‘It’s really frustrating:’ Sikh Canadian dismayed by extremism allegations
VANCOUVER — Jaspreet Bal was eating lunch with friends in rural Ontario when she says a “kind, well-intentioned” white man approached them to chat. He asked about her background, and she replied she was Sikh.
“Oh yeah, Air India,” he said, recognition flashing in his eyes.
Bal was born in 1985, the same year that Sikh militants bombed Air India Flight 182, killing all 329 on board. It was, apparently, the man’s only point of reference for her religion.
“It’s really frustrating,” she said. “It’s something that wasn’t OK that it happened, but it will haunt us forever. Nobody stops to make the distinction that it wasn’t representative of the entire community.”