As the U.S. 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 to 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.
Within India, that stance has made Modi a clear winner. Influential nationalist television hosts are attacking Canada and whipping up patriotism on nightly news programs. The opposition alliance, haunted by its own past, has effectively supported Modi, seeing little to gain in criticizing him. And the focus on terrorism is likely to stir up the base in his conservative Bharatiya Janata Party.