New Delhi: More than four decades after the destruction of Air India Flight 182, Canada’s intelligence agency has officially acknowledged that Canada based Khalistani extremists were responsible for carrying out the bombing that claimed the lives of all 329 people on board.
The attack, now recognised as the deadliest act of terrorism in Canadian history, took place on June 23, 1985, when an explosive device hidden inside checked baggage detonated aboard the aircraft as it flew over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Ireland.
The flight, popularly known as the Kanishka, was travelling from Montreal to New Delhi with a scheduled stop in London when the explosion occurred less than an hour before its expected arrival in the British capital. There were no survivors.
Among those killed were 268 Canadian citizens, many of them of Indian origin, along with 24 Indian nationals and passengers from several other countries. Search operations in the Atlantic recovered only a portion of the victims.
Investigators later determined that the bomb had been concealed inside a suitcase that was checked in by an individual who never boarded the aircraft. The attack was linked to extremist elements seeking revenge following Operation Blue Star, the Indian Army’s 1984 action against armed militants inside the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.
The tragedy remains one of the darkest chapters in the history of international aviation and counter terrorism efforts. It also continues to influence discussions surrounding extremist activities operating from foreign soil and has remained a sensitive issue in relations between India and Canada.
The latest acknowledgment marks a significant moment in the long pursuit of recognition and remembrance for the victims and their families.
