The Bombing of Air India Flight 182: Demanding Justice, Public Inquiries, and Acts of Citizenship by Milan Singh M.A. (Communication), University of Calgary, 2008 B.A. (with Distinction), University of Calgary, 2006 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Milan Singh 2015 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2015 Approval Name: Milan Singh Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: The Bombing of Air India Flight 182: Demanding Justice, Public Inquiries, and Acts of Citizenship Examining Committee: Chair: Adel Iskandar Farag Assistant Professor Kirsten E. McAllister Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Davina Bhandar Supervisor Associate Professor Janet Marontate Supervisor Associate Professor Catherine Murray Supervisor Professor Ozlem Sensoy Internal Examiner Associate Professor Faculty of Education Yasmin Jiwani External Examiner Associate Professor Communication Studies Concordia University Date Defended/Approved: July 30, 2015 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract On June 23, 1985 Air India Flight 182 exploded over the Irish Sea, killing all 329 people onboard the aircraft The attack was planned and executed on Canadian soil, and the majority of passengers were Canadian citizens. Canadian authorities failed to effectively investigate the bombing, and provide families of the victims with adequate support for the traumatic losses they underwent (Air India Inquiry Report, 2010). This is despite families’ repeatedly demanding the Canadian government for information, services, and a thorough criminal investigation into the bombings. Many families claimed the government treated them like “second-rate” citizens and questioned whether systemic racism was a factor in how the criminal investigation was handled (for example see Public Hearings, 2006, p.47). Like other racialised Canadians in the 1980s, families of Air India Flight 182 victims mobilized to demand justice. Arguing that the bombings were a “Canadian issue” they pressured the government to call a public inquiry. In 2005, the Canadian government announced the Official Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182, which was mandated to examine the failures of the criminal investigation and to provide recommendations to prevent future acts of terrorism in Canada. In 2006, the Air India Inquiry began with public hearings where victims’ families gave testimonies that were meant to help understand the “human element” of the tragedy. Families’ testimonies were transcribed into fourteen volumes with over 1,000 pages that detailed their grief, the impact of the bombing on their lives, the negligent treatment by the Canadian government, and their political struggles for recognition over twenty years. This thesis examines families’ testimonies and triangulates their statements with media reports and excerpts from the federal Hansard debates to (a) reconstruct the steps they took to demand justice, and (b) examine the way they used discourses of citizenship to demonstrate how their government failed them. Using families’ testimonies as evidence, this thesis challenges conventional definitions of multicultural citizenship, arguing that discourses of citizenship need to consider the agency of subjects and the challenges they face when they demand justice. This thesis draws on the concept of “acts of citizenship” (Isin, 2009; 2012) to show that citizenship needs to be understood through the actions subjects take in their pursuit of justice. In Communication Studies, this thesis offers a new approach to examining public inquiries (Salter, 2007) and the construction of identity in relation to racialization (Hall, 1990; Jiwani, 2006) by drawing on the scholarship of Bannerji (2000), Dhamoon (2009), Isin (2012), Miki (2004) and Nyers (2004) who argue that current models of citizenship are rooted in relations of exclusion. Keywords: The bombing of Air India Flight 182; public inquiry; acts of citizenship; racialization; Cultural Studies; mobilizing for justice; “culture of redress” iv Dedication To Anita, Mom and Dad. With love. v Acknowledgements I dedicate my dissertation to Anita, Mom and Dad. You three have always pushed me to push myself, and have supported me in every project I have taken on. My sister Anita is my pillar. You are my go-to person for academic, career and life advice, editing and writing help, and reality-checks. This degree would not have been possible without you. Your tough love is everything. My parents are my foundation. The values, ethics and principles you have passed on helped guide many of the decisions I made for this dissertation. Your experiences and stories inspired me to thoughtfully listen to the experiences and stories of others. To the Bajpais, Singhs/Rathores—it takes a village. To Kiran Dhaliwal, Casey Era, Mansi Tandon, and Sunjeet Tatla: thank you for keeping me motivated, helping through the struggles, and celebrating the small victories along the way. Each of you, in your own way, has been instrumental throughout this process. Here’s to all of the late nights and early mornings spent working and laughing away. A countless number of inspiring people have provided me with guidance and support for this project, engaging me in thoughtful and sincere conversation at many pivotal points during the course of this degree. My wonderful team extends well beyond the walls of Simon Fraser University and into other institutions and community spaces. A huge thank you to my friends Daniel Ahadi, Kamal Arora, Alysha Bains, Mo Dhaliwal, Naveen Girn, Catherine Hart, Anita Lal, Maggie MacAuley, Marcos Moldes, Kalwant Singh Nadeem Parmar, Nabila Pirani, Renee Saklikar, Itrath Syed, Scott Timcke, Ben Woo and Ayaka Yoshimizu. To my supervisory committee, Dr. Davina Bhandar, Dr. Janet Marontate and Professor Catherine Murray, thank you for being so invested in my learning. Each of you has been an integral part of this process and I consider myself lucky to have a team of professors committed to my success. Each of you has been generous with your feedback, kind with your advice, and challenging intellectually. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Stuart Poyntz. You have been instrumental in my professional development and have supported me in many projects over the last several years. vi Last but not least, to my Senior Supervisor, Dr. Kirsten Emiko McAllister. This project would not have been possible without your knowledge, guidance, support and invaluable advice. You pushed me to think more deeply, more sincerely and more thoughtfully about every aspect of this project. Your guidance extends to every nook and cranny of learning—from conceptual, theoretical, and methodological advice to writing and editing support. Most valuably, you provided me with the intellectual tools to speak about racism and discrimination with confidence, and you have shown me the importance of research that focuses on the power and agency of people in their struggles for justice. Thank you to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Rogers Communications Inc. Graduate Scholarship in Communication, the President’s Research Stipend, Faculty of Graduate Studies Fellowship, and the School of Communication for funding this project, and to the incredibly supportive staff in the School of Communication: a special thank you to Lucie Menkveld, Sylvia Roberts, Neena Shahani and Denise Vanderwolf. vii Table of Contents Approval....................................................................................................................... ii Ethics Statement........................................................................................................ iii Abstract....................................................................................................................... iv Dedication.................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents..................................................................................................... viii List of Tables............................................................................................................... x Glossary and List of Acronyms................................................................................ xi Chapter 1. Introduction: Re-Telling the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 ............. 1 The Bombing of Air India Flight 182: An Overview ................................................... 5 Re-Narrating the Air India Tragedy: Demands for Recognition............................... 15 Research Corpus: Documents, Debates, and Testimonies .................................... 19 Research Design: A Cultural Studies Approach ..................................................... 26 Outline of Chapters ................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 2. Public Inquiries and Public Participation........................................... 35 Section One: The Public Inquiry Model in Canada ................................................ 36 Public Inquiries in Canada ...................................................................................... 37 Key Characteristics of Public Inquiries...................................................................