41st Anniversary of Air India Flight 182 Bombing Marked at Queen’s Park
A small and solemn gathering on the south lawn of Queen’s Park on Tuesday afternoon marked the 41st anniversary of the Air India bombing.
“As time goes on, this group of families gets smaller and smaller because many people have already passed away, and that’s one of the reasons why we hold these services and remember the people who were murdered,” said master of ceremonies Deepak Khandelwal, who hosted an event that would rather not exist.
Largest Mass Murder in Canadian History
More than four decades later, Air India Flight 182 remains the largest mass murder in Canadian history and the deadliest act of aviation terrorism outside of 9/11, after two terrorist attacks left 331 people dead, including 268 Canadian citizens. Only 132 bodies were recovered.
Another bomb explosion the same day at Narita Airport in Tokyo killed baggage handlers Hideharu Koda and Hideo Asano.
Khandelwal has a personal connection to the incident. His two sisters, then 19 and 21, died on that fateful day in 1985 when two terrorist bombs ripped through the Boeing 747 at 31,000 feet off the southwest coast of Ireland at around 7:13 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on June 23, 1985.
“It’s an everyday thing,” Khandelwal said when asked how the tragedy still affects him today. “It’s not something you forget or get over. You think about it all the time. You don’t get over it, but you learn to deal with it, I would say.”
“Cowardly Attack”
Irish forces and merchant ships rushed to the scene in the hope of assisting in a rescue, but this did not materialize as only 132 bodies were recovered.
“The sheer scale of the tragedy, a cowardly attack on a civilian aircraft, is hard to imagine,” said Cahal Sweeney, deputy consul general for Ireland in Toronto. “We will never forget the images and the response of the Irish Defense Forces, the Irish Navy and many ordinary people who rushed to the scene and wanted to help in any way they could. A response that we desperately hoped would be a rescue, but tragically was only a recovery.”
Currently, the wreckage of the plane is in a warehouse in British Columbia, the remains of the plane are the property of the Indian government.
“Forty-one years may have passed, but time has not erased the pain and loss of the families and victims,” said Mahaveer Singhvi, the consul general for India in Toronto. “It is our responsibility to remember those who were so suddenly taken from us. On behalf of the Government of India, I extend our deepest condolences to the families who continue to feel the profound impact of this tragedy. We stand with you in remembrance, solidarity and respect.”
Tuesday Also Recognizes Victims of Terrorism
Engraved on the Air India monuments in Toronto and Ahakista, Ireland are the words: “Time flies and the suns rise, the shadows fall, let them pass, love reigns forever.”
“It’s love that brings us together,” Sweeney said. “On behalf of the Irish people and the Government of Ireland, the Irish Consulate General in Toronto, we express our deepest and saddest condolences and know that we will forever hold the memory of your loved ones in our hearts.”
Tuesday was also Canada’s National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, a designation achieved through the efforts of Air India families to ensure solidarity with all victims of terrorism worldwide.
