Amid rising tensions between India and Canada, an impending crisis quietly lurks in the background. Indian students pursuing higher education in the country may now fall victim to the failure of the diplomatic machinery.
Students in Canada should be provided for
India Wide Parents' Association President and activist Advocate Anubha Shrivastava Sahai, yesterday, Monday, October 14, gauging the situation, wrote to the Minister of Education, the Prime Minister's office, and the Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) India to make arrangements for students keen on returning to their own country.
"There must be provisions arranged for students who may not feel safe there anymore. They can be subjected to discrimination creating emotional distress," said Sahai. In her letter to the government, she urges them to recall the students studying in Canada and offer them admission to Indian universities.
Additionally, if students do not deem the situation fit to return to Canada and seek to pursue education in India, she pleaded that the government should allocate seats to such students in colleges and universities.
She writes, "Students willing to come back may suffer huge loss academically and financially. Therefore I request you to call back Indian students studying in Canada who are willing to come back immediately and provide them admission in Indian universities and frame guidelines to increase more seats in the institutions ready to accommodate them."
Sahai says that this would save the students from an added financial burden, and would create no disruptions to their academic life.
The complaint has also been registered at the PMO's grievance portal.
"As per the flexible rules of the National Education Policy (NEP) that allow students to have multiple entries and exits, it might allow these students to join mid-term. In my opinion, there must not be any difficulty for students to continue their academic year," opines Anubha.
Rising tensions and cap on student intake. What does the future hold?
The tension that has been brewing for a year over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. Yesterday, Monday, October 14, India withdrew its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other senior diplomats stationed in Canada.
This was followed by the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats, including the chargé d’affaires Stewart Ross Wheeler, deepening the diplomatic crisis between the two nations.
This diplomatic failure has now led to parents and students worrying about the upcoming developments which may place an embargo on the careers of these students in Canada.
In 2025, Canada planned to reduce its international student study permit cap by 10%, affecting the large number of Indian students enrolled. The new target will be 437,000 permits, down from 485,000 in 2024, in response to growing concerns about system abuse and foreign worker regulations.
Would this make Canada an undesirable destination for students? Let us know your views.
