’40 years is long enough’: Indian-Canadian groups urge Kanishka memorial to honour 1985 Air India bombing victims

Two Indian-Canadian organizations have asked the Canadian government to establish a memorial and information center to honor the victims of the 1985 Air India bombing, known as the Kanishka tragedy.Khalsa Diwan Society, and North American Hindus Association wrote a letter to David Eby, primere of British Columbia and demanded a memorial wall, reflection garden, public learning centre, educational programs and spaces for rememberance and dialogues. In a statement, the organisation urged the government to honour the voices of many British Columbians by committing to the establishment of a Kanishka Memorial and Learning Centre in British Columbia. “We envision the Kanishka Memorial and Learning Centre as not merely a site of memory, but a living testament to the resilience of our communities and a powerful statement of our collective values. It would include: A memorial wall and reflection garden, honouring each of the 331 lives lost, providing solace and healing to affected families. A public learning centre, featuring exhibits, archives, and educational materials to illuminate the realities of the tragedy and the dangers of extremism. Educational programs, designed to inform students and the broader public, fostering empathy, vigilance, and social responsibility. Spaces for remembrance and dialogue, facilitating healing, unity, and deeper understanding among British Columbians,” the statement read. In the statement, the organisation said that the families of victims, who have carried unimaginable grief and loss for forty years, deserve more than silence. “They deserve a place of honour, reflection, and remembrance-a lasting acknowledgment of their pain, resilience, and dignity. Our children and future generations deserve to understand the full truth of this tragedy: its causes, its consequences, and its profound lessons about extremism, justice, and compassion,” it added.

What happened in 1985?

On June 23, 1985, Air India’s aircraft en route from Canada to India with a stopover in London, detonated near the Irish coastline, resulting in the death of all 329 passengers and crew. The explosion occurred due to an explosive device concealed in checked luggage, despite the passenger who checked in the baggage never boarding the aircraft. The casualties comprised 268 Canadian nationals, predominantly of Indian descent, and 24 Indian citizens. Search operations could recover only 131 bodies from the ocean.According to Canadian authorities’ investigation, Sikh separatists orchestrated the bombing as retaliation against the Indian military’s lethal operation at the Golden Temple in Punjab state in 1984.