On March 16, 2005, the British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Ian Bruce Josephson conducting the Air India Kanishka (flight number 182) disaster over the Atlantic Ocean (June 23, 1985, toll 331) trial acquitted the accused for “insufficient evidence” to support the “Crown theory of a conspiracy between (Malik), Mr. Bagri, Mr. Parmar or Mr. Rayat.” The court has also observed about the witnesses, that “most of them were cooked up witnesses by the police and the prosecution.” Other significant remark is “The evidence has fallen remarkably short – I find the Crown has not proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Paragraph 478 of the judgment says, “twenty years of police investigation has not revealed any independent evidence that Mr. Malik advocated revenge against the government of India, believed in Khalistan or was a member of any political organisation promoting those views.”

The Tribune , has used the occasion to see that the disaster continues to be blamed on the acquitted and the guilt remains foisted on the Sikh people world wide. It has published statements (procured? Doctored? Or may be, both) on March 18, 2005, (1) for the above mentioned purpose. Captain S. S. Bhinder’s brother is represented as saying, “we just can’t accept this judgement—the culprits certainly have not seen the last of us.” It tells the reader that a Sikh is certain that these were the culprits in spite of the carefully conducted trial lasting two years and meticulous collection of evidence over the last two decades by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police known for its efficiency. It fails to mention that the co-pilot brother of Bhinder was himself blamed within sixteen hours of the crash by the Indian Mission in Canada for taking the bomb into the cockpit. The theory was changed only when the debris established that the explosion had taken place in the luggage hold and not the cockpit.

The Chandigarh Tribune March 18, 2005 (1), is second to none in sowing hatred to the delight of its cherished readership, namely the Punjabi Hindu, without caring for the consequences. It has taken two precautions to see that the Canadian society is not offended by publication of the tainted news. Its limited local circulation is one such. It has also specifically mentioned that, “the entire case was based on circumstantial evidence which couldn’t hold good” (3). This is double-edged. It also has the effect of providing an alibi for the basic premise that justice has not been done. The sinister suggestion is released, like some deadly virus to seep into the psyche of the hate promoters to the detriment of the Sikh people.

Other provocative headlines of the paper are “Kaniska wounds impossible to heal” (3); “Bhinder upset over verdict” (1). Under another headline on page three, it has pursued its aim of promoting hatred further by the using the ‘table news’ technique. A proxy, a person with a Sikh name, Kishie Singh who ostensibly met the victim’s kin some two years back is used as an anchor. The same mode of condemning the Sikhs employing a Sikh name is used again as in the other story. The sad story (“the agony of living a life without a loved one”) is reeled out by The Tribune reporter who is so efficient that she remembers who had met whom two years ago. Ostensibly a Sikh sympathiser is used to bond the guilt on to the Sikhs again in spite of the acquittal and the failure of the police to get sufficient evidence. This piece is a perfect example of ‘table news’ created for special effect.

The approach of Times of Chandigarh is more balanced and appears much less biased. A principal of a DAV School is quoted as saying, “innocents should not be punished.” It is well chosen as that does not promote prejudice against anybody, does not try to bring another country’s judicial system into disrepute neither does it indict its investigating agencies. The popular prejudice against the Sikhs is represented by the housewife Suman Malhotra who says, “I don’t think there wasn’t enough evidence against the accused.” The context draws a distinction between the enlightened and the not so enlightened opinion and shows on which side the paper itself is. Jasbir Singh a transporter is quoted as saying, “it shows that the western judicial system is flawless, you just can’t nail anyone without sufficient evidence.” The first page appears to represent the deeply divided society’s views adequately.

