Canada’s slow rumble of anger over India’s alleged government involvement in attacks in the country last week erupted fully when prime minister Justin Trudeau told New Delhi’s envoys he had “put them on notice” not to endanger Canadian lives. Since 2023, the Guardian Weekly has reported on a series of arson attacks, drive-by shootings and murder plots directed at the Sikh diaspora so for this week’s edition we pull together the threads of a long and complex story and ask whether India has become a rogue state acting to pursue its interests across borders by illegal means.
In Canada, Leyland Cecco reports on what now appears to be a wide-ranging and violent campaign of intimidation against activists linked to the Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh state and other vocal opponents of Narendra Modi’s government. Our south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, analyses the basis for Canada’s allegations and explores a murky playbook that appears to link Modi’s officials and diplomats to a criminal network orchestrated by one of India’s most notorious gang leaders.
