by Kier Junos, Contributor
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will apologize on May 18 for the Komagata Maru incident of 1914.
This year is the 102nd anniversary of when the Canadian government barred the Komagata Maru’s seafaring passengers – which consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims and 12 Hindus – from entering Canada.
They sailed from Hong Kong to Vancouver, picking up many passengers along the Pacific route. Only 22 passengers were allowed off the ship, leaving the rest inside the ship for two months with decreasing food and water resources while they awaited deportation.
“It was during this tragic episode in Canadian history that the Sikh gurdwaras (temples) played such a vital role,” wrote Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra, from the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), in the Abbotsford News in 2011.
The Gur Sikh Temple on South Fraser Way served as a centre for human rights advocacy during the time that its community fought against racist legislation in the early 20th century.
The 1908 Continuous Passage legislation, for example, forced immigrating Indians to take a direct passage to Canada even though such an option didn’t exist.
The temple is a Canadian heritage site, and is maintained by the Abbotsford Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS).
Kabal Hundal, KDS president, is pleased with the prime minister’s pledge to apologize.
“Mr. Trudeau, he’s great, and he came with an open heart,” said Hundal.