The pandering to the popular sentiment is somewhat done on page 9 of the same edition. The headlines are significant but do not betray deep-rooted prejudice of the paper itself. It does not appear to have either introduced its own prejudices into the news items nor has it tried to suggest a value judgment. ‘Bhinder’s family ‘shocked,’ says one headline with the word shocked in single inverted commas to indicate that it is the exact reaction of a deeply involved person. ‘Kanishka verdict a travesty of justice’ from Vancouver is again in single inverted commas. ‘We are disappointed and feel helpless, say relatives’ just reflects the pain of relatives which would be quite normal in such circumstances. People’s anger and disappointment has something to do with the quality of investigation and the perceived inadequacies of the judicial system. “Bagris village celebrates” is a statement of a fact and offends no one. All shades of opinion are covered.

It appears that Bhinder’s statement was a written one and presumably has been used by both the papers. The Times has quoted profusely from it and The Tribune most sparingly. Therein lies the secret of the intent of both and cause of the manner in which it stands presented to the public. That it conveys divergent opinion is no wonder. In the coverage from Vancouver, Times has made no attempt to give a slant. Most of the opinions quoted are those of the aggrieved relatives and are within inverted commas – and that is very fair. The same can be said of those covered under the other two headlines. The matter used is not very balanced but is objectively used. The same cannot be said of the other paper.

So far so good. The real pandering comes a day later and betrays paper’s carefully concealed views. On the 19th the Times of India has published a cartoon on the editorial page. It shows a Sikh dressed as a militant holding a smoking gun in each hand with debris of Kanishka scattered all over behind him. In front of him on the podium sits a judge furiously hammering a law book and pronouncing “not guilty.” The caption reads “Canadian Justice.” Contrast this with paragraph 788 of the judgement in the case: “there is simply no evidence to point to the role Mr. Malik may have played in the conspiracy to place bombs on Air India planes.”

Both these papers have commented editorially on the event. “Justice in Canada” (The Tribune , March 18, 2005) appears to be a value judgment. The connotation is that there is no justice in Canada. Commenting on the pronouncement it states that the “shock and disbelief -- is palpable,” the judgment is “unexpected” and that the judge has pronounced them not guilty “in his own wisdom.” The last expression is translatable to ‘foolishly’ in view of the Indian usage. Objection is taken to the judge’s observation that the key prosecution witnesses surfaced “too late to be credible.” The editor pretends that an ominous judicial doctrine has been pronounced by the judge. He has the example of Indian courts in mind where he has seen guilt has been foisted upon the likes of Kehar Singh who was on a roof top with the killer months earlier to the killing and ‘had said something to him’ which of course no one had ever heard. It does not occur to him that this neither in Canada nor in India constitutes a judicial doctrine. “In future the killers can easily keep the witnesses engaged for a sufficiently long time, knowing full well that their testimony will be worthless after that.” How that is possible is mysteriously not pointed out.

The most sinister suggestion is casually dropped; the judge should have known that “when such a devilish conspiracy is hatched, it is next to impossible to get any direct evidence.” The implication is that no evidence in this case was equal to ample evidence. It advocates that some such judicial doctrine should have been employed. The paper has not asked why on earth did the Indian government not testify for it knew the names of the conspirators and their ticket numbers within minutes of the crash taking place. That perhaps is the clue to who is really responsible for the crash. The editor makes no mention of the Soft Target which squarely places the blame for the crash on the agencies of the government of India. Is that the reason why The Tribune wants the Sikh accused to be hanged so that the veil is permanently placed on the covert doings of the secret forces in the service of ‘mera bharat mahan’ and in the interest of the ‘unity and integrity of India.’

The Hindustan Times , of March 23, 2005, has put its reaction on page 10, but promises, “More on the Web.” From what is in print, it becomes clear that the government of India is being fully represented by its (paid or unpaid) agents. This paper as well as several others are trying subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, to give voice to the opinion against the Sikh people. This mythical entity is supposed to consists of “several Sikh groups” who are clubbed together as “moderates” led by Rattan Mall editor of the Indo-Canadian Voice. Their central theme is voiced by one Sadhu Singh Samra vice-president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. It is mentioned that the membership of the Gurdwara is 87, 000. It is suggested that they all agree with Sadhu Singh when he pontificates, “in our communities nobody will come forward even though they know who did it.” That of course is by no means certain.

