What to make of this India-Canada diplomatic stand-off? India 2 – 0 Canada
Refer this discussion first. This is where I gave the background of what's happening and how the playing field has been levelled by India.
Series of events
- Trudeau accuses Indian Govt of having link with assilants who shot Hardeep Singh Nijjar dead
- Canada expels Indian diplomat
- MEA rubbishes Trudeau's claims, saying they are “absurd and motivated”
- India expels Canadian diplomat
- MEA says Trudeau talked about similar allegations to PM Modi but the latter "compeltely rejected" the claims
- Canada seeks support from its allies i.e. US, UK, Australia, NZ
- No relief from the allies as the most they said was that there needs to be a thorough investigation
- Trudeau backtracks and says not trying to provoke or escalate and want to work with India to make everything clear
Canada wanted its Five Eyes allies to condemn India, but nothing of that sort happened.
Why the West will not take a strong stand against India?
India is
Most populous country - now most of would think that this is a disadvantage, but now we know how to put it to our advantage. Now we have the political will to exert influence due to our strength in numbers
Fifth largest economy - in the time of economic slowdown, India is growing steadily. UK is seeking a trade deal with India which is more important to UK than to India. US is a major trade partner. Other Western nations also want to strengthen economic relations with India. Remember the recently announed india middle east europe corridor?
Biggest player in the Indian Ocean - The West's dream of Indo-Pacific can not be realised without India. Not to mention the geographical location India enjoys.
Only counter to China - India is seen by the West as a potential bulwark against China.
Voice of the Global South - In a world where there is a trust deficit, most of the nations wants India as a friend bcz a friend in need is a friend indeed.
Trudeau has bad timings...why wait till now to raise this issue and that to for the whole world to see?
thats simple. he has been deemed as a canadian pappu and his popularity rankings are very low. he doesnt even get much attention in the geopolitical events. so i think he had to create a controversy to get some support.