Komagata Maru: A memorial and an apology, not money

June 3rd, 2006 by admin

Apologizing is a key value we all attempt to teach our children. Apologizing for our mistakes helps us build healthy relationships with those around us.

Having said that, why is it that the Canadian government has never seen the need to apologize for the gross racial injustices endured by 352 innocent passengers of the Komagata Maru 92 years ago? Are Canadian governments beating the drums of openness, multiculturalism and diversity in a melodrama only to appease the ethnocultural population? For the last 12 years, the previous Liberal government had been hanging the apology carrot before the Indo-Canadian voters. In addition, the Tory government of today have given no indication of any sincere, clear and unequivocal apology for the incident.

Some have described these early settlers as patriots. In my opinion, these settlers were no different than the immigrants or refugees that are coming to Canada today. They were coming here for economic prosperity and for a better lifestyle. Patriots by definition are people that love their country and choose to defend the country.

Let’s not confuse the facts. If these passengers wanted to fight against the British regime of the time, they should have stayed in India and fought for their rights. When these passengers returned to India, they became rebels and joined the Ghadar Party as a result of the atrocities bestowed upon them. Nevertheless, their reason for coming to Canada was for economic purposes. The Japanese steamliner chartered by Gurdit Singh stopped in Hong Kong and Japan and sold tickets to passengers wanting to come to Canada. Gurdit Singh had 1500 tons of coal. He wanted to sell coal to Canada and had intended to buy lumber from BC to sell back east. Along with the passengers on this trip who were discriminated against, let us not forget the generosity

and sacrifices of the early Indian settlers, in particular the Khalsa Diwan Society which raised $7,000 to hire a lawyer and supply food for the passengers for the two months they were docked in the harbour.

In my opinion, the prosperous descendants of the passengers do not need

the money, but a memorial must be erected in the memory of those passengers who lost their lives as a result of government officials denying them entry to Canada. We need to acknowledge the wrongs of yesterday, in particular the racist policies of the Canadian government of the time that discriminated against Indo-Canadians.

Today, Indo-Canadians are a vital part of the Canadian economy. They’ve proven themselves to be resourceful and hard-working people who aspire to work for the good of humanity as a whole. To move this cause forward, we as a community need to unite and come together on a common platform before we begin formal talks with the government. Having a consensus amongst the community will show our commitment to having this issue put to bed once and for all.

Harjinder Thind is news director at Red FM (CKYE 93.1FM) in Surrey.
Source: The Voice Online (www.voiceonline.com)

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