Canada parliament observes silence in Nijjar’s memory; India evokes Kanishka

After Canada’s House of Commons observed a moment of silence on Tuesday (June 18) to mark the first anniversary of pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing, the Indian Consulate General in Vancouver announced a memorial service on June 23 to pay tribute to the 329 victims of the 1985 bombing of the Air India Kanishka flight by Khalistani terrorists.

“India stands at the forefront of countering the menace of terrorism and works closely with all nations to tackle this global threat. 23 June 2024 marks the 39th Anniversary of the cowardly terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182 (Kanishka), in which 329 innocent victims, including 86 children, lost their lives in one of the most heinous terror-related air disasters in the history of civil aviation,” the Consulate General posted on social media platform X.

“A Memorial Service is scheduled at 1830 hrs on June 23, 2024 at the Air India Memorial at Stanley Park’s Ceperley Playground area. @cgivancouver encourages members of the Indian Diaspora to join the event in a show of solidarity against terrorism. @HCI_Ottawa,” it added.

Silence in memory of Nijjar

The post came as news broke of the Canadian Parliament observing a moment of silence in the memory of Nijjar, who was shot dead in British Columbia last year.

News agency IANS released a video, sourced from the Canadian Parliament official website, in which members of the Canadian parliament can be seen observing silence in the House of Commons. Speaker Greg Fergus, as starts the memorial, can be heard saying, “Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in Surrey, British Columbia, one year ago today.”

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been investigating Nijjar’s murder and four Indian nationals have been arrested so far. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing that took place outside a gurdwara. India has rubbished the allegations, and bilateral ties between the two nations have nosedived since then.

Protest outside Indian consulate

During the day, a large protest was held in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver, with people flaunting posters of Talwinder Singh Parmar, considered the mastermind of the terror attack on the Air India flight in June 1985, the Kanishka.

“Indian ministers and diplomats who will escape Canadian justice will certainly face Khalsa justice as pro-Khalistan Sikhs will ‘Haunt, Hunt and Hold’ killers of Nijjar responsible under the international laws. You can hide behind the diplomatic immunity for some time, but cannot be protected for lifetime,” Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun reportedly said.

He also reportedly called for a boycott of Air India from June 23, the date of the Kanishka bombing. The day is observed in Canada as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. On the fateful day, the Montreal-London Air India Flight had blown up in the sky when a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists went off. The 329 victims included 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens.

India-Canada ties

Only recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trudeau met in Italy during the G7 Summit, and the latter said there was an “alignment” on several “big issues” with India.

This was their first meeting since diplomatic ties nosedived last year. India has repeatedly insisted that Canada is harbouring separatists and anti-India elements within its territory.