On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 Emperor Kanishka was blown out of the sky by Canada-based Khalistani terrorists. The plane was flying from Montreal to Delhi via London, but it never reached its destination. It exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Cork, Ireland. All 329 people on board Kanishka (307 passengers and 22 crew members) died in the bombing. Among the victims were 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 22 Indian citizens.
It was the worst terrorist attack on a plane. Yet, even after 40 years, justice remains incomplete. The main conspirators allegedly died without punishment or were never charged at all. Only one person, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was convicted.
Notably, the terrorists had planned a second bombing the same day. Another bomb was placed on Air India Flight 301 in Japan. That bomb exploded at Narita International Airport, killing two Japanese baggage handlers. The second bomb claimed the lives of two Japanese baggage handlers at Narita Airport. Fortunately, that flight had not taken off.
Weeks before the Kanishka bombing, Khalistani extremists had openly warned people to avoid Air India. Similar to the way SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun makes threats today, posters and phone calls hinting terrorists attack.
It is to be noted that, Canada showed little interest in the bombing of Kanishka and bringing the perpetrators to justice from Day One of the tragedy. This despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of the passengers were Canadian citizens. That question still haunts many families.
However, in this case, the Canadian police have refused to name that person, who will never face charges as he is now dead. The Vancouver Sun reported on June 20 that the suspect who is named as ‘Mr X’ has been identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP investigators. However, RCMP’s Assistant Commissioner David Teboul told the outlet that privacy laws prevented them from identifying the person who was with mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar and bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat when they tested an explosive in the woods in Duncan, British Columbia, prior to the attack.
While the RCMP has maintained that the investigation into the Khalistani terror attack remains ongoing, Teboul conceded “there’s very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.”
In short, the families waited four decades only to be told that another one of the killers will never be punished.
India calls upon Canadian friends to deepen bilateral collaboration in countering terrorism, extremism
On the 40th anniversary, a remembrance ceremony was held at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri represented India. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree were also present.
Calling Canada a valued partner and friend of India, he called upon them to deepen the bilateral collaboration in countering this. In his speech, he asked the world to come together not only in mourning but also in collective proactive efforts to counter terrorism.
On behalf of India, I call upon the global community to remember our shared responsibility. I call upon our Canadian friends in particular to deepen our bilateral collaboration in countering this. Canada is a valued partner and a friend of India. We share vibrant cultural and economic relations with each other, and we are bound by democratic traditions, and those ideals require us to act together against all forms of extremism and terrorism. When separatist violence, and separatist voices find sanctuary, when extremist figures glorify violence– they threaten not just the people whose lives they take away, they threaten societies at large,” Hardeep Puri said.
He said that by working together, sharing intelligence, shutting off funding channels, countering radicalization, it can be ensured that those who continue to promote hate and terror cannot succeed.
“India stands ready to do more. Our security agencies, our intelligence operators, and our diplomatic channels remain committed to partnering with Canada and all other countries. Let us redouble our efforts to ensure that what happened on June 23, 1985 is never repeated, not here, not in India, not anywhere in the world,” he said.
“Already 40 years have passed by since our dear loved ones perished in the worst mass murder of 329 innocent victims, mostly women and children, committed by Sikh extremists bombing Air India Kanishka Flight 182 that exploded off the Irish coast in June 23, 1985. Not a day goes by without feeling the pain and the loss of our loved ones in this horrific tragedy. Today is one more milestone anniversary in our lifetime, and I feel happy seeing so many of us gathered here to share the grief…”, says one of the family member of one of the victims at the remembrance ceremony at Cork, Ireland.
#WATCH | Cork, Ireland | On the 40th anniversary of the Kanishka bombing, family member of one of the victims, says "Already 40 years have passed by since our dear loved ones perished in the worst mass murder of 329 innocent victims, mostly women and children, committed by Sikh… pic.twitter.com/l2sbyprF4X
— ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2025
Notably, an Indian delegation arrived in Ireland to attend the 40th anniversary of the memorial of the Kanishka terror attack. The delegation led by Hardeep Singh Puri includes BJP MLA in Delhi Assembly, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Minister of State in the Uttar Pradesh government, Baldev Singh Aulakh, BJP MLA from Sadulshahar in Ganganagar, Rajasthan Assembly, Gurveer Singh Brar, BJP MLA from RS Pura in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Narinder Singh Raina, BJP MLA from Kashipur in the Uttarakhand Assembly, Trilok Singh Cheema- BJP MLA from Kashipur in Uttarakhand Assembly, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and India’s Ambassador to Ireland, Akhilesh Mishra.
