Cork (Ireland)– A high-level Indian delegation, led by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, is in Ireland today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing. The memorial service is being held at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork, where the tragedy remains deeply etched in public memory.
Joining Minister Puri are BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and elected representatives from five Indian states: Arvinder Singh Lovely (Delhi), Baldev Singh Aulakh (Uttar Pradesh), Gurveer Singh Brar (Rajasthan), Trilok Singh Cheema (Uttarakhand), and Narinder Singh Raina (Jammu and Kashmir).
The ceremony is being attended by Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin, Canadian Minister Gary Anandasangaree, and other international dignitaries, reflecting the global impact of the attack.
On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182—named Kanishka after the Kushan dynasty emperor—was en route from Montreal to Mumbai via London and Delhi. Shortly after the flight resumed its journey from Montreal and contacted Shannon Air Traffic Control in Ireland, a bomb exploded in the cargo hold, bringing down the Boeing 747 over the Atlantic Ocean off the Irish coast.
All 329 people on board, including 22 crew members, were killed in what remains one of the deadliest acts of aviation terrorism in history. Investigations later revealed that the bomb had been loaded onto the flight in Vancouver as part of a transnational terror plot.
The attack was attributed to the Khalistani extremist group Babbar Khalsa. Inderjit Singh Reyat, a British-Canadian national, pleaded guilty in 2003 to his role in building the explosive device. Talwinder Singh Parmar, a founding member of Babbar Khalsa, is believed to have masterminded the attack.
Earlier today, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid tribute to the victims and used the occasion to call for a unified international stance against terrorism.
“On the 40th anniversary of the Air India 182 ‘Kanishka’ bombing, we honor the memory of the 329 lives lost in one of the worst acts of terrorism. A stark reminder of why the world must show zero tolerance towards terrorism and violent extremism,” Jaishankar wrote on X.
The Ahakista Memorial continues to serve as a solemn reminder of the devastating consequences of terrorism and the importance of global vigilance against extremist ideologies. (Source: IANS)
