A high-level Indian delegation led by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is in Ireland today to attend a memorial marking the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing. The service will take place at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork, honoring the 329 victims of the tragic attack.

The Indian delegation includes BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and five elected representatives: Arvinder Singh Lovely (Delhi), Baldev Singh Aulakh (Uttar Pradesh), Gurveer Singh Brar (Rajasthan), Trilok Singh Cheema (Uttarakhand), and Narinder Singh Raina (Jammu and Kashmir).

Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin and Canadian Minister Gary Anandasangaree are also attending the commemoration, along with other international dignitaries.

Air India Flight 182, named ‘Kanishka’ after an ancient Indian emperor, was en route from Montreal to Mumbai via London and Delhi when it exploded mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 1985. The aircraft had recently departed Montreal and lost contact with Shannon Air Traffic Control in Ireland shortly before the blast.

The bomb, planted in luggage originating from Vancouver, caused the deaths of all 329 passengers and crew. The incident remains one of the deadliest acts of aviation terrorism.

Investigations pointed to the Khalistani extremist group Babbar Khalsa as being responsible. Inderjit Singh Reyat, a British-Canadian national, pleaded guilty to assembling the bomb. Talwinder Singh Parmar, a founding member of the group, is widely believed to have masterminded the attack.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid tribute earlier in the day, calling the bombing a reminder of the urgent need for zero tolerance towards terrorism and extremist ideologies.