The headline is ‘People still fear terror.’ The main object of the carefully chiselled news item is in the punch-line spoken by Rattan Mall who says, “moderates wanted them to be convicted at any cost.” For the last three words of the quote, one may read ‘whether they are guilty or not.’ Public opinion is being manipulated to suggest the Sikh guilt despite acquittal. This will in due course be made justification for appeal – a second go at getting the guilty verdict without sufficient evidence.

The statement of Ujjal Dosanjh, on the same page of the Hindustan Times (March 23, 2005) appears sensible on the face of it. He suggests that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Services, are to blame for the acquittal. According to him it is they who destroyed the crucial evidence (erased the tapes). Dosanjh is not interested in knowing why they did that. Those people who have read the Central Review Committee Report know the answer. The tapes were erased because they were pointing the accusing finger directly at India’s Canadian Missions and the agencies owing allegiance to them. This was inconvenient to the Canadian Government which wanted, in the language of Rattan Mall, lucrative trade relations, “at any cost” if one may say so.

In such circumstances, the headline “Opposition for public inquiry Canadian government reluctant” makes sense. The Conservative Party leader, Stephen Harper’s demand in the House of Commons, “I want the government to commit unequivocally, clearly, without hesitation, that if there is no successful prosecution, there will be full public inquiry,” seems the only sensible alternative. New Democrat Member Jack Layton called for an “open and transparent process” is the crucial issue in the whole process. The government does not want just that, as indicated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Anne McLellan for ‘an enquiry may not produce any new information.’ Harper appears to be hitting the nail on the head when he asserts, “I think the government’s worried we will get answers from an inquiry.” (HT, March 23, 2005)

The Indian Express, March 22, 2005, (5) also follows the basic theme which has two main points to make: the Sikhs are guilty despite the acquittal and that most of the Sikhs termed “moderates” do not accept the verdict. They also confirm the Sikh guilt. The element most obvious in this news item, is political persuasion of the opposing ‘moderate’ and the ‘fundamentalist’ or ‘hardliner’ groups within the Sikh community. The ‘moderate’ designated group is at the moment in positions of domination within the institutions administered by the community. Their basic concern is to remain in the limelight. They seek to demoralise the ‘hardliner’ by foisting the guilt for the Kanishka crash on them so that they remain defeated and ‘out of power.’ The Kanishka episode is no more than a tool to be used by one group to discourage the other within the Sikh society. This very well suits the government of India as it confounds the confusion on the issue and effectively draws the veil upon its own dastardly role.

The Canadian people must know that this will not help the nation at large as it will keep the potential of the real culprits intact. It is certain that the real culprits will use the cloaked position to create further dissensions in the Canadian community by exploiting the differences deliberately created amongst the so called moderate and the extremist Sikhs. This division is political, is artificial and is furthered by each of the three parties with a view to bake its own chestnuts. The concern for ‘succour to the victims of the tragedy’ is a phoney concern and is adopted for the sake of respectability. Balwant Singh Gill is the president of the Surrey Gurdwara. It is only in this context that his statement about Malik, “he has the potential to revive Sikh fundamentalism in the province,” becomes meaningful. It will lead to the burial of the truth and cause perpetual division in a society to no one’s avail. The real loser will be the law of the land and the rule of law. The real gainer will be devilish State that masterminded the situation just to reap political harvest at home by discrediting the people of its own origin. This must not be allowed to happen.

