Trudeau’s Turbulent India Trip – Or When the Prince Kissed the Frog (#214)

Cover story in www.theindianamerican.com April-June 2018

Justin Trudeau is the closest thing to Canadian royalty, the ‘Prince’, as the eldest son of arguably one of the most famous Canadian Prime Ministers in modern time, Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliot Trudeau PC CC CH QC FRSC; a constitutional lawyer, a politician, a writer, and an internationally known and respected statesman that was responsible for constitutional and political achievements that in many ways helped shape and define modern-day Canada.

But more than that, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, as he was commonly known, was a man of such charisma and fierce intellect that he generated ‘Rock Star-style Trudeau Mania’ when he first became Prime Minister, and dominated Canada’s political landscape as long as he was actively involved. His eldest son, Justin, has generated similar ‘Rock Star’ excitement since becoming Canada’s current Prime Minister. His overcoming the impossible odds to wrest victory in becoming the Prime Minister, when given little to no chance has proven his determination, capability, intelligence and toughness. But most of all, Justin Trudeau has demonstrated the capacity for affection and deep empathy for other people that has so far served him well, except in his last infamous trip to India, where his affection and comfort with the Indo-Canadian Sikh community in Canada, coupled with the political need to cultivate that diaspora, backfired on him.

The Frog in this case - is a small segment of the Indo-Canadian Sikh Community, originally from the Indian State of Punjab, that take full advantage of their elevated status as citizens in Canada, a Country that treats them with the respect and acceptance they would never get as ordinary citizens in their former home State of Punjab, or the Country of their birth, India, but who misuse that social, economic and political elevation to foster grievances against the Indian government, and to cultivate a militant Sikhism in Canada that is counterproductive in Canada, its relationships with India, and to the Sikh Community as a whole.

Like most immigrants from Punjab, for the most part, these Indo-Canadians left their homeland, as hard pressed people from underdeveloped countries usually do, economically bereft and politically disenfranchised (for all intent and purposes), to seek social, economic, political acceptance and opportunity elsewhere. These they found in abundance in Canada, a Country while not perfect in its social practices of racial equality, tolerance and economic opportunity, comes mighty close to the global ideal and is recognized as such by the World. In particular the social and economic transformation of the Sikh immigrants from Punjab, who for the most part are productive hardworking citizens, is testament to Canada’s near perfection as an equal opportunity Country. 

Rather than simply appreciating their great good fortune, the more extreme elements of the Sikh diaspora felt the freedom and saw an opportunity to create a new political reality in their old homeland of an Independent Khalistan State (an independent country of the Sikhs within India). This ambition is not entirely progressive or productive. In Canada, or the U.S., this activity is tantamount to treason and subversion in India, and damaging to the vast majority of their fellow Sikhs that still live there, as it fosters suspicion in the state and central governments for the diaspora in North America, and the Sikh community Worldwide as a whole.

Anyone who has lived or witnessed the empowerment of Sikhs as a minority, in the whole of India, prior to the 1984 riots, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, knows of the regression the movement of an independent Khalistan has caused the Sikhs as a whole within India. The element of the Sikhs that find cause in the series of events that led to the riots in 1984 have taken it upon themselves to further the divide between the Sikhs the rest of India, and the most active and aggressive proponents of that element is and has been on the West coast of Canada. Apart from the fact that creating division amongst people goes against the very tenets of Sikhism as founded by Guru Nanak (the founder of the religion), the exaggerated claims of systemic persecution in India goes against the reality of Sikh prominence and profile in independent and modern India, keeping in mind that Sikhs are less than 2% of the population of India (writing from personal experience of having witnessed this, and being a part of the generally privileged minority in India).

In fostering dissension in both countries, Canada and India, the newly affluent and politically important Indo-Canadians, who fancy themselves as revolutionaries tasked with the self-imposed mission to save a generally thriving community, within and without India, do the Sikhs a great disservice. The Sikhs are by and large admired universally for their industriousness, generosity and grit, and should be proud of this.

