Nisha Thampi, an Ottawa physician, was just six years old when her mother Vijaya was killed in the bombing of Air India Flight 182. On June 23, 2026, 41 years after the disaster, Thampi stood on the rocky shore of Ahakista, Ireland, and wept as she hugged and thanked local residents who had rushed to help in the aftermath.
A Memorial Marked by Gratitude
Thampi met fishermen who had set out to sea hoping to aid the rescue mission, and police officers who worked to identify the 131 recovered victims and support families arriving from overseas. Despite the devastating loss, she said she felt nothing but gratitude after a moving memorial service.
“It’s incredibly healing to be surrounded by community,” Thampi said. “There’s a learning here, which is about seeing humanity in others and caring for others in their deepest, darkest hours.”
The Bombing and Its Aftermath
On June 23, 1985, a bomb built in British Columbia exploded aboard Air India Flight 182 over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 people on board. Canadian investigators determined that the Babbar Khalsa separatist group targeted the flight to strike the Indian government, which owned the airline at the time. Another suitcase bomb exploded the same day at Japan’s Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers.
Two B.C. men were eventually charged in the bombings, which remain Canada’s deadliest terrorist attack. They were acquitted in 2005, and a third pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Community Bonds and Healing
Thampi and representatives of two other victims’ families stood around a sundial monument on the shore for a minute of silence at 8:12 a.m., the moment the flight exploded. The memorial service included fewer families than last year’s 40th anniversary, but just as many locals, including schoolchildren who sang and played tin whistles.
Toronto’s Babu and Padmini Turlapati lost their sons Sanjay, 14, and Deepak, 11, in the bombing. They have returned to Ireland every year since, building strong bonds with the local community. Babu said that while “this grief continues forever,” the Irish—particularly those in West Cork—have “been a source of strength for us to return year after year to this place.”
Remembering the Victims
Padmini, now 85, described her boys to the 200 people gathered. Sanjay, the elder, was “a sensitive, intelligent and gentle child” who never swore or raised his voice. Deepak, the mischievous younger son, was “energetic, lively, popular, lovable” and a born actor. Sanjay’s body was recovered after the bombing, while Deepak’s was never found.
Thampi now has a deeper understanding of what the local people and first responders went through. “This affected way more than the families of 329 people. It affected a community, multiple communities, generations of those communities.”
