Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, following the tradition set by his late mother, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, has continued unabated to malign Sikhs and hold them responsible for anything that goes wrong in connection with India, whether it be terrorist bombs in New Delhi or it be an air crash off the coast of Ireland. Quite clearly, the dynastical democracy of India is not looking for any solutions. It seeks only scapegoats. The paranoia of this scapegoatism has gripped the rulers of India to such an extent that they have now begun casting aspersions on other governments.

The disaster that struck Air India flight 182 is lamentable. Experts on the spot have not come up with one shred of evidence to even suggest that the plane was sabotaged. On the contrary, the evidence of the bodies being thrown forward and there being no burn marks anywhere points more in the direction of structural failure. It is possible that the black box and the voice recorder would have yielded some definitive information as to the last fateful minutes of KANISHKA in flight. They have both been taken to Bombay where India claims it has all the necessary facilities while Aviation Experts say that such facilities are available only in the United States and the United Kingdom. Whether or not there was an incendiary explosion on the aircraft, it is quite possible now for the instruments in Bombay to show that there indeed was one. Yet, it is not possible even in Bombay to determine whether it was a Sikh explosion, a Kashmiri explosion, a Tamil explosion, a Christian explosion or indeed a Hindu explosion. There is no doubt, however, that aided by his pan vision, Mr. Gandhi will blame Sikhs. There is no need to add anything to the disagreement between Mr. Gandhi and the Prime Minister of Canada. A copy of the text of the latter’s letter to the former (enclosed) is self-explanatory. Some questions, nevertheless, need be raised. Why did Mr. Malik, the Indian Consul General in Toronto, cancel the journey of his wife and daughter scheduled to travel by AI182? And why did he refuse to ‘comment’ when _interviewed? Did he know something nobody else does? Did he consult his astrologer? How come, Delhi knew even before the debris had hit the bottom of the ocean that it was a Sikh bomb? Some fortune tellers still hanging about from the times of late Mrs. Gandhi? Why did Air India breach security regulations at Montreal airport?

Every time the Government of India falsely accuses Sikhs of terrorist activities it exemplifies the fable ‘Wolf … wolf.’ It is time that the Prince of Delhi and his entourage learnt some facts of life and sought realities instead of building illusions. Their lies, their inept and malicious behavior is letting the scapegoats escape. It would be a pity if the world begins to disbelieve them for they are, as they very fondly claim, the world’s largest ‘democracy.’

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 26, 1985