Remembering Air India Flight 182: A 40th Anniversary Conference

Conference Overview

The date June 23, 2025, marks the 40th anniversary of the Air India Flight 182 bombing. Although this event was the largest mass killing of Canadian citizens in Canadian history, it is little known and seldom remembered in our national consciousness. A 2023 Angus Reid survey notes that nine-in-ten Canadians have little or no knowledge of this event.

In memory of those lost and to honour the ongoing grief and activism of those left to mourn and seek wider recognition of this loss, we are planning a community-engaged scholarly conference. Our objectives are:

1) to educate the wider public on the Air India tragedy and its aftermath;

2) to centre the voices and knowledge of Air India family members and advocacy organizations in public discourse and scholarly conversations; and

3) to foster knowledge exchange between scholars, creative artists and family members researching, writing about, or creating artistic responses to the bombing of AI Flight 182.

Through this conference, we hope to reach a diverse range of stakeholders, including researchers, students, press, artists, the general public, and policymakers.

Tentative Program

Please note, this conference schedule is only tentative. We will share the finalized program, including timing and speakers, when confirmed.

Saturday, May 24, 2025

• Panel 1: Air India Archive Launch
• Panel 2 : Air India Families Roundtable
• Lunch (provided)
• Panel 3: Teaching the Air India Tragedy
• Panel 4: The Inquiry and its Aftermath
• Artistic Performance: Commemorating the Air India Tragedy through the Arts, featuring Lata Pada, Sampradaya Dance Creations, and Renée Sarojini Saklikar
• Dinner (provided)

Sunday, May 25, 2025

• Panel 5: Memorializing Air India
• Lunch (provided)
• Panel 6: Curating a Future Air India Commemorative Exhibit
• Panel 7: TBD

This conference is free and open to all who would like to attend. You are welcome to attend as many or as few of the panels as you would like. Lunch will be provided both days, with dinner provided Saturday evening.

If you wish to solely attend the Commemorating the Air India Tragedy through the Arts dance performance (and no other conference panels), please select the "Sampradaya Dane Performance ONLY" ticket.

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If you would like to learn more about the Air India Flight 182 Archive project, please visit our website here: https://airindiaflight182.humanities.mcmaster.ca/

If you have any questions, please contact us at: YWlyaW5kaWFjb25mZXJlbmNlIHwgZ21haWwgISBjb20=

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This conference is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors: Sampradya Dance Creations, the South Asian Heritage Association of Hamilton and Region, and McMaster University.

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