Referring to the policy of the Government of Canada  of permitting   the activities of  those who are demanding and carrying campaigns for an independent state in other countries -  for example, LTTE  for demanding the division of Sri Lanka and Khalistan for demanding the division of India -  Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reminded Canadian government about "Newton’s law of politics."

Newton's Third  Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This refers to a scenario in which Object A exerts a force on Object B, then Object B exerts an equal amount of force on Object A in the opposite direction.

The Canadian government is freely allowing the activities of such separatist forces, which is creating serious problems for other countries like India and Sri Lanka.  Such a policy approach of the Canadian government gives the impression that it is unconcerned about the problems caused to other countries due to its policy of permitting the activities of separatists in Canada.

The Canadian government seems to be justifying such a policy approach by claiming what it calls a “free speech policy of the government”.  However, it is not concerned about the harmful impact of the free speech and free action policy on other countries. As far as the affected countries are concerned, this is a serious matter and they would be justified in concluding that Canada, which permits the activities of such separatists, is a hostile country.

Tamil separatists got free run

Sri Lanka suffered enormously due to the ethnic war caused by the LTTE separatists, who largely operated from Canada,  with the Canadian government closing its eyes on their activities on Canadian soil.  Prolonged internal war took place in Sri Lanka, for which the Canadian government is largely responsible indirectly, by providing free territorial space to the LTTE separatists in Canada. While a few other countries in Europe too have done this, Canada was the foremost country to have given free rein to the Tamil separatists.

When Jaishankar recently referred to Newton’s Law, he meant that India cannot remain a silent spectator when the anti-India Khalistani separatist movement was being orchestrated from Canadian soil with the Canadian government shutting its eyes to it. He indicated there will be pushback against what is happening "out there" and "Newton's law of politics" will apply. 

"The point that they need to understand, it is no longer a world that runs as a one-way street. If there are things that happen out there, there will be pushback," Jaishankar warned.

When the LTTE waged ethnic war in Sri Lanka with a base on Canadian soil, Sri Lanka could do nothing about it, as it was a small country facing a tough local challenge. But such would not be the case with India, a large country with considerable muscle power to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

In the past, Canada had the image of a large, prosperous, and underpopulated country and adopted an open-arm policy to refugees and migrants from all over the world, perhaps with minimum checks and control. While such a policy approach contributed and continues to contribute to demographic imbalance in the country, Canada also has become a fertile country for separatists from other countries to establish their base in Canada and operate freely against other countries.

Failing to heed warnings

There is bound to be a negative impact on the social and political climate in Canada due to such a policy, which is nothing but a suicidal policy.  There is already some evidence to that effect.  In recent times,  there have been several incidents of ethnic clashes and hate-mongering in Canada.  Unfortunately, the Government of Canada does not seem to be able to read the writing on the wall.

In several European countries, such liberal migrant/refugee policies have caused havoc in recent times,  with several cities in Europe including London, and Brussels, having population mix and migrants outnumbering the natives. The recent decision of the UK government to send away asylum seekers to Rwanda indicates the level of concern in European countries.

The Canadian government should derive the right lesson from the predicament of European countries. It should understand that if it facilitates separatists on Canadian soil to harm other countries, then Canada itself cannot escape from the consequences of Newton’s Law becoming applicable to Canada.

(The author is a commentator on current affairs and a Trustee, at NGO Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai. Views are personal. He can be contacted at nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com)