16^th December 2024 – An e-petition, e-5100, will now be up for Canadian government’s response towards the request to reopen Air India bombing investigation.

The e-petition was initiated by Gurpreet Singh from British Columbia and endorsed by Liberal MP from Surrey-Newton, Sukh Dhaliwal

The e-petition claimed that, “The Sikhs in Canada widely believe that this was the handiwork of a foreign intelligence to discredit their political activism and undermine their advocacy work for human rights in India”. Given the fact that India has been alleged by Canada for foreign interference recently, this petition has requested “Government of Canada to order a fresh inquiry into the Air India episode to determine whether any foreign intelligence was involved in the crime”.

The petition was initiated in August 2024 and closed last Wednesday failed to gain much traction and could earn only 4,238 signatures over a period of four months. Nevertheless, it is more than the required signatures of 500 for a government response.

As per Public Safety Canada, “The bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, represents the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history. The attack – planned and executed in Canada – claimed the lives of 329 innocent people – 280 of them Canadian.”

A report published by Public Safety Canada in October 2009 said, “In 2003, charges were brought against suspects of the Air India bombing which was motivated by Sikh nationalism. Members of the Babbar Khalsa and the International Sikh Youth Federation were implicated in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 from Vancouver to India on June 23, 1985. The Sikh groups were motivated by the desire for a separate Sikh state (Khalistan). The Boeing 747 was destroyed at 9,500 meters with 329 people on board including 280 Canadians. This event remains Canada’s deadliest single “terrorist” incident”.

‘The Kanishka Project’ which was started in 2011 under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Stephen Harper allocated $10 million to research on issues of terrorism and counter-terrorism in Canada.

Terry Milewski, a veteran CBC journalist, has been on the forefront of reporting on Air India bombing in 1985. In a report published by Macdonald-Laurier Institute in September 2020 and authored by Milewski under the title ‘Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan’, he wrote that a new generation of violent extremists has now emerged in Canada and India. His report warned against violent extremist ideologies, growing radicalization of young Canadians and appropriation of legislatures.

Although, Air India bombing remains the biggest aviation tragedy of Canada, it has faded from the memories of common Canadians. Last year, a survey conducted by Angus Reid confirmed that 9 out of 10 respondents knew little or nothing of the Air India Flight 182 terrorist attack.