India-Canada Tensions: Blowback After the Assassination of a Sikh Separatist Leader, with Michael Kugelman

This week, A'ndre chats with Michael Kugelman, the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, on the recent diplomatic tensions between India and Canada over the assassination (on Canadian soil) of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader. We dive into Canada's allegations against India, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused the Indian Government of being involved in the assassination -- which the Indian Government has since denied. India has in turn accused Canada of harboring extremists supporting Khalistan separatist movement,  dedicated to the creation of a separate Sikh homeland in Punjab, which turned violent in the 1970s and 1980s before being quelled by the Indian Government. Michael and A'ndre take a deep dive on that separatist movement, and why Canada has been accused of being a "safe haven for terrorists" by India. We then take a step back to assess India-Canada relations under Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau, in addition to evaluating whether the diplomatic row will hamper U.S.-India relations -- particularly in light of reports that the United States may have provided Canada with valuable intelligence on India's alleged involvement in the Nijjar assassination.