Sikh terrorists: live by the kirpan, die by the kirpan

Thanks to Emperor Trudeau I (father of Blackie McBlackface), Canada is full of Sikhs. There are large communities in the suburbs of Toronto and Vancouver, particularly near the airports, where large numbers of them work as porters, bag monkeys, and (note) security guards.

The Sikhs are fighters, mostly members of the Jatt caste of peasant-warriors. As symbols of their faith, Sikh men wear turbans and special underpants. They sport full beards and carrry (usually not openly) a curved dagger or knife called a kirpan that symbolizes their readiness to fight for their land -- aka the Punjab -- and their Sikh religion.

Ever since the British quit India, militant Sikhs have been fighting (word carefully chosen), from bases in such places, for an "independent Khalistan".

If you were a Sikh extremist and wanted to do something dramatic to advance the cause of "free Khalistan", a simple yet terrifyingly effective thing to do would be to blow up a plane -- preferably an Air India -- full of non-Sikhs. And a Canadian airport where 1000s of your countrymen are employed, like YYZ or YVR, would be the ideal place in which to load the device.

That's what the RCMP, FBI, Interpol and other law enforcement agencies figure happened in June of 1985, when  Air India Flight 182, a B747 operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Mumbai route, disintegrated in mid-air over the Atlantic, en route from Montreal to London, as a result of the explosion from a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh militants.

A shower of pieces of the airliner and its contents fell into the sea southwest of Ireland. The human contents -- everyone on board -- included 268 Canadian immigrants, 27 British citizens and 24 Indian citizens. The bombing remains the deadliest aviation "incident" in the history of Air India and the deadliest ever carried out on Canadian soil. 

Investigators found the attack was a part of a larger transnational terrorist plot and had included two attempted plane bombings. The first bomb was meant to explode aboard Air India Flight 301 which was scheduled to take off from Narita (Japan) International Airport, Japan but exploded before it was loaded onto the plane. The second bomb was the one which brought down Air India Flight 182. Both the plot and the bombs, which had been hidden inside luggage, originated in Canada.

After a lengthy and not very competent investigation -- complicated by the unwillingness of anyone to talk, even in Punjabi -- a handful of members of various Sikh organizations were arrested and tried. The only person convicted, however, was Inderjit Singh Reyat, a dual British-Canadian national and a member of the International Sikh Youth Federation. In 2003 (!), he pled guilty to manslaughter, admitting that he had made the bombs. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Among those who were acquitted (in March 2005) were a Surrey BC businessman, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, both members of Babbar Khalsa, an organization whose goal is the creation of an independent Sikh state, Khalistan. (All Sikhs are Singhs, but not all Singhs are Sikhs!)

The Mounties said the two were part of a conspiracy of a group of Sikh militants who placed suitcase bombs on two connecting flights leaving Vancouver airport. The deadly bags were tagged for Air India flights heading in opposite directions, with the results described above. Who took the bags to the airport, or tagged them, or loaded them, was never established. Registering the acquittals on charges of murder and conspiracy, a BC Supreme Court judge told the Singhs that he didn't believe they didn't do it, but that the Crown had failed to prove its case. That's all.

The families of the victims of Air India 182 finally saw justice done, as Ripudaman Singh Malik, now aged 75, was shot to death as he sat inside his car outside his office in Surrey, at about 0930 yesterday. An investigation is under way, but is unlikely to result in any charges. The problem this time is too many suspects, too many people with good reason to want Mr Malik dead.

Retired RCMP deputy commissioner Gary Bass, who was in charge of the terrorism investigation into the Air India bombing, told the Notional Pest he knew Ripudaman Singh Malik had many enemies."I'm not privy to the ongoing investigations on Malik right now, but I can say that from years when I was that he was involved in a number of activities that might bring him into conflict with other people."

Acts of violence against prominent political/business figures usually call forth expressions of sympathy from others of that ilk, but there has been radio silence from Jugmeat Singh, the leader of Canada's "New" Democratic Party whose "free Khalistan" sentiments are well known. Also expected to not attend the funeral is Emperor Trudeau II (pictured), or any of the numerous Sikh Members of Parliament, none of whom can be reached for comment.

Further reading: "Sikhs in Canada - from 'boat people' to slave-keepers", WWW 25/5/14.