(This is a three part series. Part-I is published today)
India and Canada have agreed to work together on a new chapter in their relationship, including cooperation against terrorism and transnational crimes, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on September 20, 2025.
A day later, on September 21, Canadian police arrested Inderjeet Singh Gosal. Sources in the Indian government view this as a positive development, saying it shows Khalistani elements, and their Pakistan-backed handlers are being cornered. Officials describe Gosal as a key figure in the ‘Khalistan movement’, apart from Hardip Singh Nijjar, who was assassinated in 2023, and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who escaped an assassination bid.
The arrest came after threats were made against the Indian High Commissioner, which Canadian police saw as crossing a line that could affect law and order. However, it's unclear how long Gosal will remain in custody, as he has been arrested multiple times before without lasting consequences for Khalistani activities in Canada. Indian intelligence officers believe Gosal was backed by the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).
Recent tensions, predating Gosal’s arrest, escalated when the new Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Patanik was reinstated in Ottawa. A group calling itself 'Team Shahid Nijjar' distributed posters on social media and at pro-Khalistan gurudwaras labeling Patanik as the "new face of Hindutva terror" and calling for a "siege" of the Indian High Commission on September 18, 2025.
Canadian authorities have not taken action against this campaign, and Indian officials believe that the group enjoys support from fringe political groups in Canada.
Close on the heels of these developments, the Indian government has permitted Sikh pilgrim groups to visit Pakistan on the occasion of Gurpurab in November 2025.
Sanctions had earlier been imposed following the recent confrontation between India and Pakistan in April-May 2025, prompting demands by Sikh religious leaders to lifting of travel restrictions to Pakistan, where important Sikh religious sites like Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib are located.
Thousands of Indian Sikhs typically travel to these holy places annually via the Kartarpur corridor opened in 2019. The appeal came from Mahesh Singh, vice president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which manages Sikh shrines in Pakistan, highlighting the religious community's desire to access their sacred sites despite the political deadlock.
India-Pakistan relations remain severely strained following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor in May, during which both countries engaged in 100 hours of aerial warfare before a ceasefire.
PM Modi has maintained his stance that "no terror and talks can progress" and "blood and water cannot flow together," leading to the suspension of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. All borders and air travel between the countries are currently closed, with no bilateral dialogue.
Despite political tensions, India-Pakistan played cricket in Dubai, though defying sporting spirit and generating handshake controversies. Yet, the cricket match taking place had revived the hopes of the Sikh leaders. On October 2, the Indian government finally relented.
India-Canada relations deteriorated sharply in recent years under Justin Trudeau's leadership. After Trudeau stepped down, new Canadian PM Mark Carney met PM Modi at the 51st G7 summit in Canada, leading to discussions about reinstating High Commissioners. Both countries had withdrawn their envoys 18 months earlier.
The crisis centres on the Khalistan issue, which resurfaced after years of dormancy. Relations hit rock bottom following the June 18, 2023 killing of Hardip Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan Tiger Force member, in British Columbia. Canadian police linked the motorcycle shooting to Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, currently imprisoned in Gujarat's Sabarmati jail.
Canada has alleged Indian intelligence agency R&AW's involvement in the assassination, drawing comparisons to Mossad operations. In a more recent development, Canada has listed Bishnoi gang as a ‘terrorist’.
The US Justice Department charged former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav with directing a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City in 2023. Yadav recruited Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national involved in narcotics and weapons trafficking, to orchestrate the assassination.
Yadav used the alias 'Amanat' to communicate with Gupta and was previously identified as 'CC-1 (co-conspirator 1)' in the indictment. The plot unraveled when Gupta unknowingly contacted an undercover US law enforcement agent while trying to hire a hitman. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic and later extradited to the US, where he has pleaded not guilty.
This case exposed Indian intelligence operations to the Five Eyes alliance (US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand), creating diplomatic tensions. The charges mark the first time the US has directly implicated the Indian government in an assassination plot on American soil, significantly straining US-India relations and forcing India to recall several intelligence officers from diplomatic postings.
