What is a ‘demarche’, to be served by India to Canada over Khalistan rally?

The Indian government is also expected to serve a demarche to the Justin Trudeau government this week asking it to take action against the Khalistan extremists.

Amid the Khalistan supporters declaring their intent to protest outside Indian embassies in Canadian cities, India has asked Canada to urgently act against these extremists who deliberately blamed Indian diplomats and security agencies for killing 45-year-old designated terrorist and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

According to the poster, the Khalistan freedom rally will be organised on July 8. (Representative file image) (HT_PRINT)

Watch: India Fumes At Khalistani 'Threat Posters' With Names Of Envoys In Canada I Nijjar Shooting Fallout

Read here: India to demarche Canada on Khalistanis targeting Indian diplomats

Demarche is a word that is commonly used in diplomatic circles. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines it as “walk, step, proceeding". In 1678, it came to mean a political step, a diplomatic initiative, according to professor VR Narayanaswami.

Purpose of a demarche

It is a formal communication of one government’s official position, views, or wishes on a given subject to an appropriate official in another government. According to the US Department of State, "demarches generally seek to persuade, inform, or gather information from a foreign government. Governments may also use a demarche to protest or object to actions by a foreign government".

According to a report by Livemint, at present, the common perception of the word matches with Duhaime’s definition of demarche which states as “word coined by the diplomatic community and referring to a strongly worded warning by one country to another and often, either explicitly or implicitly, with the threat of military consequence".

Demarche vs ultimatum:

Public perception of demarche often confuses it with ultimatum. An ultimatum expresses a government’s displeasure at developments in its relations with another government, and can be seen as a final warning while, in modern diplomacy, a demarche can be seen as an incipient form of an ultimatum, professor Narayanaswami said.

Prior demarches:

However, this is not the first time when the Indian government has served a demarche to Canada. In December 2020, a demarche was served to the Canadian High Commissioner to India over Canadian PM Trudeau's comments on the farmers protest, while in October 2022, the Union government served another demarche to the federal government to act and stop the so-called Khalistan referendum organized by the proscribed organisation in Canada.