Additionally, by taking advantage of the trust, goodwill and naivety of the Canadian governments (both at the Provincial and Federal levels) and by putting them in a bad light as sympathizers of Sikh extremism in Canada (as with the recent India trip), this minority sows the seeds of suspicion and distrust within the Canadian governments as India’s state and central governments react with understandable angst towards them.

Canadian politicians, like all politicians, woo their ethnic constituents by participating in the traditions and cultural celebrations of such groups for their votes, by indulging in their religious and cultural traditions which they try and reinforce by their visits to India, by the almost mandatory visits to the Amritsar Golden Temple, in Punjab, and by the obligatory donning of the local costumes. Most times these overtures and indulgences are well meant but naïve on the part of the Canadian politicians visiting India, and in the big picture, of long term relations between India and Canada, slightly off-putting to the rest of India (the 98%), and more damaging to Canada than not. Because, except for visits to the Golden Temple, the Sikh’s Holiest Shrine, most Canadian politicians do not visit other ethnic or religious sites of which there are many in India (except for the equally obligatory sightseeing visit to the iconic Taj Mahal).

These, at times, embarrassingly ingratiating overtures of temple visits and costume changes of visiting Canadian politicians to the Sikh diaspora back home, make the politicians seem focused on the very small and select community of the much larger India, and therefore a trifle parochial.

In the international competition for business, trade, influence and profile, these cultural overtures to communities and countries are more a distraction of minor goodwill, to the more serious issues of real value contributions of resources, know-how, technology and military power, which are far more influence generating in the host countries. Real strength still trumps ‘nice’ in most countries. This recent trip to India was a case in point where substantive issues between the two countries were overshadowed by the ‘nice’ aspect of Canada, highlighted by its open and friendly young leader Justin Trudeau, and his equally endearing young family.

Justin Trudeau with his open and embracing personality, plus his comfort with people of all cultures and traditions in general, and with the Indo-Canadian Sikh community in particular, went to what would amount to, for him, natural lengths to indulge in ‘going native’ when visiting Punjab or other parts of India. It is something he does naturally with great ease. Although, behind the easy open friendliness, there is a tough, confident young man that is not to be taken lightly (for reinforcement to that statement watch the video (you tube) of his famous charity boxing match victory with the visibly buffed, tough young Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, or his subduing of the infamous ‘Trump handshake’ at their first meeting). Or for that matter, to gauge the real Justin Trudeau one should keep in mind the seemingly hopeless odds he overcame (when he started) in his bid to become the Prime Minister.

Where he got taken advantage of by his Indo-Canadian Sikh Ministers, advisors etc. was, to not be made aware of the various items of clothing and modes of dress that would, in India, indicate awareness, identification and recognition of Khalistani sympathy - such as saffron coloured head coverings and scarf’s on visiting the Golden Temple, rather than the neutral white etc.. Seemingly a minor point to most but to the more aggressive Sikh elements, and more importantly, to the people and governments in India, these dress codes would be indicators of either Sikh separatist sympathies, or India sympathies. This was where the failure of Trudeau’s ‘India Advisors’ was most damaging, superseded only by the utter and inexcusable failure of the screening process that is supposed to, at the very least, screen for suitability of those that are accompanying the Prime Minister on a ‘India Mission’, considering the Country is a veritable mine-field of potential religious, social, political, cultural and economic pitfalls.

But hopefully, no major lasting damage was done there as the Government of Punjab, and of India, knew that Trudeau was probably unaware of these nuances, rather than was knowingly supporting the more aggressive form of Sikhism that prefer the saffron and the deep blue colours to the neutral white or other colours.

The more serious gaffe was the inclusion of an Indo-Canadian convicted felon and a known Khalistani on the PM’s trip. For the Canadian government ‘screeners’, if there is such a thing, because it certainly doesn’t look like it from the ridiculous failure of conducting even the most perfunctory screening process, to let a convicted felon, for attempted murder no-less, of a visiting Indian Minister no-less, and a known former Khalistani sympathizer, to be on the Prime Minister’s trip is a whole mind-boggling ‘trip’ in itself. But this failure was not entirely the Prime Minister’s but his team’s (except for the buck stops here aspect). 

