By – Prakarsh Kastwar
Except for Pakistan, there hasn’t been another significant case of India asking a government to scale back its diplomatic presence there.
Even though foreign minister Melanie Joly stated that her country would prefer to discuss the matter privately, Canada has remained studiously silent in response to rumors that New Delhi has asked Ottawa to dramatically decrease personnel at missions in India amid an intensifying diplomatic spat.
In order to ensure parity in strength and rank in bilateral diplomatic presence, the Indian side has requested that Canada withdraw a number of dozen diplomats. According to analysts, this action will undoubtedly have an impact on how quickly Canadian visa applications are processed. To handle the enormous volume of visa requests, Canada maintains a sizable diplomatic presence at its high commission in New Delhi and consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Mumbai.
A diplomatic uproar was caused by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim last month that the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was committed by agents of the Indian government. Senior ambassadors were expelled on a tit-for-tat basis by both countries after India denounced the claim as “absurd.” Additionally, India issued a warning to its residents going to Canada advising them to travel with “utmost caution” due to rising anti-Indian sentiment and “politically-condoned hate crimes”.
Foreign Minister Joly said Ottawa is in contact with New Delhi on this matter, despite Trudeau ducking a question from reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday regarding India asking Canada to cut its diplomatic representation in the nation and whether the Canadian side will respond.
“We are in touch with the Indian government. We take the security of our ambassadors very seriously,” Joly told the press. And because we believe that private interactions are better for diplomatic conversations, we will continue to engage in them.
Tuesday’s Financial Times article stated that India has requested Canada remove 41 of the 62 ambassadors stationed at its missions in the nation. There was no official statement from the Canadian side regarding whether it has been removing its officials or the effects of such a withdrawal in response to reports that India could revoke the diplomatic immunity of those diplomats who remained in the country after a deadline of October 10.
People with knowledge of the situation indicated that while recent developments have not yet had an impact on Canadian visa processing services, any large reduction in diplomatic staff will undoubtedly have an effect.
Except for Pakistan, there hasn’t been another significant case of India asking a country to scale back its diplomatic representation there. When their relationships have deteriorated in recent years, India and Pakistan have downgraded diplomatic ties and cut back on mission staff. In the most recent instance, Pakistan opted not to choose a new high commissioner to New Delhi after India removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019.
The size of a nation’s diplomatic representation in India also gives insight into how the two countries’ overall bilateral relations are doing. For example, the US has greatly increased the number of diplomats stationed in India to deal with the enormous increase in visa requests as well as the enhanced collaboration in a variety of areas.
With 230,000 Indian students now enrolled in Canadian colleges, India is the country from which most international students come. The diplomatic dispute has already raised concerns about whether it may affect a significant source of income for several educational institutions in the Canadian province of Ontario, which is entirely dependent on Indian students.
According to public broadcaster CBC News, the office of Ontario’s auditor general stated in a 2021 report that some universities could have incurred annual deficits in previous years without the tuition collected from international students.
According to Alex Usher, president of Toronto-based consulting firm Education Strategy Associates, “Indian students not only contribute twice as much money to the college system as Canadian students do, they also contribute slightly more than does the government of Ontario.”
Anita Huberman, the CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, also revealed to CBC News that businesses in Surrey, which has a sizable South Asian community, are concerned about the unstable business climate. “Businesses believe that commerce with India is stalling and that the future is still uncertain. Additionally, there is a lot of worry due to the close family relationships our group has with India and the upcoming and planned visits, the speaker added.