Tab Article

Genre: True Crime, Investigative Journalism, Political Science, Espionage, History, International Relations.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Book Review:
''Soft Target'' by journalists Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew is a provocative and deeply unsettling work of investigative journalism that delves into one of the darkest chapters of Canadian history: the 1985 Air India bombing. The book presents a startling thesis that the Indian government, through its intelligence agencies, conducted a covert operation within Canada's Sikh community in the 1980s, aiming to discredit the Sikh independence movement. The authors argue that this campaign of infiltration, disinformation, and provocation ultimately contributed to the climate of violence that led to the tragic bombing of Flight 182, which killed 329 people. Drawing on sources from within the Sikh community, Canadian intelligence (CSIS/RCMP), and Indian diplomats, ''Soft Target'' reads like a political thriller while raising grave questions about state-sponsored manipulation, international espionage, and the failures of intelligence agencies. It is a controversial but essential read for anyone interested in terrorism, South Asian politics, and the complex intersection of security, ethnicity, and foreign policy.