Indian students give Canada cold shoulder as Ottawa, New Delhi butt heads | Migration News [Video]

Kolkata, India – For the past several years, Manpreet Singh has been dreaming of going abroad for higher studies.

The 22-year-old Sikh, a resident of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh state, chose Canada as his destination as that is where many of the Sikh diaspora is settled.

But the current diplomatic tension between India and Canada has put a damper on those plans, leaving him disappointed. Singh is now planning to go to Europe and complete his education.

“Canada was always on the top of my list for foreign education as several people of our community are settled there, and I would have felt at home there. I had convinced my parents to send me, but they have now refused due to the present turmoil between the two countries,” he said.

His father, Inderjeet Singh, told Al Jazeera that his son’s safety is his top priority. “We also want our child to get a …