Midway through a week-long state visit to India, Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau is facing an unusually cool reception from prime minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Mr Trudeau, who landed with his family in New Delhi on Saturday, has travelled to Mumbai, to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, and to Ahmedabad, a city in Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat. But his single interaction with the prime minister is limited to a planned half-day of talks on Friday.
For Mr Modi, this amounts to a cold shoulder. The Indian prime minister has been known to break protocol and greet leaders at the airport as they land, enveloping them in his trademark bear hug. He always sends out messages of welcome to visiting dignitaries on Twitter, and has frequently accompanied them on their trips to Gujarat.
No senior government minister has made time to meet with Mr Trudeau. The chief ministers of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, where Mr Trudeau travelled, have not met the Canadian delegation either.
Analysts see the treatment of Mr Trudeau as a diplomatic snub — a signal that India is unhappy with the young prime minister's tendency to pander to Canadian Sikhs who want an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.
Unnamed sources in the Indian government insisted, in media reports, that no snub was intended. But Mr Trudeau himself was forced to respond on Wednesday to questions about India’s reception, denying that he felt slighted or snubbed.
His government, he had said on Monday, has been “unequivocal on our policy of one united India".
Mr Trudeau is also facing heat at home. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, an Ottawa-based non-profit, said in a statement that “the proportion of time being spent actually meeting foreign counterparts on this trip does not suggest a good use of public money".
The Sikh separatist movement, to create a nation called Khalistan around the north Indian state of Punjab, began in the early 1970s. At its peak, through the next two decades, it witnessed an armed insurgency which was put down, often violently, by the Indian state. In retaliation, then-prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
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Read more:
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau makes first state visit to India — in pictures
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The movement found heavy support and financial backing from many Sikhs who had emigrated to Canada. At least half a million Sikhs live in Canada, a large proportion of them in the metropolitan regions of Toronto and Vancouver.
A pro-Khalistan group with members in Canada was responsible for the mid-air bombing of an Air India plane flying from Montreal to London, en route to Bombay (now Mumbai).
In India, as the government’s crackdown continued, Sikh extremism dwindled dramatically after the 1990s. But a concern about the movement’s revival “cannot be downplayed,” said Pranay Kotasthane, who heads the geostrategy programme at the Takshashila Institution, a Bengaluru-based think-tank.
Last December, the Indian government revealed to parliament that Pakistani intelligence operatives “are making efforts towards moral and financial support to pro-Khalistan elements for anti-India activities as well as to revive militancy in Punjab.”
In the US and in Canada, pro-Khalistan groups openly call for a referendum in Punjab, to vote for or against a Sikh nation. “What started as a diaspora extremist and terrorist movement has now gained support in the realm of politics as well,” Mr Kotasthane said. “Understandably, India is concerned.”
In trying to engage with Sikh communities and gaining their votes, Mr Trudeau has soft-pedalled the issue of Khalistani separatism, said Vivek Dehejia, a professor of economics at Carleton University in Ottawa.
The Trudeau cabinet has four Sikh ministers, one of whom was accused, by the Punjab chief minister last year, of having Khalistani sympathies.
“More disturbingly, Mr Trudeau attended the Khalsa Day parade” — organised by Sikh religious groups — “a couple of months ago,” Mr Dehejia said. “This was a parade where there were pro-Khalistan banners, and banners honouring the martyrs of the movement.”
The Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council, which organises the parade every year, did not respond to requests for comment. Mukhbir Singh, president of the World Sikh Organisation, said in a statement: “There is nothing to indicate any rise in radicalism.”
“Peacefully advocating for political causes cannot be confused with or tarnished as radicalism,” he said. “These bizarre allegations made against Canadian Sikhs are incredibly damaging and result in actual harm against the community.”
Though Mr Kotasthane saw India’s reasons for concern with Khalistan, he disagreed with its diplomatic stance towards Mr Trudeau.
“Surely India has many more matters of national interest to be discussed with Canada apart from the Khalistan issue alone,” he said.
Additionally, “giving a cold shoulder to a head-of-state on a pre-planned visit doesn’t seem to be the best way to address India's concerns related to Khalistani networks in Canada”, he said. “This is unlikely to make Canada alter its stance.”
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South and West: From a Notebook
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate
The%20specs
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
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Read more from Aya Iskandarani
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Company%20profile
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How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Company%20profile
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills