The Nijjar Killing and Questions of Foreign Policy

As of yet, the killers have not been identified but the Canadian government now claims it suspects the involvement of Indian secret police. The Indian government has called these claims unsubstantiated. Regardless, diplomats are being expelled, heads of state are exchanging words, and police investigations continue.

The facts are simply not available. If Canada has evidence that Nijjar was indeed killed by individuals tied to foreign entities, it should make this information public. Until such information becomes public, and proper evidence is presented, there is no way to know if this was indeed a political assassination and who might have been involved.

As India grows increasingly independent on the global stage, it appears less willing to unquestionably cooperate with the United States and NATO in their adversarial stance towards Russia. Consequently, allegations of human rights violations and corruption against the Modi government have become more frequent, leading Western media to include Modi's name among the perceived "bad actors" without always demanding concrete evidence.

The recent assassination on Canadian soil has raised concerns across Western nations, highlighting the question of whether a more powerful India in the future might become harder to control. This situation underscores the complexity of Western-Indian relations, as Western countries seek a compliant India that adheres to international norms and values while India asserts its independence and assertiveness in international affairs, making diplomatic strategies and political decisions in this evolving landscape crucial.

That said, there are some other questions this case raises. It is true that Canada is indeed harboring Sikh seperatists, including individuals guilty of crimes in India and deemed to be terrorists. Is it really in the interests of the local population for such foreign elements to be on their soil, regardless of what stance is taken on Sikh separatism or Indian national unity?

What Canada is doing fits a long pattern of behavior from western countries. Southern California is full of Iranians from the deposed Pahlavi autocracy who fled after the 1979 revolution to avoid trial in Islamic Courts. Miami is full of Cubans who fled after Fidel took power in the hopes of avoiding his revolutionary tribunals. Falun Gong extremists who have waged an illicit campaign of destabilization in China can be found all across American cities.

In fact, many of the terrorists who killed Americans and Britons in recent years have been foreign extremists, imported after working against some nationalistic or socialist government. Ahmed Rahami, the New Jersey bomber, was the son of a Mujahadeen fighter who opposed the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The Manchester bombing of 2017 was carried out by Hashem Abedi, a Libyan who had been armed and trained by the British government to fight against Gaddafi and overthrow Islamic Socialism.

Is it possible that this killing in Canada is yet another case of foreign confrontations between states and non-state actors in a foreign land breaking out on western soil?

Furthermore, what if India did indeed murder Nijjar? This would certainly be a violation of the territorial integrity of Canada. But it would be roughly the same thing the United States did in Iraq by killing Qassem Soleimani, or what the United States does in many countries around the world. The USA routinely labels people “terrorists” and assassinates them with drones, or sends it forces across borders to apprehend them, without the permission of the sovereign government.

If the United States has the right to such unilateral action against terrorism, why wouldn’t India?

We simply don’t have the facts about Nijjar’s death and who is responsible. But the way discourse around the case is developing, it indicates that the kind of covert operations described by Frank Kitson in his book “Gangs and Counter Gangs” have consequences, not just across the planet, but in the western home countries. As incidents like this become more frequent, it raises questions about how productive foreign entanglements, especially involving armed “non-state actors” designated as terrorists by foreign states, really are.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR / SOURCE

Baldwin-Wallace College. In addition to his journalism, analysis, and commentary, he has engaged in political activism. He was involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement from its planning stages in August 2011. He has worked against police brutality, mass incarceration, and imperialist war. He works to promote revolutionary ideology, and to support all who fight against the global system of monopoly capitalist imperialism.