Dozens of Canadian diplomats are forced to leave India after PM Justin Trudeau accused the country of assassinating Sikh leader in British Columbia

• India has forced 41 Canadian diplomats out of the country 
• This comes after Justin Trudeau accused Indian intelligence of killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied that allegation 

Dozens of Canadian diplomats are forced to leave India as the feud between the two countries – that escalated when PM Justin Trudeau accused the Asian nation of assassinating a Sikh leader in British Columbia – has deepened. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said that New Delhi, the capital of India, planned to revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families. 

This decision has forced Canada to pull out the other diplomats from India. 

‘Revoking the diplomatic immunity of 41 diplomats is not only unprecedented, but also contrary to international law,’ Joly said on Wednesday.

Tensions between Canada and India have run high since Trudeau publicly accused Indian intelligence of killing Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied.

Dozens of Canadian diplomats are forced to leave India as the feud between the two countries has deepened. The decision has come after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Left) accused Indian intelligence of killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Right) has denied the accusation

In the midst of the deepening feud between India and Canada, hundreds of Sikh protesters rallied outside Indian diplomatic missions in Canada last month, as they burned flags and trampled pictures of Modi

Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in June after he was shot dead by two masked assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple near Vancouver. Trudeau accused India of being behind his death

‘Canada will continue to defend international law, which applies to all nations and will continue to engage with India. Now more than ever we need diplomats on the ground and we need to talk to one another,’ Joly said.

New Delhi also temporarily stopped processing visa applications in Canada. 

India previously expelled a senior Canadian diplomat after Canada did the same to a  senior Indian diplomat. 

Nijjar immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a Canadian citizen in 2015. He was shot dead by two masked assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple near Vancouver in June.

He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder after he advocated for a separate Sikh state carved out of India. 

A Canadian official told The Associated Press that the allegation of India´s involvement comes as surveillance surfaced of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally.

Canada is home to some 770,000 Sikhs, who make up about two percent of the country’s population.

The Sikh separatist movement has nearly come to an end in India, where security forces used deadly force to put down an insurgency in the state of Punjab in the 1980s.

Hundreds of Sikh protesters rallied outside Indian diplomatic missions in Canada last month, as they burned flags and trampled pictures of Modi.

A supporter rallied in front of the Indian consulate last month as tensions between Canada and India have boiled over. Since India has forced Canadian diplomats to leave their country, Canada has yet to retaliate

New Delhi, the capital of India, planned to revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada ‘s diplomats and their families by Friday. This decision has forced Ottawa to pull out the other diplomats from India

India has also accused Canada of harboring separatists and ‘terrorists,’ but dismissed the allegation of its involvement in the killing as ‘absurd’ and has taken diplomatic steps to express its anger over the accusation. 

Joly said India´s decision will impact the level of services to citizens in both countries. She said Canada is pausing in-person services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore. 

Canada has yet to retaliate after India expelled their diplomats from their country. Tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi have created a delicate situation for Washington- a close ally of Canada. 

Washington recently took steps to move closer to India as the United States has looked to limit Chinese influence in the region.

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