Montreal honours victims of Air India Flight 182 on 40th anniversary of deadly bombing
Posted June 23, 2025 7:54 pm.
Last Updated June 23, 2025 10:49 pm.
Montrealers gathered Monday evening to mark the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism with a solemn tribute to the 329 people killed in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 — one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Canadian history.
The attack occurred 40 years ago, on June 23, 1985, when a bomb exploded aboard the aircraft en route from Toronto to Delhi. The plane went down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. All on board were killed, including 268 Canadians, many of them families travelling to India for summer vacation.
A memorial ceremony was held at the Air India Memorial Site on Monk Island, along the Lachine Canal. Built by the victims’ families, the site stands as a lasting place of remembrance and a call for peace.
Remembering those lost
Among those keeping the memory alive is 88-year-old Mahesh Sharma, a Concordia University professor who lost his wife Uma, daughters Sandhya and Swati, and mother-in-law Shakuntala in the attack.
“It was very hard for me,” Sharma said. “But I realized I could earn some money and put their names there and do something better for people.”
Sharma created scholarships in their names at McGill University, Concordia University, and Royal West Academy, ensuring the memory of his loved ones lives on through education.
“They only use the interest, so it will continue forever,” he said. “It’s never going to run out.”
Despite the scale of the tragedy, Sharma says the memorial and the event remain largely unknown.
“Ninety percent of Canadians don’t know,” he said. “Even in Montreal, people don’t know this site exists.”
Calls for justice and recognition
Raman Chopra, president of the National Association of Canadians of Origins in India (Montreal), was also at the event. He criticized the handling of the case and the broader response from Canadian authorities.
“Canada failed us,” Chopra said. “The people on the flight — they were Canadian citizens. They were of Indian origin.”
He pointed to what he described as serious investigative failures, including lost RCMP records and the lack of accountability for those responsible.
“Everybody went squad free after that,” he said. “And as a result, the Khalistani movement was emboldened. And the victims don’t know how to respond. They’re still grieving after 40 years.”
Chopra’s wife, Shama Chopra, has a personal connection to terrorism. She was aboard Northwest Flight 253 in 2009 — the target of a failed bombing attempt on Christmas Day.
“When I was in the flight, I was about to die from a bomb blast,” she said. “But somehow from 30,000 feet to 15, then 5,000 feet, they landed in an open area. So it was very scary. I was the only person on that flight, so I do connect with how people got scared at that time when this happened.”
She also reflected on the emotional impact of attending the Air India memorial ceremony.
“We are all being together as a community and grieving for those which died on the Air India crash,” she said. “You know, I have a friend and I have one student — I was teaching them dances — and both mother and daughter, they both died. So sometimes I miss them. Today is the day like we all remember them.”
A memorial site for healing and unity
The Air India Memorial Site was built to provide a space for families to gather and remember loved ones lost in the bombing. It remains a quiet but powerful reminder of the lives cut short.
Sechin Gubba, a community volunteer, shared his memories of how the memorial first entered his life.
“Every year the people from our community come here just to stay with their families,” he said. “There used to be like around 15 families who were impacted. Now slowly everybody — either they don’t live in Quebec or they moved away or they are no more on this earth.”
Gubba noted that some, like Professor Sharma, continue to return each year.
“He’s part of our congregation at the temple. So we always see him coming to this memorial, miss his family and all. So we also know we should be with him all the time — especially on this day — to spend time and just treat it as a simple gesture to the family. Just sit down, have food together, share some memories and all.”
He reflected on the broader message the site conveys.
“Believe in humanity, believe in one God and just live peaceful life and stay away from all those things which are unhuman,” he said. “We are here for a short time — maybe 50 years, 60 years, 100 years, you never know. But whatever time we have on this planet, just live peacefully. That’s it.”
As Montreal gathered to remember, the message was clear: the memory of those lost in the Air India tragedy lives on, and so does the call for justice.
“As a community, we go to the same temples, weddings — and every time we see one of the family members of these people, everything comes back,” he said. “It’s very painful. Then, and now,” said Chopra.
