Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his sons Hadrien and Xavier arrive at Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi, India. (Reuters image)

It's been two days now that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have been in India on their first state visit. But if the cold reception they have been accorded so far is any indication, it is clear the government has made its discomfort with what has been Trudeau's less-than-ambiguous support for the Khalistan movement clear.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose foreign policy is marked by an emphasis on forming a personal bond with global leaders and who is known to have walked (or driven) the extra mile to personally receive them when they come to India, gave Trudeau a massive snub by sending a junior minister to receive him.

When Trudeau landed in New Delhi on Saturday night, he was welcomed by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare Gajendra S Shekhawat, a much more junior official than even the ranks of say, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, or any of her deputies - Gen VK Singh or MJ Akbar.

On Sunday, as the Trudeaus went to Agra to visit the iconic Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath did not bother to receive them.

It should, however, be remembered here that when Modi visited Canada in 2016, he was also not received at the airport by Trudeau. So Modi did not exactly break any protocol by refusing to drive to the Delhi airport to receive the Canadian leader.

But Modi has been uncharacteristically unenthusiastic so far in his reception of Trudeau. The Indian Prime Minister has not posted any welcome tweet on his Twitter handle so far, a courtesy he normally reserves for all visiting dignitaries.

Moreover, Trudeau is in Gujarat today. But Modi did not plan a joint trip with him to his home state, an honour he has accorded so far to leaders from the US, Israel, China and Japan.

So, it's not a matter of protocol here, but perception.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with his family pose in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra. (Reuters photo)

Moreover, there are no clear indications yet whether or not Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, whose annoyance with the Canadian government is well recorded, will host Trudeau in the holy city of Amritsar on Wednesday when the visiting dignitaries will be at the Golden Temple, the holiest of the Sikh shrines.

So, is a wary India downgrading Justin Trudeau because of his government's support to pro-Khalistan elements among the Sikhs in the Canadian society? As things stand, India's uneasiness is not unfounded.

When Justin Trudeau was elected Canada's Prime Minister in 2015, he inducted four Indian faces - all Sikhs - in his multi-cultural Cabinet. In a first, the plum portfolio of Canada's Defence Minister was given to a Sikh, Harjit Singh Sajjan.

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It soon emerged that some of the Trudeau's colleagues in the Canadian Cabinet allegedly had ties with Khalistan supporters. Trudeau himself attended a Khalsa Day event in Toronto where Khalistan flags and the portrait of former Khalistani militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were displayed.

The Ontario Assembly, dominated by Trudeau's Liberal Party, passed a resolution last year condemning the "genocide" of Sikhs in India in 1984. Also last year, Canada's High Commissioner to India had to apologise after India reacted sharply when a former CRPF officer was initially denied entry at Vancouver airport on the grounds that he had served a government that engaged in "terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide".

Nowhere is this underlying tension between India and Canada over Khalistan more revealing than Trudeau and his government's run-ins with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in the India Day Parade in Montreal, Quebec Canada. (Reuters photo)

Amarinder had publicly refused to meet Canada's first Sikh Defence Minister, Harjit Singh Sajjan, who was born in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, when he visited the state last April. No minister or senior officer of the Punjab government either went to welcome Sajjan or even accompany him during the visit.

Amarinder had accused Sajjan and other ministers of Punjabi origin in the Trudeau government of links to radical elements demanding a separate Sikh state of Khalistan. Amarinder made it clear that he "would not meet any Khalistani sympathisers".

The reasons for Amarinder's annoyance with the Canadian government are apparent.

In April 2016, Amarinder had shot off an angry letter to protest the Canadian government's denial of permission for his interactive meetings with Punjabis in Toronto and Vancouver. Amarinder was forced to cancel his political rallies following objections raised by Sikh hardliners with the Canadian government.

Amarinder, who was not the Punjab Chief Minister at the time, had protested the Canadian government's "gag order" on him. The Canadian government had officially raised its objection to Amarinder's visit through the Ministry of External Affairs.

Read: Can Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's visit breathe life into India-Canada ties?

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a human rights advocacy group with radical leanings, had even lodged a complaint with the Canadian government through a law firm against the election activities planned by Amarinder Singh.

But the Canadian MPs accompanying Trudeau assert there is no reason for India to feel apprehensive. "We want India-Canada ties to go forward. The big thrust is on economic cooperation. There could be a few sticking points, but both sides will work it out," Surrey MP Randeep Sarai told India Today. "Trudeau represents unity in diversity."

On Trudeau administration's alleged support to Khalistan, Sarai said, "There is no way that Canada supports any elements that is against India's interests. We believe in a united India. There are some very small number of people who think in a certain manner, but they doesn't represent the majority view."

Punjab has a strong Canadian connection with hundreds of thousands of immigrants settled there and thousands of students from Punjab going to Canada annually. Indo-Canadians make up nearly 1.4 million, or over 3.5 per cent, of Canada's population, with almost equal numbers of Hindus and Sikhs, according to Statistics Canada. But Sikhs have been far more politically active, especially those belonging to the more radical Khalistan movement.

Justin Trudeau and his family will be in India for the next five days. Formal talks and events, including meetings with President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Modi, are scheduled later this week. But the long shadow of the decades-old Khalistan movement is already over Trudeau's first ever state visit to India.

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