Komagata Maru incident
The Komagata Maru incident refers to a significant event in 1914 involving a Japanese ship that carried 376 passengers, primarily Sikhs, from India to Canada. This voyage was an attempt to challenge restrictive immigration laws that targeted South Asians, particularly Sikhs, due to rising anti-Asian sentiment in British Columbia. The Canadian government had implemented stringent policies to limit East Indian immigration, effectively barring most from entering the country. Upon arrival in Vancouver, despite meeting all legal requirements, the passengers were largely denied entry, with only a few being permitted to disembark. After two months of negotiations and facing hostility from local communities, the ship was ultimately forced to leave, leaving the passengers in a precarious situation. This incident underscored the racial discrimination prevalent at the time and left a lasting impact on the Sikh community in Canada, highlighting the challenges faced by immigrants in their quest for acceptance and rights. It remains a pivotal moment in the history of Canadian immigration policy and race relations.
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Komagata Maru incident
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Sikhs (a religious community who originate in South Asia) became the targets of resentment, discrimination, and violence in Canada’s British Columbia. In response to the anti-Sikh sentiment, in 1908 the Canadian government passed two orders-in-council specifically designed to stop East Indian immigration. The first raised the amount an immigrant had to have in his or her possession from twenty-five dollars to two hundred dollars. The second prohibited entry unless the person came directly from his or her country of birth or citizenship by continuous voyage; there were no direct or continuous voyage sea routes from India to Canada. Only East Indians were subject to these restrictions.
To enter Canada, a group chartered the Japanese ship Komagata Maru and made a continuous voyage from Calcutta to Vancouver with 346 Sikhs and 30 East Indians aboard. Even though the passengers satisfied all the immigration requirements, only a few, who were returnees, were allowed to disembark. After two months of negotiations, anti-Sikh demonstrations, and violence, the ship and her passengers were forced to leave. The incident had lasting influence on Sikhs in Canada and the Canadian government's legacy of racial and ethnic discrimination.
Bibliography
Hickman, Pamela M. The Komagata Maru and Canada's Anti-Indian Immigration Policies in the Twentieth Century. Toronto: Lorimer, 2014. Print.
Kazimi, Ali. Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru: An Illustrated History. Vancouver: Douglas, 2012. Print.
Nguyen, Kevin. "The Komagata Maru Incident as a Violation of Human Rights." OHRC. Ontario Human Rights Commission, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
"Remembering the Komagata Maru." Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Gov. of Canada, 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Rode, Ajmer, and Jarnail Singh. The Journey with Endless Eye: Stories of the Komagata Maru Incident. Victoria: Ekstasis, 2014. Print.