Why Modi isn’t embracing Justin Trudeau

The maiden trip of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – the poster boy of liberal politics – to India is in the news for the cold shoulder given to him by the Indian government.

His Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, didn’t indulge in the “hug diplomacy” that has become his quintessential style to welcome world leaders on Indian soil.

Instead of being greeted by the Indian PM on his arrival, Trudeau was received last Saturday by Minister of State for agriculture Gajendra Singh, who was accompanied by Vikas Swarup, the Indian ambassador to Canada.

The 46-year-old Trudeau is in India for a week with his wife Sophie Gregoire, daughter Ella-Grace and sons Xavier James and Hadrien. They have all been sporting traditional Indian attire to send the strong message of bonhomie between the two countries.

The message is specifically directed to Indo-Canadians, as they happen to be the fastest-growing community in Canada and the second largest non-European ethnic group residing in the country, only second to the Chinese-origin Canadians.

There are four Sikh ministers in Trudeau’s cabinet, and one of them, Harjit Sajjan, is the minister of defence. From the point of view of Trudeau, Amritsar is more important a destination than New Delhi.

Perhaps that’s the reason why Trudeau in his week-long trip has been travelling to a host of places in India and is not staying put in Delhi. He started his trip with a visit to the Taj Mahal with his family, followed by a halt at an elephant conservation centre in Mathura.

His next destination was Ahmedabad and he visited the Sabarmati Ashram (seems like a sort of pilgrimage that all foreign dignitaries are encouraged to undertake in the Modi regime); later, Trudeau had a discussion with students at the Indian Institute of Management in the city, on ‘Education and Investment Opportunities’.

His next pitstop was the financial capital of India, Mumbai, where he participated in business round-tables to promote trade, investment and job creation. He met business leaders, including Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, who complimented him for looking “as dapper as always”. In the charismatic company of Trudeau, Mahindra felt conscious of what he described as a “dismal wardrobe failure”.

Later in the evening, Trudeau, accompanied by his family, had a date with Bollywood when he met Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Aamir Khan, R Madhavan and Anupam Kher, among other celebs. Sporting a sherwani with golden embroidery, the Canadian PM enthralled all present.

Anupam Kher tweeted: “It was such a pleasure to meet the Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau & his family. What a charming & great conversationalist he is. Talked about people, culture and of course cinema.:)”

Before going back to Delhi to have a bilateral meeting with Modi at the end of his trip, Trudeau made a halt at Amritsar. He made it “very, very clear” to the chief minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh, that Canada supports a united India.

“We (Canada) will always stand against violent extremism, but we understand that diversity of views is one of the great strengths of Canada,” Trudeau, who was accompanied byHarjit Sajjan, said. The meeting was cordial, despite the Punjab chief minister categorically stating last year that he isn’t interested in meeting any Canadian cabinet ministers for their soft approach towards Sikh Canadians who favour Khalistan – an independent Sikh homeland.

Back home, the political situation is such that Trudeau cannot ignore the popular sentiments of the Sikh community. Last October, Indian-origin Canadian, 38-year-old Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal, popularly known as Jagmeet Singh, was elected as the leader of a main opposition party, New Democratic Party (NDP), a left-of-centre party with liberal ethos.

He moves around with an alpha-male swagger and could be the worst nightmare for Trudeau. If things turn out well for him, there is a distinct possibility that he may be the first brown prime minister of Canada.

Writes columnist Margaret Wente in The Globe and Mail: “Sorry, Justin. You’re not the fresh young face in town any more. You were hot, for a while. But Jagmeet Singh is hotter. You may have a huge Haida tattoo on your shoulder. But Jagmeet (also known as Jimmy) has a fuchsia turban on his head. You may know how to throw a punch. But he knows Brazilian ju-jitsu. A few months ago, hardly anyone in Canada knew his name. Now, an entire political party is swooning at his feet, begging him to lead them from the obscurity that seems to be their semi-permanent lot in life. Half your voters could be next.”

Singh brings certain optimism to politics, and is equally, if not more, suave, charismatic, and media-savvy. Trudeau back home is criticised as a product of an PR exercise carried out in the popular media; he’s more rhetoric than substance. And the same “hypocrisy of media” is being criticised for portraying Jagmeet Singh as a Sikh “fundamentalist”.

Singh’s identity has been an issue with the Indian government as well. He was refused a visa in May last year and is considered persona non-grata. India’s then consul general in Canada, Akhilesh Mishra, told the local press: “Anyone indulging in, directly or indirectly, attacking India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity (referring to the Sikh separatist movement) is not welcome to India.”

The Khalistan issue has cast its shadow on Trudeau’s trip to India. Perhaps the Trudeau-Modi dialogue will break the ice.

This story was published in the Patriot.