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36 years after Kanishka bombing, Canada remembers the dead with commemorations
On June 23, 1985, Air India’s Boeing aircraft, named Kanishka, was heading from Montreal to London when it exploded at around 31,000 feet off the Irish coast as a bomb planted inside the plane by Khalistani terrorists went off. The attack claimed 329 lives
Family members of the victims of the 1985 mid-air bombing of Air India flight 182 marked the 36th anniversary of the worst terror attack in Canada’s history with visits to memorials and through online events on Wednesday.
With large gatherings not allowed in Canada due to the Covid-19 pandemic, small groups of family members assembled at various locations to remember the dead.
On June 23, 1985, Air India’s Boeing aircraft, named Kanishka, was heading from Montreal to London when it exploded at around 31,000 feet off the Irish coast as a bomb planted inside the plane by Khalistani terrorists went off. The terror attack claimed 329 lives.
The flight used to operate on the Montreal to Delhi route via London.
The terror attack is recognised in Canada as a National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the “despicable act of terror remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canada’s history. Sadly, it was not the last time Canada had to confront the malice of terrorism”.
Family members of the victims said Canada needed to remain “vigilant” about terrorism. Among them is Deepak Khandelwal, who was 17 when he lost his elder sisters, Chandra and Manju.
“Canada has to learn from the past, from these types of mistakes,” he said, adding that he was painfully reminded of his sisters’ absence at this time particularly because of the pandemic as both were in the medical field.
Susheel Gupta, who lost his mother Ramvati on the flight, visited a memorial in Ottawa. Such memorial services, he said, “advocate on behalf of victims of terrorism, and we feel a responsibility to remind people that terrorism has occurred here and could happen again”.
Indian officials laid wreathes at memorials, with India’s high commissioner to Canada Ajay Bisaria doing so in Ottawa; consul generals in Toronto and Vancouver, Apoorva Srivastava and Manish, in their respective cities; and the representative of India to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Shefali Juneja, visiting the site in Montreal.
Among the video services to be held were one by the Air India 182 Victims’ Families Association.
The commemorative services took place under the shadow of a recent revival of the pro-Khalistan movement in Canada.
Over the past few months, pro-Khalistan groups in Canada have been repeatedly voicing support for the ongoing protests in India against farming deregulation laws, with the aim of drawing attention towards their own movement.
