Sikhs attend service in Vancouver for Air India bombing victims

Renée Sarojini Saklikar's uncle and aunt were among the 329 people killed 39 years ago when Air India Flight 182 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, and every year she says she honours the memory of the lives lost in the terrorist attack and those left behind.

"What I try and do is think about the lives lived that were cut short and the potential they had," she told CBC News. "How the remaining family members have ... gone on to do some really remarkable things."

Saklikar was among dozens who gathered Sunday at the Air India memorial wall in Vancouver's Stanley Park to remember the victims who died on June 23, 1985.

This year, for the first time, the mourners were joined by Sikhs belonging to a group that advocates for a Sikh homeland in India called Khalistan.

Carrying Khalistan flags and banners expressing solidarity with the victims of the bombings, the members of Sikhs for Justice stood nearby, observing the service.

During the bombing trial, Crown lawyers alleged that B.C.-based Sikh separatists planned the attack against state-owned Air India.

Renée Sarojini Saklikar, who lost her uncle and aunt in the bombing, visited the memorial in Vancouver's Stanley Park on Sunday to mourn them privately. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)

Only one person was convicted in the case: Inderjit Singh Reyat, who served a total of 30 years in prison for a combination of manslaughter, perjury and his role in constructing the bombs, before his release in January 2016.

Two others, Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh, were acquitted of murder and conspiracy charges.

A Canadian inquiry commission identified Talwinder Singh Parmar, a B.C. man linked to the Khalistan movement, as the mastermind behind the attack. Parmar was killed, allegedly in a gunfight, by Indian police in 1992. Malik was shot dead in Surrey, B.C., in July 2022.

Sikhs for Justice, a group advocating for a separate Sikh homeland in India, joined the memorial in Vancouver's Stanley Park on Sunday. 'Kanishka' refers to the name of the jet that was destroyed when a bomb inside detonated over the Atlantic Ocean. (Sohrab Sandhu/CBC)

Sikhs for Justice is now calling on the federal government to launch a fresh public inquiry into the Air India bombing, stating that Parmar was "innocent" — a move that has drawn sharp reaction from some, including former B.C. premier and federal cabinet minister Ujjal Dosanjh.

"That makes me sad because, I mean, there's absolutely every ample proof that's available that it was … Parmar and his group that commissioned the Air India terror," Dosanjh told CBC News before Sunday's memorial service.

"Either Talwinder Parmar is a terrorist, or he's your hero. You decide which one first before you tell us that you're now really, sincerely memorializing the victims of Air India," he said.

But the members of Sikhs for Justice who attended the service maintained their solidarity with the victims and their families.

"They have blamed Sikhs for [the bombing] ... as Sikhs, we are against [it]," said Jasmeet Singh after the memorial.

"We, as Sikhs, always seek the whole world's good will, so even in dreams we cannot think about it."

In a statement Sunday commemorating the victims of the bombing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is doing its part to fight terrorism, including updating its counter-terrorism strategy.

In a statement released Friday, B.C. RCMP called the Air India investigation the "most complex domestic terrorism investigation" ever undertaken by the force. It said the investigation into the matter remains active and ongoing.

'It's important for Canadians to remember'

The crafted stone wall memorial in Stanley Park bears the name of all the 331 people who lost their lives in what is known as the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history.

For family members like Saklikar, each anniversary of the tragic day is a moment to remember the innocent lives lost.

"My focus is 100 per cent with my dead and my family and the families of everyone here," said Saklikar.

She says the sudden death of her uncle, Dr. Umar Jethwa, and aunt, Zebunnisa Jethwa, orphaned her cousin Irfan.

"He's now a really amazing dad to two grown sons and a wonderful husband and cousin-brother to me," she added.

Speaking at the memorial service, Health Minister Adrian Dix, who is also Saklikar's husband, said the killers clearly didn't care about the 82 children who were among those on board.

"They knew children would be on the airplane, they knew the school year had ended, they knew people were travelling for holidays and they did it anyway," he said.

Susheel Gupta was only 12 when his mother died in the bombing. He says on every anniversary of the bombing, the pain feels new again.

Susheel Gupta as a young boy celebrating a birthday with his mother Ramwati, who died when a bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985. (Submitted by Susheel Gupta)

"It's important for Canadians to remember, why do we hold a memorial every single year? Because we are alive to," said Gupta, who currently serves as a senior strategic operations advisor for the RCMP.

"Because we need to be cautious and diligent that the same radicalism, fundamentalism, the same hate that led to this Canadian tragedy, doesn't happen again."