Latest news with #AirIndiaFlight182
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Top Canadian honour for India-born prof who lost family in Kanishka bombing
Toronto: Canada has announced this year's appointments to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour, and among the 83 distinguished recipients is Professor Mahesh Chandra Sharma, an Indo-Canadian academic who suffered immense personal loss in the Air India Flight 182, the Kanishka, bombing in 1985. Professor Mahesh Chandra Sharma, an Indo-Canadian academic who suffered immense personal loss in the Air India Flight 182, the Kanishka, bombing in 1985. Among the 329 victims of what remains the worst incident of terrorism in Canadian history were the wife, two children and mother-in-law of Prof Mahesh Chandra Sharma. On Monday, as governor general Mary Simon announced the list of 83 honorees for this year, he was made a member of the Order of Canada. The citation with the honor noted: 'Mahesh Sharma is a civic-minded philanthropist and leader. A beloved professor and mentor at Concordia University, he established scholarships to honour the memory of his family who were victims of Air India Flight 182. He also actively champions social causes supporting vulnerable individuals and the wider community.' Sharma, who is a professor of supply chain and business technology management at Concordia University in Montreal, studied mechanical engineering in India before moving to Canada. Also on the list was another Indo-Canadian academic, Dr Saroj Saigal, professor emeritus at McMaster University in Hamilton, who was admitted as an Officer of the Order of Canada. She 'helped shape the field of neonatology', the citation stated. 'She is internationally renowned as the first researcher to examine the lives of extremely premature infants from a qualitative perspective and is praised for this humanistic approach. She has shifted attitudes towards preterm infants and increased our understanding of their long-term outcomes,' it added. Dr Saigal obtained her medical degrees and received paediatric training in India before moving to Canada. Other prominent honorees on the list were two healthcare leaders who were at the forefront of Canada's battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Theresa Tam led the country's effort to counter the pandemic as Canada's Chief Public Health Officer. She retired from the position in June. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada as was Dr Bonnie Henry, who was the provincial health officer in British Columbia during the pandemic. In a release, the governor general's office described the Order of Canada as 'the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System'. It said that since its creation in 1967, over 8,200 people from all sectors of society have been appointed to the Order. 'The contributions of these trailblazers are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country,' it added.
Irish Examiner
24-06-2025
- Irish Examiner
Mr X, a key suspect in the 1985 Air India explosion, has died
A key suspect in the Air India flight explosion off the Irish coast 40 years ago has died, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The police force confirmed his death to the Irish Examiner after commemoration ceremonies took place in Ahakista in West Cork, and in Canada, on Monday, in memory of the 329 people who lost their lives when Flight 182 plunged into the sea off the Cork/Kerry coast on June 23, 1985. The flight was due to stop over in London's Heathrow before travelling to India for stops in Delhi and Mumbai. Passengers were primarily from Canada, but others on board came from India and Britain, as well as other countries. More than 80 of the victims were children. The bombing is believed to have been plotted by Sikh extremists in Canada as revenge on India for its storming of Sikhism's Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984. Mr X was believed to have been involved in testing an explosive device in woods in British Columbia in Canada in the weeks prior to the Air India bombing. A statement from Canadian police to the Irish Examiner said: 'RCMP investigators with the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team — Pacific Region, confirms they uncovered information related to a suspect they believe was involved in testing an explosive device prior to the Air India terrorist attack on June 23, 1985; however, there has not been sufficient evidence to unequivocally confirm the identification of this suspect. Investigators confirm the suspect is deceased.' It is understood the man recently died. Despite his death, Canadian police are not revealing his identity for privacy reasons. He is believed to have been involved in testing the bomb with the only person ever convicted in relation to the bombing, Inderjit Singh Reyat. Reyat bought the dynamite, detonators and batteries for the Air India Flight 182 bomb, which was in a suitcase on the flight. Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Air India trial. He was released from prison in 2017. His co-accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were acquitted in March 2005 of murder and conspiracy charges in the two bombings. Sanjay Lazar, who lost his parents, his three-year-old sister and unborn sibling in the disaster described news of the man's death as difficult. 'I have been an advocate for justice in this case. It is still today the largest bombing in aviation history. It is difficult even today to see what is happening — they have just found Mr X and he had passed away. "He was the mystery bomber who tested the bomb in the woods. It is difficult but I am glad that the RCMP is still pursuing the matter." Read More Air India Flight 182: Cork photographer recalls taking iconic image of 1985 bombing tragedy
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'It needs to be part of the Canadian fibre': Victims of 1985 Air India bombing honoured in online archive
