U.S. fears Canada-India row over Sikh activist's killing could upend strategy for countering China

"India slips in World Press Freedom Index, ranks 161 out of 180 countries" and going down further says The Hindu.

Still freer than your motherland China at least. It's Indian media itself which is covering India slipping in World Press Freedom rankings, and Indian journalists and opposition figures criticising the government over it.

 And they are worried that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be adopting tactics to silence opposition figures on foreign soil 

Standard narrative distorting the facts as much as possible, the opposition in India are 100% behind Modi when it comes to these Khalistani terrorist types, these Khalistanis and there financers simply hate India.

including Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, have hinted that Canada won't take reciprocal measures.

The reciprocal measures have been taken by India to ensure there is a equal match of diplomats on both the sides. Trudeau has given the break which Modi and co were looking for, to go after these Khalistani terrorist types, there is no going back from this now...

Add to this the raiding and arrest of NewsClick and other left leaning journalists around India

NewsClick received funding from Neville Roy Singham, a US millionaire who was on China’s payroll.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/10/3/india-police-raid-homes-of-newsclick-journalists-in-illegal-funding-probe

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66909370.amp

Too bad that your motherland China’s attempts to infiltrate Indian news media landed flat on its face.

wonder what happened to all the rules based world order that Japan keeps chirping about. Isnt Canada just following the rules?

It would be a geopolitical mistake to piss the Indians off!

The US knows this well but Trudeau is not so sharp..,

What a badly researched politically biased piece of junk this article is! India is a thriving democratic republic where every political party has equal rights and access to the electoral process. Unlike dictatorships like saudi or russia or china ! The comparison exposes the bias of the “journalist”. The entire state of Punjab has had multiple free elections since independence and is currently ruled by AAP, a party that is in opposition to Modi’s BJP! So your theory of Modi silencing opposition is horseshit because if that was the case AAP wouldn’t be in power in Punjab. What a Shameful pathetic Journalist you are Mathew Lee.

deanzaZZROct. 7 02:56 pm JST

China's "dictatorship" raised 800 million Chinese out of poverty.

The Chinese people did that themselves in spite of their government's horrific brutality. And Xi seems to be doing his best to put them back in poverty with all his ideological crackdowns, and aggressive foreign policy that is causing other nations to decouple from China at pace.

Your average Chinese say 謝謝工廠黨 thank you CCP.

Identifying the opinion of the "average" person for a nation of over a billion is quite a feat. So much so that some people would say it's total nonsense.

The Chinese people I know here in Japan hate the CCP, and are extremely glad to be out of China.

And the fact that he admires China’s dictatorship while pretending to be a champion of human rights and free speech is now forgotten.

It's not forgotten. Rather it is a complete fabrication.

India will not form any new friendship with China because of this or any other reason. On the other hand, China might thaw a bit for Canada.

deanzaZZRToday 01:32 am JST

India says that it wants to have the same number of diplomats in Canada as Canada has in India. Basically India cannot afford the same diplomatic presence around the world as richer countries like Canada can.

This week, India told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, ramping up the confrontation.

But there is no rationale for that: Canada pays for Canadian diplomats. If they aren't engaging in major espionage (or assassination as is claimed against India), there is no reason to limit them.

RichardPearceOct. 7 09:22 pm JST

America fed Trudeau the story about India killing an extremist in Canada to put pressure on India to disrupt the BRICS group in retaliation for it deciding that America's hatred of Iranians wouldn't stop it from bringing Iran into BRICS+.

Not everyone has fever dreams of US influence. Also I don't recall seeing any Death to Iran marches or murals in the US.

The problem is that the former colonies of the Global South are through with appeasing the Imperium so the US pressure tactics are now producing the opposite result

Yeah, a few are signing up for Russian or Chinese control in extremely unwise decisions.

What you say about ambassadors is true, but that's only one of many people in a foreign embassy and consulates.

Western countries obviously need more staffers in their embassies and consulates, especially in places like India, because of the number of people wanting to migrate to the West, or wanting to go there to study or work.

India does not need as many staff in their embassies because not many want from the West want to go to India. For those who want to go on holiday, the visa services are outsourced to agencies.

India definitely filters free speech over the internet. I know this personally. Don't know why they'd filter any of my websites. Nothing related to India at all in the contents. It is actually a bit shocking which "Free" countries perform internet filtering. I've been surprised a few times.

