During the interview, the recalled envoy also spoke about the long-standing people-to-people ties between the two countries and the genesis of the Khalistani problem in Canada and how it became a hotbed of this movement.Asked if the frosty relations can ever warm up, Verma said: “I would only want that ties between the two countries get better. But, it should be better not because we want to make it better but because (we) both respect each other, both want to understand each other, both understand each other’s core concerns.”He said India’s core concern is very clear.”It has been told many times to our Canadian friends that our core concern is the anti-India elements there, the Khalistani extremists and terrorists over there, who keep challenging India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. They (Canada) will need to somewhere handle them.”He pointed out that the Khalistanis in Canada are Canadian citizens, not Indian nationals.”So, what will be the future of India, this will be decided by Indians. Foreigners will not decide it. They are… of Indian-origin but for us they are foreigners. Foreigners never had, have or will have any right to interfere in our internal affairs.”Indians first arrived in Canada in the early 1900s by ship.Despite facing racial discrimination and segregation, the Indians continued to live in Canada and eventually became citizens.A second wave of immigration happened after the 1984 Operation Blue Star on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and the ensuing Sikh militancy for a separate Khalistan state in Punjab.While the Khalistani movement has no takers in Punjab or India now, it continues to flourish among a small minority of Sikhs in the Canadian Sikh community.The second round of Sikh immigrants found refuge in Canada due to “lenient Canadian legal system”, Verma said.”They were able to get their permanent residence in Canada, citizenship in Canada. They sought asylum in Canada, on fictitious grounds,” he said.
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