Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.

The relationship between two democratic allies fell to its lowest point in history this week, after Canada accused India of assassinating a Sikh community leader in British Columbia in June.

Mujib Mashal, The Times’s South Asia bureau chief, explains this stunning accusation — and what India’s reaction to it tells us about the era of its leader, Narendra Modi.

Guest: Mujib Mashal (https://www.nytimes.com/by/mujib-mashal), The New York Times’s bureau chief for South Asia.

Background reading: 

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said agents of India (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/world/canada/canada-india-sikh-killing.html?smid=pc-thedaily) had assassinated a Sikh community leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot in British Columbia in June.
• Mr. Nijar was a prominent advocate (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/19/world/canada/who-is-hardeep-singh-nijjar-india.html?smid=pc-thedaily) of the creation of an independent Sikh nation that would include parts of India’s Punjab State.
• The charge, which the Indian government has strongly rejected, may fuel a rift (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/world/canada/hardeep-singh-nijjar-killed.html?smid=pc-thedaily) between Canada’s Sikhs and Hindus.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily). Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.