What a badly researched politically biased piece of junk this article is! India is a thriving democratic republic where every political party has equal rights and access to the electoral process. 

Some of your own countrymen disagree.

https://horasis.org/winning-back-our-voices-solutions-to-voter-suppression-in-india/

https://www.statecraft.co.in/article/the-nascent-narrative-of-voter-suppression-in-india

This is part of how BJP maintains its hold on power. There is also the matter of the organized suppression of opposition voices both in politics and the press. Example, Rahul Gandhi the most likely opponent of Mr. Modi in the next election cycle and a powerful national politician prosecuted and thus made ineligible to participate in politics for what in any true democracy would be considered protected free political speech. But in India criticizing your opponent or the government gets you jailed.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/24/why-india-opposition-leader-rahul-gandhi-may-lose-parliament-seat

And then there is the bald faced suppression of any member(s) of the press who criticize the Mr. Modi, the BJP or Hidutva in general.

https://www.outlookindia.com/national/is-india-s-free-press-in-its-final-throes--news-235243

Where is the International Criminal Court? Where are their justice? The ICC could issue warrant to get Putin , here is an assassination from the order of India Supreme leader Narendra Modi. Why not issue warrant to get him? Oh the justice of ICC is so biased and unfair. How can someone believe you?

There's a difference between "strong intelligence" and "proof". When there is "proof", don't worry, it will come out and whoever is responsible will be embarrassed and held accountable, when possible. The same applies to Xi and Putin and Trump and any other leader. Eventually.

It is impossible to know what Chinese people really believe, since sharing those beliefs can cause them to be "disappeared".

It's not forgotten. Rather it is a complete fabrication.

Trudeau himself said it in public. Your attempts to defend Trudeau are a complete fabrication.

Basically India cannot afford the same diplomatic presence around the world as richer countries like Canada can.

India does not have as many diplomats around the world because of its bureaucracy. Those who wish to become part of India's diplomatic corps have to clear an exam (known as one of the toughest in the world based on success ratio) and choose that career for life.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-has-1-3-billion-people-but-fewer-than-1-000-diplomats/story-VgXo9hhjpgNLQOOUVMM8FL.html

Its not like the US where the highest donors are rewarded with plum postings as ambassadors.

It would be a geopolitical mistake to piss the Indians off!

The US knows this well but Trudeau is not so sharp..,

So, just ignore a foreign nation killing a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil? Really?

And in the follow on post where he did that you would call him weak.

This is part of how BJP maintains its hold on power.

The only reason BJP is able to maintain its hold on power is because of the corrupt and inefficient opposition.

Rahul Gandhi the most likely opponent of Mr. Modi in the next election cycle and a powerful national politician

At least you got the spelling right. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty which has always controlled the Congress by promoting loyalists and dynasts over genuine talent is a major reason for the electoral rise of the right wing in India. The only thing powerful about him is his surname, and these fake Gandhi’s are in no way related to the original Gandhi, except for the fact that they milk his surname for their own purpose.

thus made ineligible to participate in politics for what in any true democracy would be considered protected free political speech.

The Supreme Court has overturned the verdict and he will fight the elections next year. If you know anything about Indian politics, you will understand that this kind of political persecution would under normal circumstances have generated massive voter sympathy and energized the opposition. But with the fifth generation scion of the fake Gandhi dynasty in control of the Congress, all that would come to a naught.

There is also the matter of the organized suppression of opposition voices both in politics and the press.

What the BJP does is nothing compared to the declaration of emergency by Indira Gandhi.

I suspect that the fact that Sonia Gandhi is an Italian by birth might have something to do with your tirade against BJP, apart from a host of other reasons.

So the real question is, looking at the image at the top of the article, do you trust the man wearing a dress and leggings, or the man who crosses his legs above the knee :)

Justin’s looking queenier and queenier.

Add to this the raiding and arrest of NewsClick and other left leaning journalists around India and it's clear that current day Modi led India is equivalent to Turkey or Hungary as far as democracy is concerned (truly challenged).

"India slips in World Press Freedom Index, ranks 161 out of 180 countries" and going down further says The Hindu. wow

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-slips-in-world-press-freedom-index-ranks-161-out-of-180-countries/article66806608.ece

India says that it wants to have the same number of diplomats in Canada as Canada has in India. Basically India cannot afford the same diplomatic presence around the world as richer countries like Canada can.

This week, India told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, ramping up the confrontation.

