Rob Alexander still remembers the moment his father, Dr. Anchanatt Mathew Alexander, changed his travel plans. He wasn’t supposed to be on Air India Flight 182. Originally booked on Air France, his father was persuaded by a friend to fly Air India instead. That fateful decision ended in tragedy when the Boeing 747 exploded mid-air on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 aboard—most of them Canadian citizens.
Now, nearly four decades later, Alexander and others who lost loved ones in the bombing are deeply concerned that Canada is forgetting its worst terrorist attack. The bombing, blamed on Sikh separatist extremists advocating for a Khalistani state in India, not only tore through families but also left a long shadow on Canada’s justice system, politics, and its multicultural identity.
Although the 2005 federal report and a subsequent inquiry confirmed the conspiracy’s roots within a radical Sikh faction, many victims’ families say Canadian society has failed to confront these truths. The recent killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the international fallout from former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s accusations against India have brought renewed tensions, echoing past divisions.
Alexander feels that Canada has allowed extremist influences to re-emerge and sees this as a global embarrassment. The only person ever convicted, bombmaker Inderjit Singh Reyat, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2003 and later served a sentence for perjury after lying to protect others during a trial that cost nearly $60 million. Two other accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were acquitted after a lengthy trial that was heavily criticized for weak evidence and witness issues.
The case remains open, though little progress has been made. Malik was murdered in 2022, and Reyat was released in 2016. Meanwhile, Nijjar’s 2023 assassination outside a Surrey temple prompted arrests but also reignited political controversy over alleged Indian government involvement—a claim New Delhi has denied.
For survivors like Deepak Khandelwal, who lost two sisters, the deeper tragedy lies in the national amnesia. Canadian protests still show violent imagery, including guns, which he sees as repeating old mistakes. While he does not single out any one group, he expresses discomfort with messaging that appears to celebrate violent means in democratic discourse.
Experts like McMaster University professor Chandrima Chakraborty caution against oversimplifying the tragedy. Many of the bombing victims were Sikh themselves. The community was both a target and collateral victim of the extremists who misused their religious identity. The Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver is now advocating for a national learning centre that will serve as both a memorial and educational resource.
Chakraborty and others highlight the ongoing misrepresentation of the tragedy in Canadian consciousness. A 2023 poll revealed that 89% of Canadians knew little or nothing about the bombing. For those under 35, most had never even heard of it. In contrast, events like 9/11 are widely commemorated and recognized.
This lack of awareness has real consequences. Survivors like Dr. Bal Gupta, who lost his wife and later founded the Air India 182 Victims Families Association, fear the memory of the bombing is slipping away, especially among younger generations. He criticized the absence of official federal commemorations for the 40th anniversary. In past years, memorials were attended by high-level leaders, including then-prime minister Paul Martin, who declared June 23 as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.
This year, families themselves are organizing memorial events in cities across Canada and in Ireland, where the wreckage fell. Invitations to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were declined—Ford citing prior engagements, and Carney offering no response. Khandelwal called their absence insulting.
The legal proceedings that followed the bombing were extraordinary in scope but ultimately disappointing for many. The 2003 Vancouver trial saw unprecedented security and attracted international attention, yet public engagement in Canada remained low. Malik and Bagri were acquitted in 2005, largely due to Reyat’s perjury, and Reyat himself became a symbol of the justice system’s failure to deliver accountability. Crown prosecutor Robert Wright reflected on the case as a watershed moment that reshaped Canada’s approach to aviation security and terrorism awareness.
But challenges persist. A 2024 memorial in Vancouver was disrupted by Khalistan supporters waving separatist flags, suggesting that even remembrance events are becoming politically charged. Chakraborty warns against reducing communities to extremist caricatures. True learning, she says, requires acknowledging the diversity within all faiths and ideologies.
Sgt. Vanessa Munn of the RCMP confirmed that the investigation remains active and that any new evidence will be pursued. But for the families who have already waited 40 years, what they want most is recognition—that this was not just a foreign dispute brought to Canadian soil, but a Canadian tragedy that demands collective memory and responsibility.