Komagata Maru

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Komagata Maru, a Japanese-owned freighter chartered out of Hong Kong in April 1914 by 376 Punjabis, mostly SIKHS, bound for Canada. At the time, East Indians were kept out of Canada by an order-in-council requiring them to come to Canada by continuous passage from India, when no steamship line provided the service. Before the Canadian government, under tremendous pressure, closed the door in 1908, about 2000 Sikhs had settled in BC. In 1913, 38 Sikhs contested the continuous-passage order and were admitted. This encouraged others to charter the Komagata Maru.

When it arrived at Vancouver in May 1914, most of the passengers were detained on board. They waited for 2 months while immigration officials maneuvered to keep them out of court and, after they had lost their case, while their leaders negotiated departure terms. The arrival of the RCN cruiser RAINBOW on July 20 added to the Canadian pressure, and on July 23 Komagata Maru sailed for Calcutta, where it was met by police suspicious of the organizers' politics. On disembarkation, 20 passengers were killed in a shooting exchange. The affair strengthened Indian nationalist feeling, but did not significantly soften Canadian immigration law.

<i>Komagata Maru</i>
Komagata Maru
In 1914 the arrival of the Komagata Maru in Vancouver with East Indian immigrants touched off violent demonstrations in Vancouver. As a result they were refused entry (courtesy Vancouver Public Library).

Author HUGH JOHNSTON


Links to Other Sites
The Komagata Maru: Continuing the Journey
A comprehensive online resource that explores the infamous 1914 Komagata Maru "incident" through primary documents, oral histories, private archives, art works, and interviews. From Simon Fraser University.

The Voyage of the Komagata Maru
A synopsis of the book "The Voyage of the Komagata Maru." From the website for UBCPress.

CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum
The website for the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, located at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, Vancouver Island. Special features include ship histories, local heroes, women merchant mariners, characters & controversies, and much more.

Komagata Maru memorial approved for Vancouver
A CBC News story about a Vancouver memorial marking the Komagata Maru incident.

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