A one-off comment from Canada's new prime minister is getting a lot of attention in India.
Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Justin Trudeau was visiting American University in Washington, D.C., last week when a student said he appreciated seeing so many Punjabi ministers in the Canadian cabinet.
Trudeau responded, playfully: "Yes, I have more Sikhs in my Cabinet than Modi does."
Trudeau has four Sikh ministers: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Innovation Navdeep Bains, and tourism and small business minister Bardish Chagger.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has two Sikh cabinet members: Harsimrat Badal and Maneka Gandhi.
The quip is now grabbing headlines in the Times of India, Huffington Post India, The Hindu, and more.
Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS
India's The Tribune noted that the prime minister is "known for his witty repartees," while others recalled the time Trudeau did the bhangra at an event in Montréal, earning himself the nickname Justin "Singh" Trudeau.
The Hindustan Times pointed out that Canada elected a record-breaking 17 Sikh MPs in the most recent election.
The fact that Trudeau then appointed four Sikh cabinet ministers was a point of pride for many in the Sikh community.
Canada's National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is sworn-in on November 4, 2015.
Blair Gable / Reuters
“It's a very uplifting time. I feel like we've finally arrived,” Satwinder Kaur Bains, an expert in Indo-Canadian issues, told the Toronto Star.
The 2011 census found there were about half a million Sikhs living in Canada.