While the Canadian Parliament paid tributes to a Khalistani militant, Indian Consulate in Vancouver drew attention to tragic bombing of Air India flight 182, Kanishka killing 329 persons including many women and children from 86 families.
The Consulate General of India, from its official Twitter handle 'India in Vancouver', reaffirmed the strong commitment of India to fight terrorism across the globe: "23rd June 2024: We remember the 39th Anniversary of the dastardly terrorist attack on Air India flight 182, Kanishka, in which 329 innocent lives, comprising 86 children, were lost on that fateful day, in one of the worst air disasters brought about by terrorism," the post read.
It announced a Memorial Service at 5.30 PM on June 23 at Stanley Park's Ceperley Playground and invited the Indian Diaspora to "come together in solidarity against terrorism."
As India tried to put the attack in the global context of terrorism, parliament members of Canada stood in silence in the House of Commons to mark one year of the death of Khalistani militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Only recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that after coming out of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, he was hopeful of finding common ground on big issues with India, while promising to look forward to working with the new government.
Nijjar was shot dead in Surrey, Canada, last year, and India had declared him a terrorist under the UAPA. Canada's accusations that India is involved in Nijjar's killing have put a dent in the relations between Ottawa and New Delhi.
India has been raising concerns regularly with Canada over the safe haven being provided to pro-Khalistan groups in that country, which according to New Delhi, is operating with impunity on Canadian soil, and there have been calls to make this a big bilateral issue.
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