Marking a solemn milestone in Canadian history, Mississauga resident Lata Pada joined families in Ireland on June 23 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Air India Flight 182 bombing — the deadliest act of terrorism in Canadian history.
Pada lost her husband Vishnu and daughters Brinda (18) and Arti (15) in the June 23, 1985 attack, when the flight en route from Canada to India via Britain was destroyed mid-air off the coast of Ireland. All 329 people aboard were killed, most of them Canadian citizens.
“It’s a very beautiful, touching feeling that we are not alone in our memory, our remembrances, and our pain,” Pada shared during a phone interview from the memorial site near Cork. “This is a place of great spiritual significance to honour the memories of those we lost.”
At the time of the tragedy, Pada, a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer, had travelled to India ahead of her family to prepare for a performance. She was waiting in Bombay when she received the devastating news. She flew to Ireland immediately after and was tasked with identifying the bodies of her daughters. Vishnu’s remains were never recovered.
The grief, she said, never fades.
“Every time a memory returns — when I see my friends’ children grow, when I think of the lives my daughters and husband could have led — I ask, ‘what if?’” she said. “You can’t help but think of the 83 children under the age of 13 on that flight. It’s almost a lost generation.”
In the aftermath, Pada channeled her sorrow into purpose. She founded Sampradaya Dance Creations and Sampradaya Dance Academy in Mississauga, two organizations that celebrated their 35th anniversary last year. Through dance, she found a path to healing — and to preserving her family’s memory.
“There’s no closure,” she said. “There is acceptance, yes — but not closure. Especially because the extremist ideology that brought down this flight still exists in Canada.”
She remains deeply committed to ensuring that the Air India tragedy is never forgotten and is properly acknowledged as an act of terrorism rooted in radicalism.
“We must continue to remember and honour the lives lost,” Pada said. “But just as importantly, we must remain vigilant — to prevent extremism in any form from finding a place in our country again.”
The Air India Flight 182 bombing stood as the deadliest act of aviation terrorism in the world until 9/11. Forty years later, the pain it left behind remains etched in the hearts of families like Pada’s — and in the history of a nation that, many argue, still has reckoning to do.