The Tribune group of newspapers continues with promotion of the hate campaign against the Sikhs. Ever since the crash took place it has tried a variety of journalistic tricks in its quiver to fix the guilt for the incident on the Sikhs collectively. It has distorted and utilised every occasion that came its way to pronounce the Sikhs guilty. “Lest we forget” that, has been its motto. A one and a half page article in the magazine section of The Tribune (July 10, 2005, 1), “Lest we forget,” is a fair sample of the seriousness with which The Tribune group is conducting the anti-Sikh campaign. It weaves a pathetic tale around the memories of two or three families, to which no objection can be taken. It is a tale of human misery and needs a telling in the hope of prevention in future. It is however very objectionable that the major thrust of the article is to blame the Sikhs for the crash in spite of the acquittal of the accused Sikhs (“flight, most believe, was blown up by the same fundamentalist ‘movement’ that targeted the Prime Minister’). It conveniently forgets that the prime minister was killed by her own body guard who did was deliberately killed after capture so that his motives would never be clarified. However it is partly right on the issue of fundamentalism. It was the by-product of rising Hindu fundamentalism which sent Indira worshipping at Jawalamukhi, to have darshan of the Shankracharyias and to most hypocritically donning the rudarakash garland projecting herself as part of the Lord Shiva’s (the god of destruction) family.

It dubs it an “act of terrorism, one of the worst in the world” while the Canadian government’s secret agencies, after collecting ample impartial evidence have unanimously recorded that it was not at all an act of terrorism. The paper nevertheless goes on to pronounce it to be “one of the most horrendous acts of terrorism in history.” To arrive at that conclusion The Tribune does not mind condemning the entire judicial system of a friendly country. (“The Canadian justice system has failed us”). Those who have read the judgment delivered in the case know that it is meticulously argued and is as fair as it is possible for judgment to be. It appears that it will go down in history as one of the classic pronouncements by a court wedded to truth in spite of the fact that it was working in an atmosphere laden with severe constraints such as foreign pressure to hang the accused whether guilty or not. The Tribune goes on to squarely condemn the government “which failed to arrive at the truth.” The suggestion is that The Tribune ’s opinion is the only absolute truth the world should know. Without caring to examine its own motives, it goes on to hold that “there was a weakness in the system.” If it ever cared to see how clear-headedly the investigation was conducted, it would think twice before doubting the job the law-enforcing agencies were doing. Taking all its prejudices to be the gospel truth, the newspaper is adamant in attributing the disaster to “certain ideological issues – the demand for Khalistan” which may be true but not in the same sense as The Tribune believes. The ideological concept was blown out of proportion by those who wanted to exploit the image of Indira as Durga Mehshasurmardini for electoral purposes.

The Tribune is again only partially right in its assertion that “Canada is being seen as soft on terrorism.” There is ample evidence that Canada knew that the destruction of Air India Kaniska was attributable to state terrorism. It is being soft on that variety of terrorism because it has its economic and political interests to protect. India is now a powerful country how can it stand up against it for upholding the abstract principle of Truth and Justice? It has become another mammon worshipping state and a country of Lakshami worshipping politicians who have an eye on gas pipe-line construction contract and so on. In the circumstances, the public inquiry will be a double-edged weapon. It may just throw up the truth. Certain it is that the truth it yields will be palatable neither to the government of India whose agencies perpetrated the act or to The Tribune which wants to see every Sikh hanged for the unfortunate crash.

Had The Tribune bothered to read at least the judgement it is assailing, it would have known that the explosive material was in the baggage of M. Singh. It is further necessary to know that on the testimony of Jeanne Bakermans who had a lengthy conversation with him, M. Singh was “an East Indian male in western clothing without a turban or a beard.” It appears that L. Singh who is supposed to have checked in the other bomb which exploded at Narita airport, was not a Sikh either as paragraph 21 of the judgement considers the possibility that he could have looked like M. Singh.

The Punjabi Tribune, (July 11, 2005, 1) carries a report by its correspondent datelined, ‘from the Prime Minister’s aeroplane.’ It shows Tribune’s preoccupation with its mission of keeping the negative image of Sikhs alive in particularly the Punjabi Hindu mind. The instant report says, ‘the prime minister has indicated that the issue of the Kaniska disaster will be raised with the Canadian government again. The guilty have not been punished. It is a very painful matter.’ It goes on to add that recently the government had sent minister of state in the prime minister’s office, Prithvi Raj Chauhan to Canada to represent at the 20th anniversary of the air crash. The headline is ‘I will again raise the matter of Kaniska air crash with the Canadian government: Manmohan Singh.’