockingly killed. But here’s the twist, the crime scene is none other than Canadian soil. Now, as you might imagine, this has led to a bit of a falling out, a rift if you will, between Canada and India. Quite a predicament, right?

Forty-one(41) Canadian diplomats have recently left India amid a rift over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada..

India, a couple of weeks back, got in touch with Canada. The message? Send back hoards of your diplomatic staff. If they stayed, they’d lose their immunity. Tough, right?

On hearing this, officials in Canada were taken aback. They called this call-out a glaring “disregard of international law.” The backdrop? A souring equation between these two nations. The trigger? Canada pinning the blame on India for the tragic killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on the 18th of June.

India, on the other hand, rubbished these serious allegations calling them nothing short of “nonsensical”.

Fast forward to Thursday, Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joly, lets out that quite a number of Canadian diplomats, along with their families, have said their goodbyes to India.

Did India retaliate? You bet! It took a bold stance stating that immunity for everyone, barring 21 diplomats, would be stripped away single-handedly by them by the 20th of October.

Was India apologetic for this move? On the contrary, India’s Ministry of External Affairs challenged the notion that they were defying international norms. Their argument? The unbalanced equation in diplomatic presence between both nations, Canadian diplomats poking their noses into India’s personal matters. This called for an equivalent diplomatic presence in both New Delhi and Ottawa.

Melanie Joly revealed that the 21 diplomats who stayed in India would imply Canada scaling back on its services in the country due to manpower crunch.

So, what’s the fallout? It would force them to press ‘Pause’ on in-person operations in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Chandigarh. No clues on when this critical service would spring back to life though.

Has every operation come to a standstill in Canada? Thankfully, no. Services would still be at your disposal via the High Commission of Canada in Delhi. And guess what, the application centres, independently run by third parties, aren’t closing doors either.

But there’s a twist. The reduced staff numbers are expected to create a bit of a speed bump in the processing times for immigration applications, well, at least for some time, mentioned the Canadian immigration minister, Marc Miller.

Well, that’s what the big-shots are saying. And by Indians, we’re referring to the ones eager to get schooled in Canada, international students and the like.

Here’s an interesting fact – the bulk of those who were itching to pack their bags to head for a temporary or permanent change of address to Canada in 2022? Yeah, you guessed it right, Indians again. They formed the largest chunk of the pie.

Now let’s head a bit into the past. It seems India looked at the number of diplomats Canada had moving around in Delhi, did a quick headcount on their side in Ottawa, and well…the numbers didn’t match up. They’ve been hollering for a level playing field ever since this little scuffle broke out between our two nations.

However, if you glance over the Global Affairs website where they scribble down the list of Indian diplomats in Ottawa… the numbers are a mirror image. Funny, isn’t it?

India & Canada recent dispute!

Let’s dive a little deeper. When India hinted at taking away diplomatic immunity from Canadian folks who’re supposed to be operating in that hallowed circle of diplomacy – Ms Joly popped up. In a news conference held in Ottawa, she tagged this India’s move as a clear “violation of international law”. And it appears Canada has no intentions to react in kind.

As she rightfully put it, “Imagine a world where anyone could rip away diplomatic immunity like a band aid off a wound?” If this becomes a trend, safety of diplomats worldwide gets thrown into jeopardy.

Anyway, with all this mess, you’d think Canada would be a little skeptical about having more Indians over, but no. They’re extending a warm welcome to anyone from India who’s got Canada in their sights, be it for a quick visit or a more permanent shift.