Councillors in Surrey, B.C., approved plans Monday for a private Sikh school backed by Ripudaman Singh Malik, one of two men charged and acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing.

About 400 people packed a Surrey council meeting for a debate on the proposal for the religious school, which will teach Sikh culture, history and religion to elementary and high school students.

Municipal councillors eventually approved a rezoning application to let the proposal proceed, but not before dozens of homeowners living near the site argued against it.

The homeowners said the land, which had been zoned as light industrial, was too soft and posed an earthquake risk.

They also warned that trains running near the site could derail, and complained that an estimated 1,800 Sikh students coming into their neighbourhood would create a traffic nightmare.

"Is this thing ever being pushed through, or what?" resident Fred Chatwin said. "I think it's a little disappointing."

The school's backers say there is a dire need for the school in north Surrey, and questioned the motives of those who opposed it.

"Eighteen hundred people are going to cause a havoc in traffic? I don't think so," Prem Vinning said to applause from supporters in the audience.

'Everyone is upset about it'

It was only when the council's approval appeared certain that opponents raised the issue of the school's founder.

Malik was one of two men acquitted last year of conspiring to plant bombs on two Air India flights, killing 331 in June 1985.

The Vancouver businessman is also the founder of the Satnam Education Society, which opened the first Khalsa School in Vancouver in 1986 and a second Sikh school in Surrey in 1992.

"The people organizing this said, 'If we go racial, they'll shut you down. Do not mention that,'" Jeanette Burke told CBC News. "Everybody is upset about it."

Malik's son, lawyer Jaspreet Malik, said questions about the family's background were not relevant to the application.

"I don't think I need to answer any more than that," he told reporters after arguing in favour of the school at the meeting.

With the city's approval in hand, Malik said that the new school will open in Surrey next year.