Hey lovely reader, now you might not know about this unjust incident that happened over a century ago when 376 Indians came to Canada or at least tried.
The incident
As creative the name of this incident could sound, spoilers, that was the ship the passengers were on during the incident.
“We have the power to exclude and to deport certain immigrants, and whom we deem to be unworthy of Canadian citizenship. We have the power to deport Hindus or anyone else”. In the early 1900s, nearly 5000 South-Asians had already arrived at BC the time that was said. Many (white) Canadians were concerned about the growing numbers of immigrants, so regulations were put in place to keep South Asians from entering the country. Legally Canada was not allowed to ban citizens of Idia as they too are British subjects, so the Canadian government created a loophole “the continuous journey regulation”, which meant that immigrants were only allowed to come to Canada in one continuous trip from their country of origin, or else they will be denied entry, at the time no ship could make a continuous journey from India to Canada, it was impossible. But in 1914, Baba Gurdit Singh, a Punjabi businessman, he hear fellow Sikhs had encountered trying to immigrate to Canada. He charter a Japanese steam ship SS Komagata Maru, sold tickets to his countryman, and on April 1914 and 150 passenger set sail from Hong Kong.
along its way stoping by China and Japan, picking up more hopeful immigrants and eventually reaching a total of 376 people heading to Vancouver on that ship, almost all were men except 2 women and 4 children, almost all were Punjabi.
After sailing for 2 long months the Komagata Maru finally reach the Vancouver port. Baba Gurdit Singh not only wanted to help his fellow passengers reach Canada but also wanted to challenge the racist Canadian immigrant laws. On May 23 1914, the Komagata Maru dropped anchor and was greeted by unwelcoming immigration officials. When they were denied entry since their ship hadn’t made an continuous journey to Canada, a 8 week stand off with the Canadian government began. The South Asian community ashore quickly organized, forming the Shore Committee, lead by Banh Singh and a few others , they raised funds to hire a lawyer, J. Edward Bird to negotiate on the passenger’s behalf. The legal battle eventually failed, Bird was subjected to so many threats from the white people that he was forced to fleet Vancouver for a several weeks. Passengers despite having imprisoned for several week fight back back against the ones that tried to board the ship. 2 days later the navy arrived driving the Komagata Maru back, and on July 23rd 1914, exactly 2 months after its arrival, Komagata Maru was forced to leave Canadian waters, for many it would not be a happy homecoming.
When the ship finally docked in Budge Budge, passengers were meet with force. When the passengers finally left the ship the first time in many months, the British police open fire, killing ~20 passengers injuring 9, arrested several others. Baba Gurdit Singh escaped the massacre and lived in hiding for a several months be fore turning himself in. It wasn’t until 1967 that anti-south Asian regulations were abolished entirely.
The Apology
On May 18, 2016, Justin Trudeau will issue a formal apology in the House of Commons for events that took place surrounding the Komagata Maru. The ship arrived in Vancouver in May 1914, carrying 376 passengers of mostly Sikh descent, who were refused entry into Canada due to discriminatory laws. (Source)
“An apology was very important for our community. What more there still areas where we feel that the non-whites are still under discrimination, course it’s not as much as it used to be, but I think it (the end to this unjust) takes time, it will happen.” – Ajay Rai, the manager of a Sikh Temple. (Source)
Because of the struggle of those who was on the Komagata Maru it encouraged the ones who are on land to try harder and fight for the unjustified to be justified, and that’s why us as minority have such successful lives, says Jaswinder Toor, the president of the Komagata Maru Society. (Source)
Conclusion
I really think the bravery of Baba Gurdit Singh and the other on board of the Komagata Maru should be memorialized as part of our collective public memory as they were brave enough to to challenge the racist Canadian immigrant laws, which encouraged the other minorities to fight for their own rights.