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Illustration of passport visa (doc.unsplash/Jaimie Harmsen)
On Sunday (22/10), Jaishankar said that India’s steps to maintain bilateral diplomatic balance were in line with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“In our case, we are applying parity because we fear constant interference in our affairs from Canadian personnel,” he said, adding that India-Canada relations were going through a difficult phase.
“However, I would argue that the problem we face concerns a particular segment of Canadian politics and the policies that have resulted from it.”
Canadian visa services are still open in India, but last week it was announced that processing times would be affected by the reduction in staff numbers. Canada and India now have 21 diplomats in their respective countries.
Prime Minister Trudeau said last week that India’s crackdown on diplomats was making life difficult for millions of people in both countries.
According to the 2021 census, Canada has 1.4 million people of Indian origin – more than half of whom are Sikhs – or 3.7% of the country’s population. India is also the country with the largest number of international students in Canada.
By 2022, the number of Indian students in Canada will reach 40 percent of the total foreign students of 320,000.
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