Introduction

The recent unresolved extradition requests have become a significant dispute in India-Canada diplomatic relations. India perceives the lack of action as a lack of commitment to addressing terrorism, while Canada maintains that its legal and human rights obligations must be entertained. This issue has created a trust deficit and has hindered cooperation on broader issues such as trade, security, and diplomatic engagement. India has faced many separatist insurgencies since independence, but the campaigns for Khalistan and Azad Kashmir have posed the biggest threats to India’s territorial integrity. While rooted in distinct Indian history, these movements resulted from political interests, religious identities, and perceived grievances of the people of Punjab and Kashmir. The demands for a separate Sikh state were voiced before the dissolution of British India in 1947 but it did not gain significant political traction. The Khalistanis did not begin employing violence to advance their demands until the late 1980s. The region of Kashmir became a point of contention after the partition of India and Pakistan. The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which had a Muslim-majority population, chose to accede to India under the leadership of Maharaja Hari Singh, leading to the first India-Pakistan war (1947-1948). Kashmir has remained a battleground between the Indian Military and Militants especially in the early 2000s. The tension often gets ignited due to the involvement of Pakistan and neighboring countries breeding militancy.

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