At Delhi's Bikaner House, near India Gate where French cafes and upscale restaurants now operate, R&AW once ran operations from a small room in the building's annexe. After retirement, R&AW's founder-secretary R.N. Kao was rehired by Indira Gandhi for a special assignment, operating from room number 7.
Kao's main task was analysing the growing Khalistan movement in Punjab. While this seemed like a domestic issue for state police and Intelligence Bureau to handle, it had become an international threat with funding and coordination from the USA, England, and Canada. Kao brought in B. Raman to assist in ensuring the movement didn't destabilise India's political system.
The operation recognised that the Khalistan movement had evolved beyond Punjab's borders into a global network requiring external intelligence capabilities to counter effectively. The roots of this global network evolution can be traced back to a century ago, when political and economic disturbances carried Sikhs offshore.
The journey began in 1914 when Sikh businessman Gurdit Singh chartered a ship carrying 340 Sikh passengers (plus some Muslims and Hindus) from British Hong Kong to Canada. Despite knowing Indians were barred from landing in Canada, Singh attempted the voyage but was turned away.
Upon returning to India, the ship Komagata Maru docked at Budge Budge near Calcutta, where tragedy struck. British police opened fire during a confrontation, killing 26 passengers. This marked the first major struggle by Sikhs seeking citizenship in North America.
Since then, many Sikhs have legally migrated to Canada and the USA, establishing communities. Today, migration continues both through legal channels and via the illegal "dunky route" (donkey route), a dangerous, circuitous path many Punjabis use to reach North America.
With Sikh population spanning continents, from South Asia to the West, the issue of Punjab has often been exploited by many intelligence agencies globally. Besides Pakistan’s ISI and India’s R&AW and IB, Britain’s MI16 and Canada’s RCMP have also further muddied the waters.
In 2006, former Canadian PM Stephen Harper apologized for the Komagata Maru incident. Meanwhile, legal victories were won in the USA by Sikh expatriate Bhagat Singh Thind, paving the way for future migration.
After 1947, Sikh religious sites were split between India and Pakistan. Holy shrines like Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur's Darbar Sahib fell in Pakistan, while the Golden Temple and Anandpur Sahib remained in India. Poor India-Pakistan relations made pilgrimages difficult, deepening Sikh frustrations.
In the 1950s and 60s, Sikh communities in the United Kingdom complained about being denied land for religious purposes, but India's High Commission left these matters to local authorities rather than advocating for them. Sikhs aspired to achieve what Jews had accomplished - a holy land with global dual citizenship rights, according to Kirpal Dhillon in his book ‘Identity & Survival -Sikh Millitancy in India -1978-1993’.
Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan, a Punjab politician and Akali Dal finance minister, moved to London and coined the "Khalistan Movement," demanding Sikh Home Rule. Both Pakistan's High Commission and MI6 monitored this diaspora of migrants from both countries.
Chauhan's efforts spawned groups like Babbar Khalsa, ISYF (International Sikh Youth Federation), and Dal Khalsa, spreading among Sikh diaspora in Europe, USA, and Canada, according to Indian intelligence sources.
In the USA, former Punjab policeman Ganga Singh Dhillon settled and married a Kenyan Sikh woman who was reportedly friends with Pakistani dictator Zia ul-Haq's wife, bringing the Dhillon family close to Pakistan's leadership. Dhillon headed the Nankana Sahib Foundation and was an AISSF member. When accused of being a CIA-Zia agent during a Chandigarh visit, he angrily denied it, saying "I don't need Zia or the CIA to tell me to do what I must do." India later banned his entry; he died in the US in 2014.
After arms recovery from Golden Temple in 1984, India Today's S. Venkat Narayan interviewed President Zia, who denied involvement in the Khalistan movement. However, when asked about arms smuggling to Punjab, Zia admitted: "It may be possible because these days gun-running between Pakistan and India is as common as anywhere in the world," though he emphasized no official Pakistani involvement. Similar denials were made in 2018 when Pakistan's Prime Minister, Imran Khan met Gopal Singh Chawla.
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