The City of Mission has honoured the memory of Komagata Maru passengers  with a proclamation, the latest in a multi-city effort in BC to remember and condemn this shameful chapter in Canadian history. “I would like to say thank you to the Respected Mayor Paul Horn and City Council of Mission for recognizing the Komagata Maru passengers and proclaimed May 23rd 2023 as a Komagata Maru Day in the City of Mission on my request, say Raj Singh Toor of the Komagata Maru Descendants Society.

 By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada

With News Files

MISSION – The City of Mission has honoured the memory of Komagata Maru passengers  with a proclamation, the latest in a multi-city effort in BC to remember and condemn this shameful chapter in Canadian history.

 “I would like to say thank you to the Respected Mayor Paul Horn and City Council of Mission for recognizing the Komagata Maru passengers and proclaimed May 23rd 2023 as a Komagata Maru Day in the City of Mission on my request, say Raj Singh Toor of the Komagata Maru Descendants Society.

The City of Mission Council and City of Mission School Board approved a Komagata Maru display Board to educate students in Mission’s schools (elementary, middle and secondary schools). 

Toor said it’s very good learning tool to connect the future generations to their past. It’s a great tribute to those passengers who suffered a lot during the tragedy.

“With these Komagata Maru Remembrance Day Proclamations ,  Komagata Maru School display Board in Mission and numerous recognitions of the ordeal suffered by the Komagata Maru passengers, we can see a new and much brighter chapter of the Komagata Maru story being written.  We are extremely happy and thankful to be part of this very important change,” Toor said.   

“I would like to say thank you to the Respected Mayor Paul Horn and City Council of Mission and City of Mission School Board and the members of Mission’s Community Heritage Commission for recognizing the Komagata Maru passengers and make Komagata Maru School display Board realty,” added Toor, who is the grandson of Baba Puran Singh Janetpura.

The SS Komagata Maru was a ship chartered in 1914 by wealthy Singapore businessman Gurdit Singh Sirhali, as a direct challenge to Canada’s former laws which prohibited ethnic Indians from immigrating to the country.

The ship departed Hong Kong and arrived in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet carrying 376 Sikh, Muslim and Hindu passengers. Although they were all British subjects and held passports, they were barred from stepping off the ship.

They were refused food, water and medication, Toor said, and only B.C.’s South Asian community helped smuggle them provisions, even though it was illegal.

“They were starving, they were thirsty, and they were getting sick,” Toor said. He said Vancouver City Council passed a resolution rejecting the entry of “Hindu and Asiatic races,” stating they were a “serious menace to our civilians, both economically and socially.”

The Komagata Maru was forced to sail back to India, under a military escort. Upon arrival in Kolkata, British troops fired upon passengers, killing 20 and injuring many others. Eventually most of the passengers were given long prison sentences.

The city councils of Brampton, Surrey, Delta and New Westminster have all dedicated public spaces (street names, parks or trails, storyboards) to the historical event as a result of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society’s efforts.

Coun. Ken Herar proposed creating a storyboard to commemorate the event, but also cautioned against rushing it before considering other tragedies stemming Canada’s past racial policies. He suggested other historical storyboards be created on forced residential schools for Indigenous children, and WW2’s forced internment camps for Japanese families.

“Education is a key force in eliminating hate,” Herar said. “Combining the three together sheds light on the errors of the past, and I feel it will be an informative learning experience as we move forward together.

“When comparing these incidents collectively, it’s a lack of acceptance and of inclusivity to individuals as a whole.”