All these missteps detracted from the infinitely more serious business of keeping Canada’s relatively meager and persistently challenged share of India’s business, trade and political standing intact. In that sphere, India doesn’t give a damn for cultural niceties, but would rather deal with a nation that brings seriousness and real value to its business, defence and political short comings, as Israel does. Israel went from practically having no standing in India a couple of decades ago, to being one of its most important business and defence partners. In that sphere, according to the highest levels of Indian officialdom, Canada is a relative light weight to the real powers of the World, which are practically everyone except Canada, considering the reception their visiting dignitaries get versus Trudeau’s eyebrow raising reception, which has had tongues wagging and pens scribbling – loudly crying foul and ‘insult’!

Obviously ‘charming and nice’ didn’t quite cut it in that hardball space.

Justin Trudeau, the Prince, kissed the Frog, the dissension sowing part of the politically active Indo-Canadian Sikh Community, which backfired horribly and rather than turning these Sikh constituents into Princesses, turned him into a frog instead, for a while, in both Canada and India.

Justin Trudeau and others have to understand that some of the politically active members of the Sikh Indo-Canadian Community have neither the interest of Justin Trudeau, nor of Canada, nor of India on their agenda, but are only concerned and consumed with ambitions for greater recognition and power for their newly found status as economically upwardly mobile, sought after valued voting bloc in Canadian politics. To say they are parochial would be an understatement, but it does explain their interest in promoting political angst in India, where in their home State, for the most part, they wouldn’t be given the time of day by any officials of the Punjab government, and less so by the Indian government. Their relatively open secessionist activity in Canada gives them a great sense of importance here and there (in India), amongst their community and their fellow deluded co-conspirators.

In the decades after the taming of the Khalistan ‘troubles’ in India and Canada that at its height involved assassinations, downing of a Air India passenger airliner carrying 329 people, most of whom were Indo-Canadian civilians (268), the rest being British and Indian citizens - making it the biggest mass murder in Canadian history - and other terrorist activities in both countries - some of the community members are now again emboldened by their growing political power in Canada and the U.S.. And the Canadian politicians, including Justin Trudeau, have not taken this growing menace seriously enough.

This rather lackadaisical attitude on the part of the Canadian authorities, and the overt wooing of the voting-bloc by all political Parties in Canada, has resulted in bolder political elements of the Sikh Community promoting Khalistani ambitions in Canada, which brought on a heightened sense of distrust among Indian officials, of all Canadian governments, and put a pall of uncertainty over the relationship between the two countries.

Specifically for this recent trip of Trudeau’s to India, it resulted in a former convicted Khalistani being included on the Prime Ministers trip and being invited to the various events, turning the whole thing into a diplomatic and public-relations fiasco, which, when one takes into account the frequent costume changes, turned the Trudeau trip into a parody of a bumbling Inspector Clouseau State visit.

Justin Trudeau will recover from this trip’s costume and diplomatic malfunctions, as both Canadians and Indians realize that his heart is in the right place and he aimed to please. Besides that, in a World where increasingly, power-hungry, self-centred, autocratic leaders seem to be the trend-of-the-day, Justin Trudeau is a refreshing counter weight, a national leader that truly cares about other people and wants to do right by them. His exuberance for embracing all peoples and cultures may have gotten the better of him on this trip, but his credentials are rock solid and his performance, so far, although not perfect, has been for most part rock star commendable (managing Donald Trump, in these critical times for Canada, is note-worthy in itself).

Canada will never be to India, in importance, what the United States of America or other major nations are (and to a degree, vice versa), but Trudeau’s genuine affection for the Indian people and his recognition of the importance of India as a trade and political strategic partner will make him work towards maintaining a healthy working relationship. But, he has to learn the nuances of the Indo-Canadian community in Canada, and the various elements that taint it because of their disruptive traditional and cultural agendas that neither do him, or Canada, any favours. Trudeau needs to stay away from the frogs that will never turn into Princesses.