Terrorists and secessionists who aim to dismember India forfeit their right to life under Article 21 when they kill Indian citizens to vivisect this country. With a few exceptions, international law does not recognise secessionism which is why India is not accountable to any country for its actions to preserve its sovereignty or territorial integrity.
Sovereignty is explicitly mentioned in the preamble to the Indian Constitution. It means India is neither dependent nor accountable to Canada or the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand for its alleged actions. Of course, sovereignty does not confer any right on India to bump off terrorists like Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, 2023, outside the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, as Trudeau has accused India of doing. But then, Canada is flouting international law by harbouring on its soil terrorists like Nijjar who face the death sentence in India.
With Justin Trudeau accusing the Indian government of using the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to murder, extort and intimidate certain Canadian citizens, who finance or engage in secessionist activities in India, fascinating questions of international law arise. Can one sovereign nation prosecute another sovereign nation for alleged crimes? If yes, who is to be prosecuted on behalf of that other sovereign nation? Can it be a prime minister or President? The answer would be a resounding “no” which gives rise to further questions.
India has denied any hand in the killing of Nijjar who was a hard-core Khalistani secessionist. Those who killed him did India a service. But in the world of secret agents and espionage, countries disown those who work for them if they are caught. Diplomats and consular offices abroad routinely collect intelligence about their host countries which will be useful to their own countries.
Gandhian values of non-violence and truth are alien to the world of espionage and counter-terrorism where diplomats may double as RAW agents. Ten years after Rameshwar Nath Kao set up RAW in 1968, Prime Minister Morarji Desai was told Pakistan was preparing a nuclear facility at Kahuta where high-grade plutonium was being refined to detonate a nuclear bomb.
Kao sought PM Desai’s permission to pay a Pakistani scientist US $ 10,0000 to leak valuable information about the proposed testing of the nuclear bomb. Morarji Desai was a staunch Gandhian who refused Kao permission to pay off the Pakistani scientist but in a telephonic conversation with the Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq, allegedly divulged the details of the RAW network in Pakistan and details of how he got them.
Zia-ul-Haq arrested and killed the Pakistani scientist, rounded up all the RAW agents in Pakistan, and destroyed a network of agents built up painstakingly over the decades in Pakistan, setting back India’s RAW program by several decades. Gandhian values are the antithesis of a nation’s sovereignty and security where deceit, bribery, and murders are passé. Morarji Desai was awarded the Nishaan-e-Pakistan in 1990.
Canada’s accusation of India using the dreaded Lawrence Bishnoi gang to engage in extortion, intimidation, murders, and other criminal activities in Canada is without foundation because Justin Trudeau has not provided evidence of these allegations. He said he got “intelligence” of how RAW agents collaborated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to bump off Nijjar. But “intelligence” and “evidence” are disparate concepts.
Trudeau declared India’s high commissioner was a “person of interest” in the killing of Nijjar who was wanted for questioning by the Canadian investigators. Now, diplomats worldwide are given diplomatic “immunity” which is a facet of the doctrine of sovereign immunity that states the King (or President) can do no wrong. In other words, after handing over their credentials, the ambassador and envoys who represent India are immune from being grilled by the Canadian investigative agencies.
To designate the high commissioner and other consular officers as “persons of interest” implies the Indian government is accused of committing a felony in Canada. It is even more serious to expect India to waive the immunity granted to its envoys to subject them to undignified and hostile questioning on foreign soil as “suspects” in crimes such as murder and extortion. This implies the Indian government has sent criminals to represent it to Canada, which is unacceptable.
Nijjar was born in India and acquired Canadian citizenship after he migrated to Canada. His calls for Khalistan are a blatant attempt to fragment India which is punishable with the death sentence in India. Despite being furnished a dossier of his crimes against India, Canada has chosen to ignore these felonies which makes that country an accomplice in Nijjar’s crimes.
With both the USA, Australia, and New Zealand joining Canada in condemning India, it appears that our foreign relations with our allies have deteriorated. What we conveniently forget is that our arch-enemy China has been accused of funding Justin Trudeau in an attempt to get him elected so they would find an ally in him against India and other perceived enemies.
Despite its internal posturing and propaganda, Narendra Modi is reluctant to declare war against China which has nibbled away a large tract of Indian territory and continues to do so. Terrorists like Nijjar are China’s friends and traitors to India. There can be no defence against secessionism and attempts to carve out a new country called ‘Khalistan’ from Indian territory. And Nijjar has paid the price.
Is Lawrence Bishnoi a RAW agent? It seems unlikely since he is in jail. Can he orchestrate the murder of Nijjar from inside his cell? That too seems unlikely given the fact that gangsters like him are not allowed to use cell phones within the jail.
This is a fascinating case which may go to the International Court of Justice at the Hague —that is if Justin Trudeau can furnish evidence to bolster his allegations.
Olav Albuquerque holds a PhD in law and is a senior journalist and advocate at the Bombay High Court