Rob Alexander gently takes his father's wallet out of a box that his family has held onto for the past 40 years. It was found on his father's body when it was retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean along with some of the wreckage of Air India Flight 182 months after it was bombed in 1985. "He had such a good reputation ... and he was one of the guys that people would go to to get advice and to get help, and even a bit of direction," Alexander said about his dad, Anchanatt Alexander, a well-known doctor in Hamilton. On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 took off from Toronto en route to Mumbai via Montreal, London, England, and New Delhi. However, the flight disappeared from radar about 45 minutes before it was due to reach London. A bomb in a suitcase in the hold exploded, and the plane broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. Anchanatt Alexander was one of the 329 people who died, most of whom were Canadian citizens. "It was really shocking that it happened to my family," said Rob Alexander. Investigations and a public inquiry exposed major Canadian intelligence and security failures. To this day, it's considered one of the worst attacks in Canadian history, but Alexander says it's not recognized as such. "It's a piece of Canadian history that shouldn't have happened first of all," said Alexander. "It needs to be part of the Canadian fibre." It's a sentiment felt by a number of family members that CBC News spoke with. But one researcher is trying to change that. In a small room and among a few boxes, there's now a place for artifacts like Alexander's wallet to have a permanent home at McMaster University in Hamilton. Chandrima Chakraborty, a professor in the department of English and cultural studies who has no personal connection to the tragedy, decided to create a digital and physical archive dedicated to preserving the memories of those who died. She also sees it as a means of educating those who don't know about the disaster. "The boxes have a history, a history of memories, [a] history of erased stories. Histories of erased grief, but ongoing grief as well. And it also has a history in terms of my own work." Chakraborty works with a small team of students hired to digitize the personal artifacts donated by family members. The items include family photos and personal belongings, along with the badges of the pilot and co-pilots. 40 years for a project like this "It's a gift, but it's a difficult gift because it's a burden to carry. It comes with a lot of obligation because it is a gathering of memories and histories that families have preserved this long. And then they're willing to trust me with those boxes of materials," said Chakraborty. It's taken 40 years for a project like this to be created and is the only one to exist in Canada, says Chakraborty. She was inspired while discovering that not many of her students knew about Air India Flight 182. "The archive might offer some kind of a memory justice for these families ... by bringing into public memory this suppressed history, right?" According to a 2023 Angus Reid poll, nine in 10 Canadians said that they have little or no knowledge of the Air India bombing and most under 35 years of age had never heard of it. (The poll was conducted between June 19 and 21, 2023, with 1,548 Canadian adults and would have a margin of error of +/- two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.) Chakraborty started the archive in 2022 and was able to get it up and running with funding from McMaster, along with private donations. The website officially launched in May. "It should not be just the job of families to keep saying their stories again and again. Many of them are fatigued," said Chakraborty. For right now, it's just a digital archive, but if space and funding are provided, there will be a physical place for these artifacts as well. Chakraborty said she received funding from different sources to get the project up and running, but if more funding doesn't come through, she will run out by the beginning of next year. "It's an obligation to make sure that those records are preserved for perpetuity beyond my and you know, other lifetimes. So as long as McMaster as an institution holds, I hope it will be there." Alexander says the archive will help families, especially having one centralized place that people can turn to. "We've donated some articles and some pictures, but other families have donated a lot more. It will help keep that narrative together," he said. "The fact that Dr. Chakraborty has taken it upon herself to really steward the Air India families and take care of the memories of all the lost loved ones is unbelievable to me." WATCH | Rembering her father: Susheel Gupta, who lost his mother, Ramwati Gupta, on the flight when he was 12 years old, says his memories of her are fading, but he holds onto those he still has. "I remember she loved to cook. I remember her singing while she would cook. I remember the way she dressed, the way she did her hair or her hand creams, you know, certain smells," said Gupta, of Ottawa. "She worked hard, she played hard, she was a wonderful mom. I wish I just had more time to spend with her." Gupta said that in the same way Canada honours those who fought in various wars, were peacekeepers or made great accomplishments, people like his mother and fellow victims of Flight 182 need to be commemorated. "Canadians never paid attention and it's not remembered at all for those who do.... It's hurtful. It is painful. I'm going to say we still have an opportunity to correct from that and that's what the families are trying to do now," said Gupta. "They deserve to be honoured and respected and remembered." WATCH | Full documentary: Two Suitcases: Anatomy of the Air India bombing:
CTV News
23-06-2025
- CTV News
Police in B.C. say suspect known as ‘Mr. X' in 1985 Air India bombing is dead
Two reporters look over the remains of Air India Flight 182 on Tuesday, June 16, 2004, that were reconstructed by investigators in January 2003. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chuck Stoody Police in British Columbia say a suspect known as 'Mr. X' who is believed to have helped test a bomb before the 1985 Air India terror attack has died before facing charges. The statement from the RCMP's Pacific Region comes as families commemorate the 40th anniversary of the attack, where two bombs targeting Air India flights exploded, including one that killed 329 people, most of them Canadians. Police say in an email that investigators had 'uncovered information related to a suspect they believe was involved in testing an explosive device prior to the Air India terrorist attack on June 23, 1985.' RCMP are not naming the suspect, saying the evidence was not sufficient to unequivocally confirm the identification of the person who has since died. The suspect, whose identification was first reported by Postmedia, is believed to have helped test an explosive device on Vancouver Island a few weeks before the bombs were placed on two planes. The bomb on Air India Flight 182 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone on board, while a second suitcase bomb exploded before being transferred onto an Air India jet, killing two baggage handlers in Tokyo's Narita Airport. Ceremonies marking the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism are taking place today in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and County Cork, Ireland, which is near where Flight 182 went down. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2025. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press
CBC
23-06-2025
- General
- CBC
How Canada is marking 40 years since 1985 Air India bombing
Monday marks the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182. All 329 passengers, mostly Canadians, were killed on the flight, which was en route from Toronto to Mumbai. CBC's Angie Seth explains how Canadians are honouring the victims.
