Full Description
On June 23, 1985, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 killed 329 people, most of them Canadians. Today this pivotal event in Canada's history is hazily remembered, yet certain interests have shaped how the tragedy is woven into public memory, and even exploited to advance a strategic national narrative. Remembering Air India insists that we "remember Air India otherwise." This collection investigates the Air India bombing and its implications for current debates about racism, terrorism, and citizenship. Drawing together academic analysis, testimony, visual arts, and creative writing, this innovative volume tenders a new public record of the bombing, one that shows how important creative responses are for deepening our understanding of the event and its aftermath.
Contributions by: Cassel Busse, Chandrima Chakraborty, Amber Dean, Rita Kaur Dhamoon, Angela Failler, Teresa Hubel, Suvir Kaul, Elan Marchinko, Eisha Marjara, Bharati Mukherjee, Lata Pada, Uma Parameswaran, Sherene H. Razack, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Maya Seshia, Karen Sharma, Deon Venter, Padma Viswanathan
Contents
Acknowledgements
The Art of Public Mourning / An Introduction // CHANDRIMA CHAKRABORTY, AMBER DEAN & ANGELA FAILLER
Remembering in Relation
Remembering in Relation: The Air India and Komagata Maru Disasters // AMBER DEAN
On the Shores of the Irish Sea // UMA PARAMESWARAN
The Ever After of Ashwin Rao (excerpt) // PADMA VISWANATHAN
Remembering across Place and Time: The Komagata Maru and Air India // RITA KAUR DHAMOON
A Nation Outside of History
From Foreign to Canadian: Air India and the Ongoing Denial of Racism // MAYA SESHIA
The Impact of Systemic Racism on Canada's Pre-Bombing Threat Assessment and Post-Bombing Response to the Air India Bombings // SHERENE H . RAZACK
Courtroom 1 from the Flight 182 Series // DEON VENTER
In the Vestibule of the Nation // SHERENE H . RAZACK
The Political Apology
Politics of (Im)moderation: The Production of South Asian Identities in the Canadian Apology for Air India Flight // CASSEL BUSSE
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada at the Commemoration Ceremony for the 25th Anniversary of the Air India Flight 182 Atrocity // PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
The Canadian Government's Apology to the Victims and Families of Air India Flight 182 // KAREN SHARMA
Creative Archive
Mediating Memories of the 1985 Air India Bombings: A Critical Dance with Lata Pada's Revealed by Fire // ELAN MARCHINKO
Revealed by Fire: Artist Statement // LATA PADA
An Invocation Dance for Lata // UMA PARAMESWARAN
An Ethics of Remembering: Air India 182 and Its Creative Archive // TERE SAHUBEL
Personal Loss, Collective Grief
Model Mourning, Multiculturalism, and the Air India Tragedy // CHANDRIMA CHAKRABORTY
The Management of Grief // BHARATI MUKHERJEE
Desperately Seeking Helen: Film Synopsis // EISHA MARJARA
air india, unsent / letters from the archive // RENÉE SAROJINI SAKLIKAR
"Courting Aphasia, We Travel" // SUVIR KAUL
Contributors
Index
