Comments on: Air India 182 and the beauty of Hot Docs http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/ Canada's only national weekly current affairs magazine. Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: sturla gunnarsson http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-134 sturla gunnarsson Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:48:31 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-134 The main thrust of these criticisms is that the film does not contextualize the Air India bombings in relation to the persecution of Sikhs in India or that it fails to address so-called counter-theories about the events themselves. With regards to the first point, the film specifically references the assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar as the event that crystallized sentiments in the Sikh diaspora and quite possibly led to the bombings. However, it quite deliberately does not justify the murder of 331 innocent men, women and children as a legitimate response to injustices perpetrated by the government of India. With regards to the so-called counter theories, the film rejects them. Our point of view is based on the findings of judge Josephson who concluded that the bombings were the result of a conspiracy by the Vancouver-based Babbar Khalsa. Though there was insufficient evidence to convict Malik or Bagri, there was ample evidence, uncontested by the defense team, to reach this conclusion. It's tragic that some people judge all Sikhs on the basis of the actions of a tiny group of ideologues who pervert the Sikh faith to justify mass murder. Those who continue to defend the actions of the Air India perpetrators or obfuscate them with conspiracy theories only stoke those fires of intolerance. The main thrust of these criticisms is that the film does not contextualize the Air India bombings in relation to the persecution of Sikhs in India or that it fails to address so-called counter-theories about the events themselves. With regards to the first point, the film specifically references the assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar as the event that crystallized sentiments in the Sikh diaspora and quite possibly led to the bombings. However, it quite deliberately does not justify the murder of 331 innocent men, women and children as a legitimate response to injustices perpetrated by the government of India. With regards to the so-called counter theories, the film rejects them. Our point of view is based on the findings of judge Josephson who concluded that the bombings were the result of a conspiracy by the Vancouver-based Babbar Khalsa. Though there was insufficient evidence to convict Malik or Bagri, there was ample evidence, uncontested by the defense team, to reach this conclusion. It's tragic that some people judge all Sikhs on the basis of the actions of a tiny group of ideologues who pervert the Sikh faith to justify mass murder. Those who continue to defend the actions of the Air India perpetrators or obfuscate them with conspiracy theories only stoke those fires of intolerance.

]]> By: Jassi http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-133 Jassi Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:48:56 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-133 Mark, I don't think any sikh is suggesting that it was justified to kill innocent people. It seems like you have no clue about the past history of sikhs. A large number of people here in west look at the turban and assume sikhs to be muslims so it doesn't matter to look at their history. I was in Mesa, Arizona after 9/11 when the first victim fell of Backlash fell to the bullets of the American .He wasn't a muslim, he was a sikh. The person who shot him didn't even know the difference between sikh and a muslim. I feel sorry for the ignorance that exists amony many people here. Irish people have been bombing for years. I know many people who are Irish and are proud of their Irish background and many justify a lot of stuff that went around. Why don't you call them terrorism or the term "terrorism" only applies to certain races. Before you pass judgement on whole community you should ask yourself these questions. - Are there any sikh terrorists involved in any terrorist activity in the past 20 years ? - Are there any terrorist incidents that happenned in the past 20 years in canada where any sikh was involved ? THE ANSWER IS NONE......so keep beating the dead donkey. Mark,
I don’t think any sikh is suggesting that it was justified to kill innocent people. It seems like you have no clue about the past history of sikhs. A large number of people here in west look at the turban and assume sikhs to be muslims so it doesn’t matter to look at their history. I was in Mesa, Arizona after 9/11 when the first victim fell of Backlash fell to the bullets of the American .He wasn’t a muslim, he was a sikh. The person who shot him didn’t even know the difference between sikh and a muslim. I feel sorry for the ignorance that exists amony many people here.
Irish people have been bombing for years. I know many people who are Irish and are proud of their Irish background and many justify a lot of stuff that went around. Why don’t you call them terrorism or the term “terrorism” only applies to certain races.
Before you pass judgement on whole community you should ask yourself these questions.
- Are there any sikh terrorists involved in any terrorist activity in the past 20 years ?
- Are there any terrorist incidents that happenned in the past 20 years in canada where any sikh was involved ?

THE ANSWER IS NONE……so keep beating the dead donkey.

]]> By: Jatinder Singh http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-132 Jatinder Singh Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:22:04 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-132 The documentary provided no new revelations or facts and merely repeat the worn-out Pravda-type pro-Brahminist insinuations that the Sikhs have been bombarded with over the past 25 years. The Sikh viewpoint and counter-theories were not even mentioned and no context and background was given for the events such as:  the political and economic repression of the Sikhs by the Brahminist regime in India including diverting Punjab rivers to non-riparian states, division of the former Punjab into 3 states in 1967, looting of Punjab’s green-revolution wealth by price fixing 50% below international prices, denial of Punjabi as a state language, and attack on 38 Sikh shrines including the Golden Temple in June 1984  the murder of over 5,000 Sikh civilians by the Brahminist regime in the capital city of Delhi alone in 1984 (organized and lead by Congress MPs such as Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath while the police assisted the Hindu mobs and the army remained in their barracks for three days)  the massacre of over 250,000 Sikhs by the Indian army between 1984-93 sent in by Indira Gandhi to supposedly chase down “300 Sikh militants” (Indian Parliamentary Hansard, 1984) The documentary provided no new revelations or facts and merely repeat the worn-out Pravda-type pro-Brahminist insinuations that the Sikhs have been bombarded with over the past 25 years. The Sikh viewpoint and counter-theories were not even mentioned and no context and background was given for the events such as:
 the political and economic repression of the Sikhs by the Brahminist regime in India including diverting Punjab rivers to non-riparian states, division of the former Punjab into 3 states in 1967, looting of Punjab’s green-revolution wealth by price fixing 50% below international prices, denial of Punjabi as a state language, and attack on 38 Sikh shrines including the Golden Temple in June 1984
 the murder of over 5,000 Sikh civilians by the Brahminist regime in the capital city of Delhi alone in 1984 (organized and lead by Congress MPs such as Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath while the police assisted the Hindu mobs and the army remained in their barracks for three days)
 the massacre of over 250,000 Sikhs by the Indian army between 1984-93 sent in by Indira Gandhi to supposedly chase down “300 Sikh militants” (Indian Parliamentary Hansard, 1984)

