Air India Flight 182, Kanishka, was a passenger aircraft operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Mumbai route. On June 23, 1985, the plane disintegrated mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean following the detonation of a bomb planted by Khalistani terrorists. All 329 people on board perished — 280 of them Canadian citizens.

The bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack and the largest mass murder in Canadian history. Until the 9/11 attacks, it stood as the world’s most devastating act of aviation terrorism. Yet, nearly four decades later, this national tragedy is absent from the collective memory of most Canadians. Surveys show that nearly 90% of Canadians — especially younger generations — know little or nothing about the attack, in part because it is not included in our school curricula, unlike 9/11.

Two separate Canadian public inquiries concluded unequivocally that the bombing was carried out by extremists affiliated with the Khalistan movement. Both inquiries found no evidence implicating foreign governments and clearly noted that India had issued multiple warnings to Canadian authorities about the threat posed by Khalistani extremists to Air India flights.

Despite this, in 2024, during the 44th Parliament, Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal sponsored a petition calling for a new inquiry into the Air India bombing to investigate potential involvement of foreign intelligence services. This move was met with strong criticism from national security experts and victims’ families alike.

On October 15, 2024, the National Post published an article by Christian Leuprecht, professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University, and Joe Adam George, a national security analyst, titled “Liberal MPs promote Air India bombing conspiracy theory.” The article warned that the petition — calling for a renewed investigation into the Indian government — appeared to be a political attempt to appeal to Khalistan supporters.

On September 26, 2024, then-MP Chandra Arya made a statement in Parliament opposing the petition. He condemned the resurfacing of baseless conspiracy theories promoted by Khalistani extremists, stating: “Even today, the ideology responsible for this terrorist attack is still alive among a few people in Canada.” He also quoted Mr. Bal Gupta, who lost his wife Rama in the bombing. In a Globe and Mail interview, Mr. Gupta said:
“It’s deeply frustrating. It opens up old wounds all over again. It’s all garbage. It’s an attempt to gain publicity and support for terrorist activities.”