Everything you need to know about Justin Trudeau’s India trip

From Bhangra to rolling chapatis, Canadian PM’s trip to India is more about photo ops

GN Bureau | February 23, 2018


#Taj Mahal   #Justin Trudeau India Trip   #Canada India Ties   #Canada   #Justin Trudeau   #Sabarmati Ashram   #Canadian PM  
(Photo: Justin Trudeau/Twitter)
(Photo: Justin Trudeau/Twitter)

The Canadian PM has received an official reception by the prime minister of India Narendra Modi on Friday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two are expected to talk some serious business at the bilateral meeting, and are expected to focus on trade, defence, civil nuclear cooperation, space, tackling climate change energy and education. So far the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to India has been more play than work. Or so it seems.

The Trudeaus landed in India on February 17 with their hands folded in a ‘namaste’. And the great Bollywood-like spectacle thus began.

Apart from delivering a lecture to the Indian Institute of Management students in Ahmedabad and addressing a business summit in Delhi, the Canadian PM has been in news for other reasons.

From visiting Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Taj Mahal in Agra and Jama Masjid in New Delhi, the Trudeaus have checked in all the major places dressed in traditional attire, which might seem as "too Indian even for an Indian”. Twitterati have even gone to the extent suggesting the Trudeaus as the new brand ambassadors of the traditional wedding clothing brand Manyavar.

Apart from trying their hands at batting in a game of cricket at the New Delhi’s Modern High School's grounds, Mr and Mrs Trudeau even rolled some chapattis for the langar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

A brief meeting with the Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh also took place where the "Khalistan issue" was discussed and Trudeau assured Singh of the Canada’s stand against any separatist movement in India or elsewhere.

Trudeau has even met Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan in Mumbai.

Video of Trudeau breaking into a sudden bhangra jig at the Canada House in Delhi are doing the rounds of social media.

The foreign media, however, has criticised India of snubbing the Canadian PM. They say that PM Modi snubbed his Canadian counterpart by failing to receive him when he arrived in India.

Also, an incident has caused embarrassment to the Canadian PM. A Canada-based Khalistani activist Jaspal Atwal was invited to two events organised for Trudeau, in Mumbai and Delhi. The invitation was hurriedly cancelled as a face saver. 

As we wait for what more unfolds in the Trudeau trip, the Washington Post has said, “For Trudeau, this trip is all about the Sikh vote in Canada.”
 

 

Comments

 

Other News

BMC: 207 officials in ACB net, 112 still on duty, 68 retire before justice catches up

There are significant delays in the handling of corruption cases involving officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained by rights activist Jeetendra Ghadge has revealed. As of 30 April 2026, 207 BMC officials face Anti-Corruption Bureau (A

The transformation trap: Why efficiency is not innovation

Every company is transforming, or so it claims.   There was a time when the word ‘transformation’ carried weight. It signified bold strategic shifts, reinvention of business models, and breakthrough technologies that fundamentally changed how organizations created

The Sardar biography that throws light on our times

Patel: A Life By Rajmohan Gandhi Aleph Books, 568 pages, Rs 1,199   There are many biographi

Climate change, El Niño rewrite Indian monsoon

The month of July exceeded its rainfall target despite forecasts of a below-normal month under a strengthening El Niño. The reason could be that climate change is amplifying monsoon complexity: West Pacific warming, Western Disturbances and evolving ocean conditions increasingly interact with El Ni&

Mumbai has just 1.28 sq.m. of open space per person: Study

Mumbai`s public space crisis is as much about mismanagement as it is about scarcity, and offers a governance roadmap that can be implemented without new legislation, according to a new report by the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) and the NGO Alliance for Governance and Renewal (NAGAR).  

Lok Sabha passes amendment bill to improve public examination system

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 by a voice vote after an extensive discussion. Replying to the debate, minister of state (independent charge) for science & technology; earth sciences and MoS in the PMO, Dr. Jite

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter