Even with the passage of more than four decades, Deepak Khandelwal will never forget the day his life turned upside down. His two sisters were among the 331 people killed in the Air India Flight 182 bombing on June 23, 1985, the deadliest act of aviation terrorism before 9/11 and the largest mass murder in Canadian history.
"It is a daily thing," Khandelwal told the Toronto Sun. "It is not something you forget or get over. You do think of them all the time. You don't get over it but you learn to deal with it, is how I would say it."
Political Leaders Snub Memorial Service
Khandelwal expressed frustration that Mayor Olivia Chow and Premier Doug Ford have declined to attend the upcoming memorial services. "We got turned down again this year by Mayor Olivia Chow, who is not coming to the memorial service in Toronto, and Premier Ford is not going to come. They just don't care, to be blunt," he said.
"They just don't care about these Canadians who were murdered. They continue to think of it as a foreign tragedy because it happened to be an Air India plane and not an Air Canada plane."
A recent Angus Reid Institute poll revealed that 90% of Canadians confess to knowing little to nothing about the Air India bombing. "It has never been taken seriously, and that is what offends the families—this neglect and disinterest in Canada's largest mass murder from our elected officials," Khandelwal added.
Ceremonies to Honour Victims
A ceremony will be held next Tuesday at noon on the Queen's Park Legislative Assembly grounds. Later that day, a second ceremony will take place at the Air India Memorial in Humber Bay Park East at 6:30 p.m.
Khandelwal is calling for two changes to ensure the tragedy is not forgotten. "We would like to get this into the school system, so people are taught about this in Canadian history," he said. "It is not talked about, and it is Canada's largest mass murder. We have to make sure Canada never forgets this."
Push for National Museum Display
The plane's wreckage is currently stored in a British Columbia warehouse. The Air India Flight 182 Victims' Families Association is seeking a piece of the wreckage from the Indian government to display in a national museum. "We would like to be able to display that in a national museum," Khandelwal noted, acknowledging the slow wheels of foreign bureaucracy.
The Canadian government officially recognized June 23 as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, a designation achieved through the advocacy of the Air India families to show solidarity with all victims of terror worldwide.
