Indians in Punjab fear dispute with Canada endangers work, study plans

CHANDIGARH, India (Reuters) - Indians in Punjab, worried that plans to work, study or visit families in Canada will be jeopardised by this week's tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats over the murder of a Sikh separatist, are urging both governments to reduce the tension.

Canada's nearly 800,000 Sikhs formed the world's second largest community in 2021, after roughly 20 million in India. They have links to the northern granary state of Punjab, where their religion was founded more than 500 years ago.

"Many clients have reached out, worried about how this might affect their plans to migrate to Canada," said an immigration lawyer, Karan S. Thukral, who is based in the Indian capital, though adding he had seen no big drop yet in legal inquiries.

"Indian students are among those feeling the impact most acutely."

Indians have made up Canada's largest group of international students in recent years, mainly from Punjab, holding more than 41% of student permits in 2022. International students bring in about C$22 billion ($16 billion) for its universities each year.

"We want to go to Canada to study and settle there, but now that's not possible because students who want to go there are facing difficulties," said Anita, a student in Punjab's capital of Chandigarh, who gave only her first name.

Canadian study permits for Indians fell sharply late last year and the diplomatic tension was likely to weigh on future numbers, Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Reuters in January.

"It is something that both countries cannot afford because we are heavily dependent on each other," said Kanwalpreet Kaur, a political science professor at Chandigarh's DAV College.

"It is really keeping students on edge because their future is tied up with Canada," she added.

Ties soured last September when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the killing of the Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil.

India's high commissioner, or ambassador, was among the six diplomats Canada expelled on Monday, linking them to the murder, while accusing the Indian government of having undertaken a broad campaign targeting the South Asian community in Canada.

India dismissed the accusations and accused Trudeau of pursuing a "political agenda", while kicking out six high-ranking Canadian diplomats in retaliation.

However, both countries see no immediate impact on two-way trade, which stood at $8.4 billion at the end of the last fiscal year on March 31.

"It's a loss for families and for our children who want to go there to live a better life," said Gurinder Singh, who runs a cloth business and exports to Canada.

"The government should consider all this and should ensure that the matter does not escalate."

($1=1.3784 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Reuters journalists; Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)