Trudeau’s not-so lonely visit

It is highly unusual for an Indian Prime Minister to give a virtual cold shoulder to his visiting Canadian counterpart. For a leader extremely partial to photogenic teleshoots with visiting dignitaries, Modi has been oddly reticent right from the time the Canadian PM's unusually long visit kicked off. In ideal circumstances, Canada with its reserves of natural resources and vast empty spaces should have been royally serenaded. But the standard welcoming Prime Ministerial tweet was missing and, as if to reinforce the message, the reception party for Trudeau was decidedly low-key. The visit was also playing out badly in Punjab till Capt Amarinder Singh shelved his indifference and agreed to meet Trudeau in Amritsar.

 It was just as well that Capt. Amarinder Singh abandoned his sulk that was taking the shape of permanent diplomatic cussedness. No Punjab CM can afford to burn bridges with a country that has given an open-hearted welcome to generations of Punjabis escaping the home state's lack of meritocracy and employment opportunities. More so, because scores of its sons and daughters occupy high policy making positions in Canada. There is one overriding culprit — Canada’s long rope to the cause of Khalistan. Trudeau has liberal pretences to preserve, especially with a leftist populist party with a Sikh as its chief posing a challenge. Trudeau cannot go the distance sought by the Indian side in putting down the separatists while South Block India is unlikely to soften its position, particularly after Trudeau interacted with civil society activists who complained of a diminishing space for dissent.

Under the circumstances, the impetus required for promoting energy ties in shale gas and uranium may lose momentum, especially after India delivered a rap on the knuckles by hiking tariffs on Canadian farm exports. It is apparent that earlier private conversations between the two PMs have not produced a working chemistry. India's singular insistence on Khalistan is unlikely to compel the Trudeau government to alter its ideological markers. The downside of conflating the Khalistani issue may have lost South Block an opportunity to gain from Canada's rare combination of open borders and economic resurgence.