Kamagata Maru

The infamous Kamagata Maru incident is the most significant event for Sikhs in Canadian history. It was caused by both the British and Canadian governments, who at that time were extremely racist and intolerant about Sikhs from India. The Kamagata Maru incident in India corresponds to the Indian people's struggle for independence and freedom from the British Empire. While in Canada it is a reminder of the tremendously unjust law of exclusion for Sikhs and other immigrants from India. The state of Canadian Sikhs both before and after this event did not change a great deal, for the reason that racism still continued to be active and the passengers of the Kamagata Maru were refused entrance despite the long two month debates and wait. Canadian Sikhs learnt many lessons from this event and current Sikhs are still very disappointed by the outcome and are seeking apologies from the Canadian government. The Sikh community has survived and prospered in Canada, despite the prejudice and hostility it faced from the Kamagata Maru event.

India in the nineteenth century was ruled by the British. The majority of the Sikhs living in India at this time were farmers, servants at British homes, or soldiers working for the British government helping them make their control stronger. The British had started trading raw materials produced by India, with the hard work of its citizens, to other British colonies, making a lot of profit while the people who actually produced the goods got barely anything. The average Indian made roughly ten cents a day. Yet wages in Canada were ten to fifteen times as high as they had been in India. Many people working for the British in the military frequently overheard people from other countries talk about freedom. Many realized that they were being treated unjustly in their own country and were taken advantage of by the British. Numerous Indians wanted to move to Canada, which consisted of two thousand people from India, including several who had come with the expectation of improving their economic situation from what it had been in India. Upon arrival, however, they realized that the situation in Canada was not much different than it had been in India. Canadians felt that the rising number of Indians would seize their jobs, thus making them jobless. Company owners often felt it was to their advantage employing Indians because they did a lot of work for hardly any pay. It was mainly because of this fact that led Canada into passing severe laws to prevent the immigration of Indians to Canada. In 1908, a legislative measure was passed in Canada that prohibited the entrance of Asian migrants who had not sailed directly to Canada from their country of origin. Called the continuous journey clause, it was repealed in 1947. Another law included that immigrants pay two hundred dollars to enter. The Canadian government new both these laws were very unreasonable considering that the average Indian only earned ten cents a day and with the purpose of a direct passage from India was evidently impossible. In Canada, the government was preventing steamship companies to sell tickets to Indians. In 1907 a bill was passed denying all Indians the right to vote, run for office, and serve on juries.

On January 1914, Baba Gurdit Singh Ji, a wealthy businessman, was staying in the Hong Kong Gurdwara, when he took notice of the story of Chief Justice Hunter's verdict in Victoria, B.C. The news was gratifying because Mr. Hunter declared that people with all their legal responsibilities fulfilled will not be prohibited from coming to Canada. Furthermore affirming that guilty persons will be given a trial before any further action is taken. People were overjoyed by this news because it meant many Indians could get away from the social and economic problems at home and move to Canada without any difficulty. Immediately Baba Gurdit Ji rented a ship named Kamagata Maru for six months for eleven thousand dollars a month. Five hundred Indians were prepared to leave. They renamed the ship "Guru Nanak Ship", and bought five hundred tickets for one hundred and twenty-five dollars each. However, they still needed the consent of the British Government of Hong Kong. Two days before the ship was to sail, Bhai Gurdit Singh was arrested by the Hong Kong authorities for unlawfully selling tickets for an illegal voyage and the ship was placed under strict police guard. This caused disarray among the passengers, and everything became disordered. The following day Bhai Gurdit Singh was released on bail. After this incident, only a hundred and thirty-five of the five hundred passengers remained. On April 4, 1914, with the consent of the Hong Kong government, Kamagata Maru finally made way for Canada. On April 8 at Shanghai, additional hundred and eleven passengers boarded the ship, eighty-six from the Port of Moji, and fourteen at the Yokohama port, making the total passenger count three hundred and seventy-six, including three hundred and forty Sikhs, twelve Hindus, and twenty-four Muslims. At last the Kamagata Maru left Yokohama on May 3, 1914.

When the British government realized that Kamagata Maru was making way for Canada, they sent the British Columbia authorities messages to prevent the ship from docking. The Indians who had already settled in Canada were waiting for the arrival of their fellow brothers from India. When they heard about this news, they started holding meetings in the Gurdwara's concerning what actions to take. Money and provisions were collected to assist the travelers upon their arrival in Vancouver. The entire Indian community in Canada unified to fight the opposition.

On May 23, 1914, Kamagata Maru reached Vancouver and anchored near Burrard Inlet. The Indian community and the Canadian authorities were awaiting them. Canadian authorities were obliged to send the ship back to where it had come from. The Indians, on the other hand, had lawyers, money and other provisions ready to help the passengers. The Canadian authorities did not allow the passengers to leave their ship declaring they had violated the laws. Their claim was that the ship had not arrived by means of continuous passage and the majority of passengers did not have the two hundred dollars that would have qualified them to enter British Columbia. Baba Gurdit Ji appealed to the authorities that until a decision is made and agreed upon, the passengers be permitted to come off the ship. He also requested that if they are to return to India, then they be given food and money and other necessary provisions to make a successful journey back. He, however, got no reply to his plea. While interred in Vancouver harbour for two months, conditions of the ship worsened significantly for the passengers. Passengers soon started to get sick and were very hungry and thirsty. They sent a message to Hong Kong about their conditions, and were promised one hundred ton