For more than two years, India-Canada relations have been dominated by one deeply contentious issue: Khalistan. What started in September 2023 as a diplomatic standoff over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada soon escalated into one of the most serious diplomatic crises the two countries have faced in decades.
Now, the issue has returned to the spotlight following a new report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). This time, however, the report includes an acknowledgment India has long pressed Ottawa to make publicly — that Canada-based Khalistani extremist groups themselves constitute a security concern for the North American nation.
