“Jet fuel cannot melt steel beams,” claims a widely circulated conspiracy theory that attributes the 9/11 attacks to the FBI. Canada appears to have its own conspiracy equivalent: the government of India was supposedly involved in the 1985 Air India bombing.
Two separate inquiries have thoroughly debunked this claim. Yet, with Trudeau Liberals down in the polls, they are fanning the flames of conspiracy again.
In a development that could further strain Canada-India ties, Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal recently sponsored a petition seeking a fresh, third inquiry into the bombing. The petition claims that a new investigation is needed in light of “recent developments within the Sikh community” to determine if “foreign intelligence” groups were involved.
The developments in question appear to be the 2022 targeted assassinations on sovereign Canadian territory of two Khalistan activists: Ripudaman Singh Malik, an accused in the 1985 Air India bombing, and Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen designated a terrorist by India. Nijjar was a constituent in Dhaliwal’s Surrey-Newton riding. Khalistan sympathizers allege the killings are the handiwork of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The petition has met its target of at least 500 signatures to be tabled in the House of Commons. The initiative originated with Gurpreet Singh, husband of the B.C. NDP government’s Minister of Education and Child Care, Rachna Singh. The federal NDP was seemingly approached first but showed no interest with party leader Jagmeet Singh and MP Peter Julian taking a pass. Dhaliwal’s own Liberal caucus colleague, MP Chandra Arya, referred to the petition as “an attempt to gain publicity and support for terrorist activities” and “promoting conspiracy theories promoted by Khalistan extremists.”
The Khalistan cause is a radical separatist movement that seeks a sovereign Sikh state carved out of India. Yet, it is a dead letter among Sikhs in India. Most of Canada’s Sikh community neither sympathizes with nor cares for the Khalistan cause. Still, it galvanizes a small but vocal segment of Sikhs who either were born in Canada or sought refuge in the country following the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India.
Canada is home to the largest Sikh population outside India, which makes it ground zero for Khalistan activism. After years of irrelevance, the movement has undergone a revival in Canada since Modi came to power in 2014, and was bolstered by the Liberals, as the recent controversies around Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan reinforce. During his time as defence minister, Sajjan allegedly directed the Canadian special forces to prioritize the rescue of Afghan Sikhs over the critical evacuation of Canadians after the Taliban had taken over Kabul in 2021. Discussion of Khalistan activism is tightly controlled in the Liberal party. In 2021, Ramesh Sangha was booted out of the Liberal caucus for accusing fellow Liberal MPs of being Khalistan “extremists”.
Trudeau Liberals have long pandered to identity politics for their electoral fortunes. The Khalistan cause remains their long-time trump card to woo Sikh votes. The Sikh diaspora wields significant influence in as many as 23 ridings across urban Canada, making it an important vote bank for any party seeking to form government.
That explains why, despite allegations of immigration fraud and other criminal activities perpetrated by Sikh separatists in Canada, political parties continue to pander to them, albeit with diminishing returns. Exacerbating New Delhi’s frustrations, the Trudeau government’s appeasement has extended to watering down the Sikh extremism threat and permitting parade floats that glorify violence against Indian leaders.
The Air India bombing is Canada’s deadliest-ever terror attack: 329 people were killed, including 280 Canadians. Until 9/11, it was the world’s deadliest terrorist attack involving an airplane. Yet, nine in ten Canadians know little about the tragedy, and young Canadians are particularly uninformed about it as unlike the 9/11 attacks, the Air India bombing is not taught in schools.
Two separate probes set up to look into the tragedy arrived at the same conclusion: radical Sikh separatists associated with the Khalistan movement were culpable and foreign governments had no role. Both noted that India had repeatedly warned Canada about the threat to Air India flights from Sikh extremists.
To the detriment of both the victims’ families and India, the Liberals never let facts or findings get in the way of scoring political points. Their indulgence in identity politics is not about making Canada more equitable, diverse, and inclusive. It is precisely why the Trudeau government seems quite content to revictimize the families of over 250 racialized Canadians who were indiscriminately murdered in the Air India bombing.
The Prime Minister could have signaled that he has zero tolerance for conspiracy theories and Liberal MPs who peddle them by expelling Dhaliwal from the Liberal caucus or disallowing him from standing for re-election under the Liberal banner. Yet, he failed to do so.
Earlier this year, PM Trudeau was quick to accuse Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre of courting “conspiracy theorists,” and willing to do “anything to win.” Now, he’s the one aiding and abetting a conspiracy of QAnon proportions — the pot calling the kettle black.
Christian Leuprecht is a professor at Royal Military College and Queen’s University.
Joe Adam George is a national security analyst on South Asia and Middle East affairs.
National Post