India-Canada diplomatic reconciliation still distant despite visa easing
Efforts to repair the strained diplomatic relations between India and Canada are expected to be a protracted process due to the entrenched positions taken by both nations, even though New Delhi recently made a surprise move to relax certain visa restrictions for Canadians, according to officials and experts.
India's decision to partially reinstate visa services comes in the wake of weeks of suspended services, sparked by Ottawa's assertion that Indian agents may have played a role in the murder of a Canadian Sikh separatist leader from Punjab state.
This accusation, vehemently denied by India, has led to a series of mutual accusations, causing significant strain in the long-standing ties between the two countries, which have shared a close relationship for nearly a century, particularly through their extensive connections within the Sikh diaspora.
While India's gesture of visa relaxation might have sparked hopes of an improvement in bilateral relations, it has not marked a significant breakthrough. Officials and experts from both nations believe that neither New Delhi nor Ottawa has a strong incentive to rush toward normalizing relations.
Neither New Delhi nor Ottawa seems inclined to take drastic measures to reconcile in the near future. Canada's ongoing murder investigation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's preparations for the upcoming Indian national elections scheduled for May are factors contributing to this cautious approach.
.png "Advertisement")
