India's Disgraceful Lies

On Truth Amidst Lies

(Evan here: One of the things I’m hoping to do more these days is have smart people with expertise write in these pages. This site has a readership I’m proud of, and one of the ways I want to serve my readers is by loaning these pages out every so often in service of good work. Today, I’m giving friend, political technologist, ex-Canadian Armed Forces member , and frequent Scrimshaw Show guest Nathaniel Arfin the stage, to engage in some myth-busting on the Indian government’s complicity in murder.)

On Thanksgiving morning, Canadians were greeted with a dispatch from the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, to the collective surprise of the more politically plugged-in of us. The “response to diplomatic communication from Canada” included vague references to the killing of Harjit Singh Nijjar, came across as vaguely threatening, and somewhat confusingly included "The aspersions cast on [High Comissioner Sanjay Verma] by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt.”

This communication cited “Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India”, and without the context that we would receive later that day, seemed to be an unprovoked swipe at the Canadian government, and a massive knock on Trudeau’s leadership while the vast majority of the punditry was reporting on the internal strife, and potential attempt to defenestrate Justin.

At an 11:30am, Thanksgiving Day Press Conference, the RCMP announced grisly information. Not only was the Indian Government involved in the killing of Nijjar, they had developed a covert network, organized through Varma’s High Commission. The RCMP’s evidence demonstrated violent extremism, the use of organized crime to terrorize the South Asian community in Canada, interference into our democratic processes, and links tying the Government of India to homicides and violent acts.

Further reporting from Global News has uncovered the grisly details of the operation, which used basic human trafficking techniques like withholding of visas, denying family travel, and other blackmail, forcing Canadians to carry out surveillance on their neighbours. The government of India would receive espionage information from the coerced spy. From there, they would take the necessary information, and pass it along to criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, who would carry out assassinations, shoot up neighbourhoods, burn buildings, and extort businesses.

The Government of India developed a network of terror alongside a gang. They spied on and killed Canadians.

The Government of India runs an incredibly cohesive propaganda machine, with local and diaspora news organizations running fictional and baseless claims, and amplifying conspiracy theories like “Justin Castro”, claims of “terrorist harbouring”, and more recent attempts trying link Trudeau to the Air India terrorist attacks.

The “godi media” (translating to “media sitting on lap” or ‘lapdog media’) is deeply tied to the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The broad media landscape in both India and diaspora-targeted media world wide, is considered as trustworthy as the RT.

Using social media, creating the news, and making up his own truth as he goes, Narendra Modi’s disinformation machine is fully spun up, and Canada is the target.

This is an incredibly important international incident. Already, we are being flooded with a torrent of misinformation, disinformation, and excuse making by the Indian government. For Canadians to meet the moment, we need to be aware of the lies, and know how to counter them.

Lie 1: There’s no evidence to support the claims.

This one is right out of the Modi government’s official press release. It’s what the BJP and their supporters are repeating ad nauseam.

The public is being informed because the RCMP is trying to keep the Sikh community safe. If you feel unsafe, or that you may be the target of repression, victimization, or violence, please contact the RCMP. They want to hear from you.

It is not our normal process to publicly disclose information about ongoing investigations, in an effort to preserve their integrity. However, we feel it is necessary to do so at this time due to the significant threat to public safety in our country.

The RCMP has issued more than a dozen warnings to individuals in the South Asian community. Mark Flynn, the Deputy Commissioner of Federal Policing attempted to meet with his Indian counterpart, looking to present the evidence.

When it was clear that Indian Police had no interest in solving the issue, Flynn, National Security and Intelligence Advisor Nathalie Drouin, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison took the issue directly to the Government - who promptly ignored it.

What we know for sure, Modi’s network of Sikh repression isn’t limited to Canada. Australia, the United States, and others have had their own run-ins with India’s aspirations of Hinduvta. The 5-eyes network has all rallied behind Canada to demand India work with us to resolve the issue.

The Government of India seems to be requesting trial-ready, black and white evidence. Intelligence is inherently shades of grey. It’s sourced through back-channels, from 2nd hand information, and by working with partners to develop networks of information. The RCMP can’t risk releasing this information publicly, nor should we entertain that notion. We need to keep our secrets and sources safe.

Lie 2. They were “terrorists/criminals/had it coming”

On June 23, 1985, a bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182 en route from Toronto to London, England killing all 329 people aboard, most of them Canadians. To this day, the Air India bombing is still the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history. — Public Safety Canada

The Air India flight 182 Bombing, or “Kanishka” bombing was an atrocity. It was carried out by a listed terrorist organization, Khalistani separatists Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). Sikhs today, even those espousing and supporting the Khalistan movement, are not members of BKI, and should not be conflated with this tragedy.

Kanishka is quickly becoming a more popular talking point, with Godi media surfacing “new damning information” about “Canadian spies” and looking to re-litigate the issue. This is an attempt to reframe the conversation about India’s malfeasance through the lens of past Khalistani extremist violence.

Canadian Sikhs have a right to their political views, they have a right to freedom of expression, and can’t be persecuted for those views. We have legal processes for this reason. India, through their network of transnational repression, is trying to circumvent them.

While India had requested extradition of Nijjar, he was murdered while the request was under review. According to a 2020 information request, Canada has extradited at least one individual to India in the last ten years.

India knows our legal processes, and instead chose to hire criminals to perform killings extrajudicially, I suppose finding things like “rights” and “due process” overly tedious.

The other thing to consider is the rest of the allegations, above and beyond the extrajudicial killings. Not only do we have credible evidence tying Modi to hit jobs, we also provided proof of interference into Canadian democratic practices, and the “use of organized crime to create a perception of an unsafe environment targeting the South Asian Community in Canada”.

Varma and his High Commission were targeting ordinary citizens, and victimizing them. Threatening, coercing, and blackmailing Canadians and Canadian businesses into doing their bidding. There is no justification for this.

And at a time when we are all on edge about Foreign Interference, we now have a credible allegation against a state. India is working to disrupt our democracy. Canadians need to be full throated in their rejection and castigation of India. We do not accept foreign interference into our democracy.

Lie 3. Trudeau forced the RCMP to act now to distract from the “strife in the party/foreign interference inquiry/whatever”.

The claim goes something like this: "Trudeau forced the RCMP to act now to distract from [insert current political headache here]." It could be alleged party strife, the foreign interference inquiry, or whatever else Trudeau “wants to distract from”. Let's be clear: this argument is not just flimsy—it's an insult to our intelligence.

Dear reader, I believe in you. You can absolutely walk and chew gum. Trudeau's popularity (or lack thereof) isn't magically going to skyrocket because of this. The foreign interference investigation isn't going to vanish into thin air. These issues will continue to unfold, regardless of this India situation. But here's where this lie gets truly dangerous: it undermines the integrity and independence of our law enforcement. The RCMP isn't some puppet organization dancing to the tune of whatever political fiddle is playing in Ottawa. They are far from a perfect police force, and they haven’t taken enough flack on a lot of their operations, but they are not political stooges.

Suggesting otherwise isn't just wrong—it's a direct implication of corruption that plays right into the hands of those looking to sow discord in our democracy. Let's not forget what we're dealing with here. The RCMP has presented evidence of a foreign government orchestrating assassinations on Canadian soil, interfering in our democratic processes, and terrorizing communities through organized crime. This isn't some half-baked political stunt—it's a grave national security concern that demands our full attention. 

So the next time someone tries to peddle this "distraction" nonsense, remind them that our ability to multitask isn't the real issue here. The real issue is a hostile foreign power thinking it can play judge, jury, and executioner on Canadian streets. That's what we need to stay focused on.