Komagata Maru Incident [1914] - History, Causes And Significance

The Komagata Maru incident is related to the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru. On this ship, a group from British India attempted to immigrate to Canada in April 1914. Mostly were denied entry and forced to return to Budge Budge, Calcutta (present-day Kolkata). The Indian Imperial Police attempted to detain the group leaders there. A riot occurred, and the police opened fire on it, killing 22 people. On April 4, 1914, the Komagata Maru ship departed from Hong Kong with 376 Indian passengers aboard, with 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus. On May 22, more than a month later, the Komagata Maru landed in British Columbia, but the ship’s crew and passengers were not given a kind greeting.

Komagata Maru Incident

Komagata Maru Incident is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of the Modern History subject in the Mains General Studies Paper-1 syllabus and General Studies Paper-1 of the UPSC Prelims Syllabus.

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What Was The Komagata Maru?

The Komagata Maru ship sailed from India to Canada in 1914. It carried 376 passengers, mostly Sikh immigrants seeking a better life in Canada. However, when the ship arrived in Vancouver, the Canadian government refused to allow the passengers to disembark. The government enforced strict immigration laws that targeted people from Asian countries. The passengers were denied entry into Canada due to their race and forced to stay on the ship for two months in harsh conditions. Only 24 passengers were eventually allowed to enter Canada, while the rest were forced to return to India. This incident is considered a symbol of racial discrimination and a violation of human rights. It sparked outrage and protests among the Indian community in Canada and worldwide. The Komagata Maru incident significantly shaped immigration policies and awareness of racial discrimination in Canada.

Background of Komagata Maru Incident

• Canada had strict immigration rules, allowing entry only to those who traveled directly from India on their own ship.
• In November 1913, Canada's Supreme Court permitted the entry of 35 Indians who met this requirement.
• Gurdit Singh, an Indian contractor in Singapore, chartered the Komagata Maru, a Japanese ship, to bring 376 Indians from East and Southeast India to Vancouver.
• Ghadarites visited the ship in Yokohama, Japan, spreading their message and literature.
• Upon arrival in Vancouver, the ship was denied entry, leading to the formation of a 'Shore Committee' in Vancouver to advocate for the passengers' rights.
• A strong campaign in the USA, led by individuals like Barkatullah, Bhagwan Singh, Ram Chandra, and Sohan Singh Bhakna, aimed to support the passengers.
• The Komagata Maru was eventually forced out of Canadian waters.
• During its return journey, the outbreak of World War I led to orders that passengers could only disembark in Calcutta.
• On September 27, 1914, the ship reached Budge Budge, Calcutta, where clashes with the police resulted in the death of 18 passengers.
• This incident sparked widespread discontent in Punjab, leading to political dacoities in Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Ludhiana districts.

The “Komagata Maru Incident”

• More than an isolated “incidence,” the Komagata Maru narrative demonstrates the Canadian government’s purposeful, discriminatory strategy of keeping out ethnicities it considered unsuitable to enter.
• These explanations were couched in racist and ethnocentric concepts of “progress,” “civilization,” and “suitability,” all of which supported the belief that Canada should continue to be a “White Man’s Country.”
• On May 23, 1914, a packed ship from Hong Kong carrying 376 passengers, most immigrants from Punjab, British India, landed at Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet on Canada’s west coast.
• The passengers, who were all British citizens, were contesting the Continuous Passage law, which said that immigrants must “come from the place of their birth or citizenship via a continuous route and on through tickets purchased before leaving the country of their birth or citizenship.”
• The regulation was enacted in 1908 to limit Indian immigration to Canada.
• As a result, the Komagata Maru was refused mooring by the authorities, and only twenty returning citizens were given admittance to Canada, with the exception of the ship’s doctor and his family.
• After a two-month standoff, the Canadian military took the ship out of the harbour on July 23, 1914.
• It was forced to sail back to Budge-Budge, India, where nineteen passengers were murdered by gunshot upon disembarking, and many more were imprisoned.

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Response of Ghadar Party

During that time, the incident involving the 'Komagata Maru' was frequently mentioned by different Indian groups to highlight the inconsistencies in Canadian immigration laws. The strong emotions sparked by this incident were capitalized upon by Indian revolutionaries, particularly members of the Ghadar Party, who sought to garner support for their cause. In 1914, numerous meetings were organized in California by the Ghadarites for the Indian community residing there. The Ghadar leaders leveraged this incident to appeal to the community's involvement in their movement. As a result of this unfortunate event, individuals were also recruited to join the cause. Prominent leaders of the Ghadar Party included Tarak Nath Das, Barkatullah, and Sohan Singh.

