Widening rift with Canada puts India's relations with the West at risk

Sep 19, 2023

2 min

Muqtedar Khan


Relations between India and Canada continue to devolve after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of playing a part in the assassination of a Sikh activist on its home soil. Following India's denial, both countries expelled senior diplomats.


In a new video posted on his YouTube channel, Professor Muqtedar Khan said relations are spiraling toward a dangerous place. And, he added, if the situation continues to devolve, it could have a major impact on India's relations with the entire Western world.


Khan, a professor of political science and international relations, is an expert on issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim World as well as national security and counter-terrorism. 


He can also discuss:


  • The Khalistan Movement: The Sikh separatist movement that has taken many lives since the 1980s including the assassination of India's former PM Indira Gandhi.
  • How Canada's large Sikh population 770,000 (2.1%) makes it a hotbed of Sikh activism. In 1985, Canadians Sikh exploded an Air India flight from Montreal to London killing 329 people
  • The assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and its diplomatic fallout. The dispute between Canada and India is over the killing of Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh who was organizing an illegal referendum on separatism.


Khan is the author of "Islam and Good Governance: A Political Philosophy of Ihsan." Video of Khan discussing the concept of Ihsan can be found here. He has also drawn a large following with his "Khanversations" channel on YouTube. 


To schedule an interview, click on the contact button found in his ExpertFile profile.

Connect with:
Muqtedar Khan

Muqtedar Khan

Professor, Political Science and International Relations

Prof. Khan researches and teaches Islam, governance and international relations.

Islamic Political PhilosophyGlobal Islamic MovementsIslam in AmericaJihadismSufism

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from University of Delaware

2 min

How old is your brain?

University of Delaware researchers have found that measuring brain stiffness is a reliable way to predict brain age. This information could be used to identify structural differences that indicate departure from the normal aging process, potentially identifying and addressing disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. In recent findings, Curtis Johnson, associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Austin Brockmeier, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, show that measuring both brain stiffness and brain volume produces the most accurate predictions of chronological age. Their findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Biology Methods and Protocols. The pair worked with three current and former UD students to reach their conclusions. “Brain volume is a common measure that we use to study the brain,” Johnson said. “But something has to be happening to cause a brain to shrink. Something is happening at the microscale that causes it to shrink — changes in the tissue that also cause stiffness to change. And that precedes whatever happens when the volume changes.” “The stiffness maps all seem kind of random — until we see a large number of images and the randomness fades away and we start to see common patterns in stiffness,” Johnson said. “We sort of knew there was more [information] in there than what we were extracting." A cutting-edge magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner at UD’s Center for Biomedical and Brain Imaging handled the brain scanning. On the artificial intelligence side, the brain maps were analyzed by three-dimensional “convolutional neural networks,” which — as the name suggests — are convoluted and complicated, incorporating many layers and dimensions. To arrange and interview with Johnson or Brockmeier, send an email to mediarelations@udel.edu

1 min

The hidden consequences of school suspensions: Insights from 'Suspended Education'

School suspensions have long been a traditional disciplinary strategy used by educational institutions to address behavioral issues. Often perceived as a straightforward solution to handle disruptive conduct, suspensions remove the student from the school environment, theoretically allowing learning to proceed unhindered. University of Delaware sociology professor Aaron Kupchik explores school suspensions in his new book ‘Suspended Education: School Punishment and the Legacy of Racial Injustice.' He looks at how this practice is intrinsically tied to racial inequality and can have negative long-term impacts on students. He notes that beneath this seemingly effective measure, a multitude of unintended consequences lurk, some of which profoundly affect both the individual student and the broader community. And often, there is more harm than good done by this measure, particularly for students of color.  Kupchik has appeared in a number of outlets including Time magazine and Delaware Public Media. He can be reached by clicking on his profile.

2 min

New survey shows lack of public trust in Musk, DOGE

New data from the Center for Political Communication (CPC) at the University of Delaware shows many Americans have little trust in either Elon Musk or the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a nationally-representative sample of 1,600 adult Americans surveyed by YouGov between February 27 and March 5, 2025, CPC researchers asked how much trust respondents had in various people and institutions, including Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency, and President Trump. Among the key findings: • 25% of Americans report having “a lot” or “a great deal” of trust in Elon Musk 26% report having “a lot” or “a great deal” of trust in Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). • 33% report having “a lot” or “a great deal” of trust in President Donald Trump. • About half of Republicans report “a lot” or “a great deal” of trust in either (compared to 70% of Republicans who report “a lot” or “a great deal” of trust in President Trump). • Among independent voters, only 11% report “a lot” or “a great deal” of trust in Musk and 13% in DOGE. “As constituents in Republican districts learn about and voice concerns about DOGE’s cuts to Veteran’s Affairs, The National Institutes of Health, National Parks, and the Federal Aviation Administration, it will be interesting to see how public trust in Musk and DOGE may be affected,” said Dr. Dannagal Young, Director of the Center for Political Communication and one of the authors of the survey. “Understanding public sentiment about these unique government entities is essential to help ensure that elected officials are responsive to voter concerns." Visit the CPC's website for full results of the survey. To connect with Young for an interview, visit her profile and click the contact button.

View all posts