Murder Claim in Canada Is Only Helping India Leader Modi at Home

India’s opposition party Congress in a bind, backs government
Claim bolsters Modi’s strongman image within the country

A poster features Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on Sept. 19.Photographer: Don Mackinnon/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Swati Gupta and Sudhi Ranjan Sen

September 30, 2023 at 12:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

As the US and its allies fret over Canada’s allegation that India orchestrated the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, the scandal is providing a political boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India has gone on the offensive since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Modi’s government of orchestrating the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a priest who advocated for an independent Sikh homeland in India, and whom India branded a terrorist in 2020. While Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this week said India was open to looking at specific evidence, he blamed Canada for not taking action against extremists.