Modi wants information about assassinations by India investigated

The Indian government is prepared to investigate foreign intelligence about assassination plots allegedly orchestrated by India. “If one of our citizens has done something good or bad, we are ready to look into it. We are committed to the rule of law,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the British newspaper on Wednesday Financial Times. It is the first time that Modi has responded to the allegations, which are based on information from the US Department of Justice. This is a sensitive issue for Modi, who has put a lot of effort into his foreign relations.

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American authorities are said to have learned last summer of an Indian assassination attempt on the American-Canadian Sikh Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Contact has been made about this “at the highest level,” according to the White House. Financial Times was also the newspaper that exposed this issue. It is unclear whether the Americans foiled the assassination, or whether the Indian security services called off the action because it had been discovered. India views Pannun as a terrorist because of his role in the separatist movement for an autonomous state for Sikhs in the state of Punjab.

Fatal shooting

The US case follows a similar issue in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in October that there was evidence of Indian involvement in a fatal shooting of a Sikh leader near Vancouver. The revelation put an unpleasant end to the G20 summit that India had just completed as chairman. New Delhi reacted angrily to the “absurd” accusations, accusing Canada of harboring terrorists who want to undermine India’s sovereignty. A diplomatic row ensued, with both countries expelling diplomats and blocking visa applications. These measures have now been reversed.

The row also posed a dilemma for the Five Eyes – the intelligence alliance of Australia, the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK – and especially US President Joe Biden. Neighboring country Canada is a permanent ally of the US, but India is seen as a new partner in the strategic rivalry with China. The Americans opted for an intermediate position and asked the camps to “look into the matter properly.”

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Now that, in addition to the Canadian accusations, those of the US are also on the table, India is under pressure to respond more substantively. Prime Minister Modi has made counter-terrorism a hobbyhorse, both in his domestic policies and on the international stage. He points out to the Financial Times that international security and anti-terrorism are important in his cooperation with the US. According to him, “incidents” should not become decisive for that cooperation.

Defensive and uncooperative

The fact that Modi now tells the British newspaper that he wants to see the “information” is a change in the Indian attitude, which until now had been defensive and reluctant. It seems mainly a change of tone. Furthermore, the Prime Minister, who will probably get a third term after ten years, clings to the belief that India now has a prominent role in world politics. “A time of multilateralism” has arrived on the world stage, Modi said.

Within India, there is a sensitive response to the Sikh issue. At first glance, the movement for an independent state, ‘Khalistan’, is no longer very active. But the idea that he would still be alive caused strong reactions, because it is a reminder to a period of terror. There were many deaths in the 1980s – also due to the heavy hand with which then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi struck back. Her orders for the murder of Khalistan leaders led to the revenge killing of herself, after which pogroms against Sikhs took place across India. Ultimately the secessionist movement was crushed.

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