To New Delhi’s abiding chagrin, Canada, home to the largest Sikh population outside India, has emerged as the global headquarters for the diasporic proponents of Khalistan. In 1985, its members detonated a bomb on an Air India flight departing Toronto that killed 329 passengers – the worst terrorist atrocity in Canada’s history.

A diplomatic row that has strained bilateral relations between India and Canada for over a year has boiled over as the countries expelled each other’s top diplomats over the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada and allegations of other crimes.