@EB Have you ever taken the Foreign Service Officer Test? I have. It's far from easy.

What you say about ambassadors is true, but that's only one of many people in a foreign embassy and consulates.

India definitely filters free speech over the internet. I know this personally.

The Indian government has been blocking torrents like TPB and KAT, which is a violation of my right to download all the latest American series and movies without paying for it. But VPN can restore all my rights back to me, so no big deal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be adopting tactics to silence opposition figures on foreign soil

Except that the 'plumber' who was also on the no-fly list in both US and Canada was no opposition figure.

By raising funds for insurgency and collaborating with Pakistan's ISI, Nijjar and more than 20 other Khalistanis sheltering in Canada were already at war against India. India took out a potential terrorist and the Canadians crying a river over violation of sovereignty should understand that their sovereignty got violated the day they gave citizenship to these types.

In fact, the main Indian opposition Congress party is also supporting the Modi government on this issue. And why would they not, since Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Khalistanis only.

JJEToday 02:45 pm JST

Hang on - aren't these the moralistic crusaders that lecture the world about how superior they are, and then when it suits them, they move the goal posts and turn a blind eye to state sanctioned murder in the name of geopolitics...

Russia got treated worse than India is now for exactly this reason.

Hypocrites!

When Russia is a relevant country that at least covers its tracks somewhat, it can have its murders swept under the rug, too.

Hardeep Sing Nijjar, the Sikh activist who was shot dead with 50 rounds of bullets. There was no reason to kill him by Indua, even he was a so called "Terrorist", it was not right to send a hit team and kill him in daylight. India just seriously insulted Canada!

India is the next China.

Raids on Indian media 'aim to muzzle free speech' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67011231

'Any story could be your last' - India's crackdown on Kashmir press. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-66155796

The US are living in the past.

Actually India has confessed she has committed the murder of Mr.Nijjar. the diplomatic struggling on limit of staffers was irrelevant, why kicking up such a dispute? Because she thinks that will scare of the pursuit of Justice. The question is Yes or No: Did Mr.Modi ordered the assassination, such order must be came from the highest echelon. Is Yes or No ?

There's a difference between "strong intelligence" and "proof".

That's why Mr Modi should proof himself innocent or totally nothing to do with the assassination. Why he is afraid, why Indian govt. keep making accusations at the victim, irrelevant with crime.

Hang on - aren't these the moralistic crusaders that lecture the world about how superior they are, and then when it suits them, they move the goal posts and turn a blind eye to state sanctioned murder in the name of geopolitics...

Russia got treated worse than India is now for exactly this reason.

Hypocrites!

China's "dictatorship" raised 800 million Chinese out of poverty. For all the flaws the Chinese government has it clearly outperformed India by a mile (or 1.6 kilometers if you like). China's per capital GDP is 6 times that of India although they were equal 50 years ago. Your average Chinese say 謝謝工廠黨 thank you CCP.

So sending secret agents carrying firearms to kill a local in a foreign country soil is fine, is OK?

Murder for political reason is a conspiracy and a terrorist action. When will Canada stand up and seek for justice ?

@kurisupisu: No! Trudeau has to go after India for the murder of Mr Nijjar.Even he step-down, his successors will do that. This is a very serious crime and if the leader of that country failed to pursuit of justice, he/she is willfully obstructing justice, a very serious felony. It has nothing to do with piss the Indians off.

India is stupid to commit this crime on a street corner. Unlike the murder of Khashoggi, everyone knew it was under the Crown Prince order, but the gruesome murder was held inside the building of Saudi embassy, that's not Turkey can intervene.

Where is the International Criminal Court? Where are their justice? The ICC could issue warrant to get Putin , here is an assassination from the order of India Supreme leader Narendra Modi. Why not issue warrant to get him? Oh the justice of ICC is so biased and unfair. How can someone believe you?

impossible to know what Chinese people really believe, since sharing those beliefs can cause them to be "disappeared".

Yes of course, the above propaganda was the one usually heard in "FOX" news or the nonsense from NewsCorp!

Not an accidental killing but a willfully one.

@mrtnjp: If you are an Indian, you should tell the Supreme leader Mr Modi to confess his crime now. There was no justification of the murder of Mr.Niggar in Canada. The footage of the Indian hit team was recorded. Without Modi's order, such an assassination could not be carried out, 50 rounds has been fired at the victim, this was definitely an accidental killing but a willful one !