The Indian High Commission building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. File | Photo credit: Reuters

Holding Canadian authorities responsible for failing to provide “adequate security” to Indian diplomats and consular staff, India said on Thursday, November 7, 2024, that it was cancel a number of consular camps it planned to help citizens of Indian origin fulfill their document requirements.

The move comes days after violent clashes broke out between pro-Khalistani groups who targeted a temple complex and the Indian-origin community at a consular camp organized by Indian diplomats in the Canadian city of Brampton. The incident, which led to a further escalation of tensions between India and Canada, was condemned by Prime Minister Narendra Modiwho described the “cowardly attempts” to intimidate Indian diplomats as “appalling” and condemned the attack on the Hindu Sabha temple.

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“In view of the inability of security agencies to provide minimum security protection to the organizers of the community camps, the consulate has decided to cancel some of the planned consular camps,” the Indian consulate in Toronto said in a message posted on social networks.

To explain the decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that consular camps in other cities, including Vancouver, would proceed as planned, but that despite specific requests from the Indian High Commission and Canadian consulates, some Camps, primarily in the Toronto area, did not have adequate security. The Indian consulate also shared images of two camps at a Sikh center and a Hindu temple in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where more than 600 certificates were processed on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Delhi, ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called on the Canadian government to “uphold the rule of law” and bring perpetrators of the violence to justice.

“We had asked that security be ensured for our diplomats where the consular camp was to be held and this was not ensured by the Canadian side,” he declared. In response to a question, he said that over the past year, threats against Indian diplomats have increased and the government has witnessed “attacks, intimidation and harassment” against Indian diplomats. He said the diplomats were also “put under surveillance, which is completely unacceptable” and that India had communicated this to the Canadian government.

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Consular camps are held regularly at the request of the Indian community, Jaiswal said, but are particularly crowded in November and December because many citizens need “life certificates” verified by the Indian consulate in order to process payment of their pension for the next year. year.

The Canadian High Commission has not responded to the department’s latest accusations, which follow a rapid deterioration in bilateral relations, including the expulsion of each other’s diplomats and India’s decision to bring back its high commissioner to the Canada, Sanjay Verma, following allegations. by the Canadian government of the involvement of the Indian government, notably Interior Minister Amit Shah, in the murder of a Khalistani activist in Brampton last year.

Local police in Peel Region released a statement Wednesday saying they are laying criminal charges against those responsible for the violence after clashes at the temple premises “escalated well beyond what was acceptable” . Brampton City Mayor Patrick Brown also shared letters from the Ontario Gurdwara Board condemning the violence by protesters at the temple, as well as the Hindu Sabha temple’s statement suspending a priest for his alleged involvement in the counter-protests.

While Indo-Canadians or Canadians of Indian origin number 1.86 million, or about 5% of the overall Canadian population, the numbers in Brampton are much larger, with about 180,000 people identifying as d Indian origin, which represents approximately 28% of the city’s population. The total number of Hindus and Sikhs in the city, according to the 2021 census, was 280,000.