Justin Trudeau and his Indian Odyssey.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first visit to India since he took office in 2015 was more than eventful. This seven-day trip with his family was constantly scrutinized by both Indian and Canadian media outlets. Not only were his skills as a leader and Head of State questioned, but also the fashion choices made by him and his family. So here is a quick rundown of all that the PM did in the week and all the controversies surrounding it.

Prime Minister Trudeau landed in India on February 17, 2018 with his family. He was, however not received by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but by Minister of State for agriculture, Gajendra Singh and Indian ambassador to Canada, Vikas Swarup. This in itself was considered a “snub” by Canadian media since PM Narendra Modi is famous for receiving foreign Heads of State, having received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just this January. However, according to former Indian high commissioner to Canada, Vishnu Prakash, India had followed protocol, stating “According to protocol, it is a cabinet minister who receives a visiting foreign leader, and this courtesy was extended to Mr. Trudeau” to the BBC. The reason most of the media considers this a snub is because of PM Trudeau’s soft stance on Sikh extremism in Canada.

After landing in India, the PM made visits to the Taj Mahal and to the state of Gujarat, the home state of the Mr. Modi. Here too, he was met with minimal acknowledgment by the Government with the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh not meeting him when he visited Agra. What remained in the news, however, was Justin Trudeau’s clothing choices. With various fashion designers calling his outfits “tacky”, and “too Indian for Indians”. His clothing was considered so hilarious that they turned into memes in no time.

However, the most controversial part of the trip was yet to arrive. On Mr. Trudeau’s Mumbai leg of the trip, his wife Sophie was photographed with Jaspal Atwal, a Canadian Indian Sikh extremist who was convicted of trying to assassinate Indian Minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in 1980. His conviction was overturned by appeal. However, the appearance of a Sikh extremist along with the First Lady of Canada was of great concern for everyone and another bullet point for those looking to prove Trudeau’s soft stance against Sikh extremism. The Indian officials are looking into how Mr. Atwal managed to get an Indian visa. He was also supposed to attend a dinner party hosted by the Canadian high commissioner. All of this adds to the speculation that Trudeau has a soft spot for supporters of the “Khalistan movement”, a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland separate from India.

One good thing to come out of Justin Trudeau’s visit to India was a billion-dollar deal between Canada and India with India investing 250 million dollars in Canada and Canada investing 750 million dollars in India. Mr. Trudeau finally met Prime Minister Modi on February 23, 2018 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. Here, they discussed trade, defence, climate change and civil nuclear energy. They signed a slew of agreements reiterating Indo-Canadian relationships.

All in all, this visit was highly talked about for various reasons and Prime Minister Trudeau might not have received the welcome he is accustomed to but by and large this visit was not uneventful.