Some with the Air India Victims’ Families Association are calling for the Canadian government to publicly display the remains of the aircraft to ensure the largest mass murder in the country's history is not forgotten.Deepak Khandelwal/Supplied
When Deepak Khandelwal saw the mangled metal pieces of Air India Flight 182 in 2005, he was horrified by the thought that terrorists had purposely caused the mid-air bombing two decades earlier.
The image of the 329 innocent people, most of whom were Canadians of Indian descent, falling 31,000 feet into the Atlantic Ocean came to his mind.
It was “just scary and numbing,” said Mr. Khandelwal, whose siblings, Chandra and Manju, were on the flight on June 23, 1985.
Friday marks the 38th anniversary of the tragedy, and some with the Air India Victims’ Families Association (AIVFA), including Mr. Khandelwal, are calling on Canadian authorities to publicly display the remains of the aircraft. They want to ensure the worst mass murder in the country’s history won’t be forgotten.
“The Air India tragedy is not known by most Canadians. Many victims’ family members are getting older and many are passing away every year. Therefore, it is critical now for the government to help make sure this terrorist event is not forgotten,” Mr. Khandelwal said. The wreckage could be an important museum exhibit, he added.
The explosion that ripped apart Flight 182 en route from Montreal to London, England was followed by long trials for two British Columbia men, which ended in acquittal. A public inquiry concluded that a “cascading series of errors” by the federal government, the RCMP and CSIS failed to prevent the attacks. The inquiry’s findings prompted then-prime minister Stephen Harper to apologize to the victims’ families.
Authorities believe Sikh extremists fighting for an independent homeland in India sabotaged the Boeing 747, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland.
A new Angus Reid survey of more than 1,500 Canadians found nine in 10 of them say they have little or no knowledge of the worst single instance of the mass killing of their fellow citizens, with nearly 60 per cent of those younger than 35 saying they have never even heard of it.
“As some Canadians – evidently few – reflect on the 38th anniversary of Canada’s worst terrorist tragedy, the sense among many is that more should be done to remember the victims,” says the survey, published Thursday.
Bal Gupta, whose wife died in the bombing, said he supports the idea of displaying the wreckage “wholeheartedly.” Now in his 80s, Mr. Gupta said the physical structure of the plane will serve as a strong reminder of the terrorist activity and its impact on people.
For Rob Alexander, the wreckage is the last location of his father, Anchanatt, who was travelling on the flight to visit his mother in India.
“And so that has gotten significance in terms of location and where they were at the last moment of their lives,” said Mr. Alexander, who was 15 at the time.
Like Mr. Khandelwal, Mr. Gupta and Mr. Alexander are part of the AIVFA. The RCMP received a formal request from the association in June, 2021 to retain the wreckage in Canada, with the intention of turning it into a memorial, said Corporal Kim Chamberland.
She said the wreckage is currently in Canada, but the Mounties can’t provide a timeline for displaying the rumpled fragments of fuselage, charred passenger seats and twisted scraps of wing flaps.
Since receiving this request, Cpl. Chamberland said, the RCMP has initiated steps that will involve several partners, including Ottawa and New Delhi, in order to identify the legal and diplomatic requirements to seek the relinquishment of the wreckage from the government of India.
“The RCMP will work with the Air India Victim Family Association executive to discern the most appropriate handling, retention, and resting place for the wreckage,” she wrote in an e-mail.
Public Safety Canada did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2011, families of crew members of the ill-fated plane requested pieces of the wreckage to be included in a memorial in India.
Victims’ family hold services every year at four memorial sites across the country – Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – to remember their loved ones, but also to remind Canadians to remain vigilant against the threat and harms of terrorism.
In 2005, the Canadian government made June 23 the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. But Mr. Alexander said Ottawa has not given much cause for confidence that such a terrorist act will not happen again.
“I think that that sort of aggressive, violent rhetoric is on the upswing now again,” he said, referring to the last week’s killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader in Surrey, B.C., and last year’s murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the bombing trials.
“Right now, there’s a lot of complacency that really can harm Canadians again. That’s what I’m fearful of.”