India cuts down, Canada expands Sikh ‘blacklist
Saturday, 10/02/2018
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LONDON/TORONTO: Slowly but surely, India has been resolving issues related to Sikhs abroad – mainly linked to Operation Bluestar of 1984 – and allowing former ‘Khalistan’ supporters to visit the country, but many now face a so-called “blacklist” in Canada that bars their entry.
The process of New Delhi dealing with the issues of overseas Sikhs gained momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a delegation of UK-based Sikhs during his visit to London in November 2015. The process of freeing long-held political prisoners in India too was intensified. Till some years ago, India allegedly had a “blacklist” that prevented several overseas Sikhs, once active in the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan movement, from visiting the country. Most of them now freely visit India with Overseas Citizen of India cards.
The Canadian “blacklist” goes beyond the ISYF.
Amarinder Singh, now CM of Punjab, was prevented from visiting Canada before the 2016 assembly election.
More than 100 UK-based Sikhs are said to be on the Canadian “blacklist”, unable to visit that country even though they travelled there several times in the past, bringing hardliners and moderates on one side.
In Toronto, Indian officials are disturbed since the “blacklist” may prevent talks. A senior official said, “They (the Canadian government) do not want to see a patch-up (between India and Khalistanis in Canada).”
Among the UK-based Sikhs who previously travelled freely to Canada but were recently denied electronic travel authorisation (ETA), is Jasdev Singh Rai, director of the Sikh Human Rights Forum, one of the key interlocutors in talks with Modi in London and subsequently.
He said: “It is astonishing that there is a ‘blacklist’ of Sikhs in Canada since 2016 while India is taking its own list down. Does Canada know more about us than India? The list has been formed when, for the first time, four Sikhs are in Canada’s government,” Rai said. “It is suspected this list has been influenced by Canadian Sikh politicians...” he added.
When asked about Rai’s ETA, a spokesperson for the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said, “Due to privacy laws, we are unable to provide details of individual cases.”
