Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma Honors Air India 182 Victims in Ottawa
On June 24, the 39th anniversary of the Air India flight ‘Kanishka’ bombing, Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, paid tribute to the victims in Ottawa. Despite the rain, the Indian High Commission in Canada led a memorial service at the Air India Flight 182 Monument at Commissioner’s Park, Dow’s Lake.
During his speech, Verma emphasized that no government should ignore terrorism for political gains, stressing the importance of human lives over political interests. He called for strong legal actions against terrorism and urged global cooperation to dismantle terrorist networks.
The Indian High Commission in Canada shared on X that 329 innocent victims, including 86 children, lost their lives in the bombing. Verma reiterated India’s commitment to countering terrorism and working with other nations to address this global threat.
Family members, friends of the victims, and officials from the Canadian government, including the Assistant RCMP Commissioner and the Ambassador of Ireland, attended the event. The Consul General of India in Toronto, Siddhartha Nath, also attended a memorial service at Queen’s Park Toronto and laid a wreath at the Air India 182 memorial in Humber Park, Etobicoke.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called the bombing one of the worst acts of terrorism in history and a reminder of why terrorism should never be tolerated. Indian-origin Canadian MP Chandra Arya highlighted that the ideology behind the attack still exists among some people in Canada, expressing concerns over recent incidents glorifying violence.