Why Was The Komagata Maru Ship Turned Away?

The Komagata Maru incident tested Canada's strict immigration rules. The Continuous Passage law required immigrants to travel directly from their birth country and purchase tickets in advance. This meant that even if someone were born in India, moved to China, and wanted to go to Canada, they would be considered illegal. Immigrants also needed to have $200. The rules aimed to limit Indian immigrants seeking work in Canada. White Christian migrants from Northern Europe and the United States were considered more desirable. The leader of the Komagata Maru, Singh, argued that British subjects should be allowed to relocate to Canada. However, Canadian officials disagreed, and the ship was denied docking. Only a few Canadian residents and the doctor's family were allowed to leave the ship.

Komagata Maru Incident: What Happened To Everyone Else?

• The ship was eventually taken back out to sea by the Canadian Navy following a two-month standoff in seas close outside Vancouver.
• During its time in the harbour, the Komagata Maru became a media phenomenon and received much attention from the general public.
• According to Simon Fraser University professors who examined the incident, the vessel finally returned to India, where 19 passengers were slain by gunshot upon disembarking. Others have been imprisoned.
• The passengers’ descendants have requested an official apology from Ottawa for years. The Sikh community in Canada now numbers little around 500,000 people.

Komagata Maru Incident & Ghadar Party

• The Komagata Maru event exacerbated the situation in Punjab. The following were the reasons:
  • The majority of the people on board were Sikhs and Punjabi Muslims.
  • The ship was only recovered after two months of hunger and uncertainty, which eventually became entangled in controversy.
  • Indians were harmed by the perception that the British influenced Canadian authorities.
  • When the ship returned to Calcutta in September 1914, the passengers were instructed to take a train to Punjab, which they rejected, and 22 people perished in the conflict.
• Various Indian organisations used the ‘Komagata Maru’ event to highlight anomalies in Canadian immigration policies at the time.
• The emotions sparked by this occurrence were used by Indian revolutionaries, notably Ghadar Party members, to rally public support for their cause.
• Ghadarites conducted several meetings with the Indian community in California in 1914, and the Ghadar leaders utilised this tragedy to enlist the community’s support for their cause.
• Following this sad tragedy, many were also recruited into the movement. Tarak Nath Das, Barkatullah, and Sohan Singh were prominent Ghadar leaders.

What was the Ghadar Party?

• The Ghadar Party was a worldwide political movement started in the early twentieth century by expatriate Indians to overthrow British authority in India.
• The Ghadar Party was a worldwide political movement of expatriate Indians seeking to end British rule in India.
• The official establishment took place on July 15, 1913. In 1913, Lala Hardayal created the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, known as the Ghadar Party, with Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president.
• Members of this party were immigrant Sikhs from the United States and Canada.

Shore Committee

• The Komagata Maru incident occurred in 1914 when 376 people hired the Japanese ship Komagata Maru. The ship was not permitted to dock in Vancouver.
• The ship was denied permission to dock in Vancouver by Canadian officials.
• To fight for the rights of travellers, the Shore Committee was formed by Hussain Rahim, Sohan Lal Pathak, and Balwant Singh.

Significance of the Komagata Maru Incident

• Arbitrary confinement, for example, benefited Indian independence activists in revealing the true face of British power.
• Throughout the journey, the Komagata maru stopped at various ports where political lectures helped rally support from neighbouring countries.
• The Asian Exclusion Act only allowed politicians to doubt Whiteman’s burden argument because they refused to accept that “burden.”
• The Ghadar Party used the tragedy to rally support for a massive revolt against the British Empire.
• As a result, the Komagata Maru incident may be seen as a watershed point in Indian political history. It infuriated the public and provided a forum for assaults on British citizens.

Legacy of Komagata Maru Incident

• In 2016, the Canadian Prime Minister formally apologized to the House of Commons regarding the Komagata Maru incident.
• The consequences of the 1914 voyage are still visible in contemporary anti-terrorism laws, with men of color, including Muslims and Sikhs, frequently detained and held without charges.
• Canada's choice to reject the Komagata Maru passengers marked the beginning of a racial border control system that persists today, often justified by concerns about terrorism and insurgency.

Conclusion

The Komagata Maru event made the pervasive anti-Asian/anti-Indian sentiments public in Canada, specifically in British Columbia. The event confirmed that individuals who had moved from India were outsiders. The fate of the Komagata Maru passengers is more than simply a singular episode; it reflects the government of Canada’s intentional exclusionary policy designed to keep out newcomers based on their ethnicity and/or place of origin.

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