]]> By: Mark http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-131 Mark Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:33:39 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-131 Ah, sorry - didn't see that this was old post, and that the documentary has already aired. My point still stands however. Ah, sorry – didn’t see that this was old post, and that the documentary has already aired. My point still stands however.

]]> By: Mark http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-130 Mark Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:31:20 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-130 Herman and Parm: From Brian's description, it would seem that the film is about the after effects of the blast i.e. the effect on those who lost family or were otherwise connected to the flight, and on the investigation afterwards. The events in India are irrelevant to that, unless one believes that they serve somehow as a justification for this attack. As an aside, I can just imagine the narrative for that approach: "I was able to identify my sister.... her face was flattened and her nose was missing. Of course, a bunch of Hindus halfway across the world killed a bunch of Sikhs, so we have to put my loss in perspective...." Also, as the documentary has not yet aired on the CBC, one must wonder if either of you have seen the film in question, or if your strikingly similar complaints are part of an organized campaign? Herman and Parm: From Brian’s description, it would seem that the film is about the after effects of the blast i.e. the effect on those who lost family or were otherwise connected to the flight, and on the investigation afterwards.
The events in India are irrelevant to that, unless one believes that they serve somehow as a justification for this attack. As an aside, I can just imagine the narrative for that approach: “I was able to identify my sister…. her face was flattened and her nose was missing. Of course, a bunch of Hindus halfway across the world killed a bunch of Sikhs, so we have to put my loss in perspective….”
Also, as the documentary has not yet aired on the CBC, one must wonder if either of you have seen the film in question, or if your strikingly similar complaints are part of an organized campaign?

]]> By: Parm Gill http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-129 Parm Gill Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:03:34 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-129 As I Sikh I find this documentary to be very biased. I have no problem with CBC exposing the people who are responsible for the tragedy. I wish they hang the people resposible for it but CBC is not showing what Sikhs have been through in their own country. There were thousands of innocent sikhs who died during those years in the hands of Indian Government. The Indian Government did not catch one single person responsible for the massacre of sikhs in 1984. 10,000 sikhs were slaughtered in the streets of New Delhi by Hindus. NO WORD ON THAT ON ANY CBC DOCUMENTARY. Another preversion by left wing network CBC As I Sikh I find this documentary to be very biased. I have no problem with CBC exposing the people who are responsible for the tragedy. I wish they hang the people resposible for it but CBC is not showing what Sikhs have been through in their own country. There were thousands of innocent sikhs who died during those years in the hands of Indian Government. The Indian Government did not catch one single person responsible for the massacre of sikhs in 1984. 10,000 sikhs were slaughtered in the streets of New Delhi by Hindus. NO WORD ON THAT ON ANY CBC DOCUMENTARY.
Another preversion by left wing network CBC

]]> By: Herman Singh http://www2.macleans.ca/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/comment-page-1/#comment-128 Herman Singh Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:42:42 +0000 http://dev.oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/04/18/air-india-182-and-the-beauty-of-hot-docs/#comment-128 While the documentary exposes the conspiracy by the extremists, it is very biased version not telling the story behind sikhs went through. You wouldn't hear anything about 10,000 sikhs who were butchered and burnt alive on the streets of New Delhi by Hindu mobs in 1984. You wouln't hear anything on the CBC about the human rights violations against the sikhs by the Indian government. WHile I believe that people responsible for the tragedy should be brought to justice, it is funny how everyone is talking about victims being Canadian now as the goven't didn't do anything at the time becuase they were all immigrants. Even one of the reports described the poor response by the Canadian gov't due to racism. One thing everyone should not forget is that there is no support in Sikh community for any extremists. We have left that dark chapter behind us but CBC is trying to dig up the graves and stir a rift between Hindus and sikhs who are living peacefully in Canada and India While the documentary exposes the conspiracy by the extremists, it is very biased version not telling the story behind sikhs went through. You wouldn’t hear anything about 10,000 sikhs who were butchered and burnt alive on the streets of New Delhi by Hindu mobs in 1984. You wouln’t hear anything on the CBC about the human rights violations against the sikhs by the Indian government. WHile I believe that people responsible for the tragedy should be brought to justice, it is funny how everyone is talking about victims being Canadian now as the goven’t didn’t do anything at the time becuase they were all immigrants. Even one of the reports described the poor response by the Canadian gov’t due to racism.
One thing everyone should not forget is that there is no support in Sikh community for any extremists. We have left that dark chapter behind us but CBC is trying to dig up the graves and stir a rift between Hindus and sikhs who are living peacefully in Canada and India

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