The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has, for the first time in over four decades, admitted that Khalistani terrorists were behind the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182. The attack killed all 329 people on board and is still considered Canada’s deadliest terrorist incident. Remembering the victims, the CSIS called the bombing a heinous act of terror and said it was carried out by Canada-based Khalistani extremists. Air India Flight 182, also known as the Kanishka, was en route from Montreal to New Delhi
via London on June 23, 1985. A bomb hidden in checked baggage exploded mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland’s coast. The explosion occurred about 45 minutes before landing at London’s Heathrow Airport. Most victims were Canadian citizens of Indian origin and only 131 bodies were recovered from the ocean. The bombing was blamed on Sikh extremists as an act of retaliation against Operation Blue Star, the 1984 Indian military operation to remove armed Sikh separatists from Amritsar’s Golden Temple. Investigators found that the suitcase
with the bomb was checked in by a passenger who didn’t board the flight. They found that a member of Babbar Khalsa, a banned Khalistani terrorist group, allegedly planted the bomb. In 2005, Canada declared June 23 as National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. A public inquiry led by former Supreme Court Justice John Major found major lapses by Canadian authorities before and after the bombing. The inquiry concluded there had been a cascading series of errors by security agencies and that the
tragedy was initially viewed as an Indian issue, reducing the urgency of the investigation. In 2010, then-PM Stephen Harper apologized to victims’ families for these failures. Along with CSIS, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paid tribute to the victims this week, calling the Kanishka bombing the country’s worst terrorist attack. He reiterated Canada’s stance against terrorism in all its forms. The development comes as India and Canada work to rebuild diplomatic ties after relations deteriorated sharply in 2023 following allegations made by former Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau that Indian officials were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
CSIS, Kanishka bombing, Air India Flight 182, Khalistani terrorists, Babbar Khalsa, Operation Blue Star, National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, John Major inquiry, Stephen Harper apology, Mark Carney, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar