Punjabi Indians worry that a confrontation with Canada could jeopardize their goals for job and education

Indians in Punjab are pleading with both governments to ease tensions because they fear their plans to work, study, or visit relatives in Canada may be jeopardized by this week’s tit-for-tat expulsions of ambassadors over the murder of a Sikh separatist.

After about 20 million in India, Canada’s nearly 800,000 Sikhs made up the second-largest Sikh group in the world in 2021. They have ties to Punjab, a granary state in the north where their faith was established around 500 years ago.

An immigration lawyer located in the Indian capital, Karan S. Thukral, stated that “many clients have reached out, worried about how this might affect their plans to migrate to Canada,” but he added that he had not yet noticed a significant decline in legal queries.

“Indian students are among those feeling the impact most acutely.”

More over 41% of student visas in 2022 were held by Indians, primarily from Punjab, who have recently constituted Canada’s largest group of international students. Its institutions earn roughly C$22 billion ($16 billion) annually from international students.

Anita, a student in Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab, shared only her first name. “We want to go to Canada to study and settle there, but now that’s not possible because students who want to go there are facing difficulties,” she said.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Reuters in January that the diplomatic friction was expected to affect future numbers, since Canadian study permits for Indians felt significantly late last year.

According to Kanwalpreet Kaur, a political science professor at Chandigarh’s DAV College, “both countries cannot afford it because we are heavily dependent on each other.”

“It is really keeping students on edge because their future is tied up with Canada,” she stated.

When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in September of last year that there were “credible allegations” connecting Indian government agents to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, relations worsened.

Canada sacked six diplomats on Monday, including India’s high commissioner, or ambassador, accusing the Indian government of launching a widespread campaign against the South Asian population in Canada and connecting them to the murder.

In return, India expelled six senior Canadian diplomats and denied the charges, accusing Trudeau of pursuing a “political agenda”.

Both nations do not anticipate any immediate effects on two-way commerce, which was valued at $8.4 billion on March 31 at the conclusion of the previous fiscal year.
“It’s a loss for families and for our children who want to go there to live a better life,” Gurinder Singh, who exports to Canada as part of his fabric business, said.

“The government should consider all this and should ensure that the matter does not escalate.”

One Canadian dollar is worth $1,3784.