Neoliberal

Yet that crime does not overshadow relations between the 770,000 Sikhs in Canada and their fellow Canadians. An important political constituency, Sikhs are courted by all Canadian parties. Canada insists that it has cracked down on the small minority who have brought their fight for Khalistan to the country. Mr Nijjar had been a vocal advocate for an independent Khalistan, but denied involvement in violence.

A deepening estrangement between the two countries would have economic implications, if modest ones. Canadian investors have become more important in India as they seek to profit from its fast-growing economy: cpp Investments, a giant Canadian national savings fund, has some $20bn invested in the subcontinent. India is Canada’s tenth-largest trading partner.

But the ramifications of Mr Trudeau’s accusations go far beyond the relationship between Canada and India. He said that Canada was “closely co-ordinating” with allies on the matter. Yet his eagerness to court support from Joe Biden, America’s president, and Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister, on investigating the killing is awkward for both leaders. Joining Mr Trudeau in his condemnation of Mr Modi would make more difficult their efforts to court India as a way of reducing Chinese influence in Asia.

And yet to say nothing would mean leaving a close ally in the lurch. On September 18th the White House National Security Council cautiously said that it was “deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau earlier today”. On the following day Mr Sunak’s spokesman also took a cautious line. He said the British prime minister would not comment while investigations are under way and would not now take diplomatic action against India. India has also recently expressed concerns about support for Sikh separatism in Britain and Australia, raising concerns that it may take matters into its own hands in those countries, too.

If Mr Trudeau’s allegation is correct, the assassination points towards an activist turn in the operations of India’s intelligence services in the West, not least the Research and Analysis Wing (raw), India’s foreign-intelligence arm, the likeliest candidate for such a deed. Carved out of the domestic Intelligence Bureau in 1968, reputedly with help from the cia, raw has focused mainly on gathering intelligence on, and conducting operations in, Pakistan, China and other neighbours of India. It has been suspected of conducting black operations to influence India’s neighbours, and to arrest and sometimes to kill its foes. But it is hard to find a precedent for such a seemingly overt attack in the West. It would be “madness to perpetrate an act like this in a Five Eyes country”, says one European former intelligence official, referring to the Western spy pact that connects Canada to America, Australia, Britain and New Zealand.

India may hope to emulate Israel’s Mossad, whose famously long arm strikes foes far away. But it risks being classed with Russia, whose murders abroad have provoked widespread condemnation and Western sanctions. If the allegation is correct, raw may have spotted a chance to get rid of a troublesome separatist in Canada and send a message to others like him. It is unclear how high a price India will pay.