If you would like to receive these stories in your mailbox - email [email protected]
Ethnic Media Insights 2025 |
Ethnic Media Insights 2025 |
![]() The escalating tensions between India and Canada have become headline news in both countries and internationally. The conversation in the public forum appears to centre around accusations of murder and interference. However, understanding the conflict in 2024 requires historical context. The bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, is one frequently cited event. It was preceded by Operation Blue Star in June 1984. This Hindu government-driven operation aimed to secure the Golden Temple from Sikh militants using it as their base, but it resulted in a massacre of civilians and heavy damage to the sacred site. Following this, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Her assassination led to anti-Sikh riots, resulting in the death of thousands of Sikh civilians in widespread sectarian violence. These incidents are pivotal in understanding the historical context of Sikh grievances and the sense of persecution in India and continue to influence Sikh identity and politics today in Canada. So, if you thought the Israel-Palestine conflict was a quandary, the separatist idea of an independent Sikh Khalistan joins the list of exported homeland conflict to the Diaspora and has a similarly deep-rooted history. A Take from India Indian media often align with their government, labelling Hardeep Singh Nijjar a terrorist and dismissing accusations of Indian involvement in his murder and other alleged activities as "false propaganda." They accuse the Canadian government of using the situation to divert attention from domestic issues and appeal to the Sikh community for political gain. Outlets like Hindi TV9 Bharatvarsh out of the populous Northern State of Uttar Pradesh suggest that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh supports the government in order to protect his pension and that both he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seek Sikh votes by blaming India. These outlets emphasize the importance of trade and the role of Indian international students in Canada's economy, warning that the dispute could harm both countries economically. ABP News in the same region calls Canada’s allegations "absurd" and threatens that India's possible responses "will shock the Trudeau government." Options include stopping Indian students from studying in Canada, cancelling Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, denying visas to certain Canadian citizens, and cancelling property rights of Indo-Canadians in India. If Canada imposes trade sanctions on India, reciprocal trade sanctions could also be imposed. The Navbharat Times daily paper, with a circulation of approximately 770,000 copies with an average issue readership of over two million people in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur and other markets, accuses the Trudeau government of interfering in India’s internal affairs, highlighting that some cabinet members are associated with pro-Khalistan extremists. They argue that the Liberals rely on support from a party whose leader endorses separatism. New Delhi Television Limited, or NDTV, points to Canada’s alleged support of "Khalistani terrorists" as causing the current conflict, noting that the issue dates to the 1985 Air India bombing. They also cite People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier’s view that Nijjar should not have been a Canadian citizen due to refugee claims based on fraudulent documents. One does not need to read between the lines to recognize the thread of the Indian reaction to the idea of a separate Sikh state. What distinguishes it most from the Canadian reaction to the FLQ October Crisis in 1970 is perhaps the lower level of violence and the pacific outcome that led to the rise of the Parti Québécois (PQ) to power in 1976 and the formation of the Bloc Québécois (BQ) in 1990, all of which speak to the differences between Canadian and Indian democracies. The Parliament of India represents the largest democratic electorate in the world, but how does it handle things differently from the Canadian? South Asian Voices in Canada Given this blood-stained historical background and India’s low rank on the Freedom of the Press index (159th out of 180), it is not surprising that India’s media align with the Indian government. South Asian ethnic media in Canada have been drawing on both Canadian and Indian reporting related to the matter, but they have also brought in local perspectives. OMNI TV Punjabi, aired daily across Canada, for example, interviewed immigration consultant Nitin Chadha about the impact on visa processing. He says social media are making what is merely a diplomatic dispute look like a “war” has broken out. This has created panic among Canadians of Indian origin, who have been lining up at Visa Application Centres to get visas while they can. Chadha notes that visa processing and consular services continue, albeit with delays. OMNI has also interviewed Brampton small business owners concerned about trade sanctions affecting imports from India. They emphasize the widespread appreciation for South Asian cuisine in a bid to ensure continued access to imported ingredients. A local business spokesperson remarks on the longstanding relationship between Canada and India, likening it to a challenging marriage that has lasted so long that it is too difficult to have a divorce now. The network also features international students worried about the dispute’s impact on their education. It covers pro-Khalistan protests outside Indian consulates, where protesters claim India attacks not only dissidents but also Canadian sovereignty. The group Sikhs for Justice is demanding that the Indian consulates be shut down. However, Sikh community members at Visa Application Centres express a desire for consulates to remain open to ensure essential services, stating they feel no threat from their government. Points from the Peanut Gallery Interestingly, Chinese media in Canada find the dispute entertaining, likening it to Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's detention. Netizens on the Chinese website Van People in Vancouver consider that India and Canada have become “the world's entertainment” because of their quarrel. They find it amusing that Canada said it would sanction India, while Canada’s economy is smaller than India's. They speculate that, unlike in the dispute with China, India’s strategic role in the US Indo-Pacific strategy means Trudeau may receive limited support from the US and its allies. Some commenters perceive Canada’s recent immigration restrictions as targeted attempts to reduce Indian influence. Some netizens on Calgary Life WeChat are suggesting expelling international students or hoping that India will withdraw them. Comments on Calgary Official WeChat virulently oppose what they see as “tribal disputes” in Canada and call on Indian protesters to go back to India and hold their protests there. They say if the protesters want to start a war, they should go back to India to do so, and Canada should deport them. Meanwhile, Joe Volpe, the editor of Italian-language daily Corriere Canadese, offers a historical perspective, comparing current events to past cases of foreign interference in Canada. He recalls that the activities of the Irish Fenian raiders from the Northeastern US were an impetus behind the Confederation of British North American Colonies that became Canada and that Irish activism in Canada continued until the Sein Fein was legitimized. He also highlights the internment and surveillance of Italian Canadians during World War II. These reflections underscore that concerns about foreign interference are not new to Canada. MIREMS’ Take from the Front Row Seat To lend another perspective to the discussion, foreign interference is an accusation levelled at Canadian activity abroad, in the Peruvian mining industry to cite just one example. In the current anti-immigrant opinion wave and given the connection between the conflict with India and the fate of international students, it is essential to avoid the demonization of fellow Canadians based on their opinions on anything, but particularly on their opinions of the politics in their countries of origin. Very often, the sins of those politics are visited on those who sought safe haven from them on Canadian soil. Four decades ago, an unnamed senior federal official at the then Secretariat of State for Multiculturalism made a remark to one of our colleagues that there was a danger that multiculturalism would be a Petri dish for diverse fundamentalisms. In today’s terminology, this might be translated into the idea that foreign interference is baked into our multicultural reality in the yin-yang of benevolent cooperation and hostile subversion. It is an unintended consequence of the policy that preaches harmony instead of assimilation. It becomes vulnerable in times of polarization and conflict, flaring up into ethnic, religious and political conflicts, of which there have been many over the years, mostly overseas, but most with domestic repercussions. MIREMS’ recent paper, Diaspora Dynamics Ethnic Media and Foreign Conflict in Multicultural Canada is an analysis of ethnic media and community reactions to the most recent of these conflicts. Follow us on social media for our weekly Ethnic Media Insights bringing the voices of Canadian ethnic and homeland international media on Canadian affairs. (The MIREMS Team, 2024-10-22)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|