Pro-Khalistan protests in Canada raise refugee claim concerns for New Delhi

Toronto: New Delhi suspects that some young temporary residents from India may be participating in pro-Khalistan protests in Canada as a means of buttressing their refugee claim in the country.

Indian officials have noticed a recent growth in such participation at the frequent separatist rallies organised in the country, with some youth taking selfies to document their presence there. Those numbers have increased as Ottawa has made several announcement about curbing immigration to the country, and there are about half-a-dozen immigration firms that are advising those desperate for a pathway to permanent residency to play the Khalistan card for filing asylum requests, a senior Indian official said.

“Some youngsters were also seen taking photographs, most likely to apply for asylum – the usual racket,” the official said. Several such demonstrations have bene held this year, most recently on Saturday, as floats in Toronto and Vancouver “honoured” Dilawar Babbar, the suicide bomber who assassinated then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh exactly 29 years ago.

However, there is no evidence that the temporary residents at the rallies were called there by the organisers.

This suspicion has grown in new Delhi even as the number of asylum claimants from India have sharply increased this year, as the measures were announced by Ottawa to reduce immigration. According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or IRCC, there were 16800 asylum claims made between January and June this year, which is already nearly 50 per cent more than the total for 2023, which was 11265. There were just 380 total claims in 2015, when the incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first came to power.

However, these claims meet with scant success when they come before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada or IRB. It reported that 15298 cases that were referred to it thus far this year, just 1078 were accepted. There are 23538 pending claims from Indian nationals before the Board.

There are hardly any negative repercussions for those making the refugee claims. Despite claiming persecution there, India still offers them the facility of renewing their passports and, if they gain citizenship of Canada, to be issued visas or Overseas Citizen of India or OCI cards.

On March 21 this year, IRCC announced its intent to curb the intake of non-permanent residents or NPRs, which include international students and temporary workers, to reduce their share of the population from 6.2 per cent to 5 per cent over three years.

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