Is ‘pragmatic diplomacy’ behind how US, Canada handled ties with India over Sikh separatist killing and foiled assassination?

Analysts said this was due to the difference in political power of community groups in the respective countries, adding that while human rights mattered, they played second fiddle to strategic interests and “pragmatic diplomacy”.

Noting that the Sikh community in Canada was “far more powerful” than that in the US, Rafiq Dossani, director of the US-based RAND Centre for Asia-Pacific Policy, said the discrepancy in responses did not reflect any difference in weight given to human rights between Canada and the US.

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US charges Indian national with conspiracy to assassinate Sikh separatist

In a statement earlier this month, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin said he approved the deal only after the US government assured him that the Indian government was committed to “thoroughly investigating the situation”.

India will “fully cooperate with the US Department of Justice investigation so that there is credible accountability” in the foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the statement said, referring to the legal counsel and spokesman for Sikhs for Justice, a US-based Sikh separatist group banned in India since 2019.

“Progress on these issues requires difficult discussions about our own democracy, as well as discussions with our closest allies and friends,” Cardin added.

Apart from upgrading defence ties to counter China, Washington and Delhi have in recent months discussed the co-development of new technologies and co-production of existing and new systems.

Both the US and India have also agreed to deepen collaboration on developing critical and emerging technology, such as quantum computing and space exploration, as well as 5G and 6G telecommunications.

Don McLain Gill, a lecturer in the