Komagata Maru Incident

Komagata Maru: The Komagata Maru was a chartered ship from Hong Kong that carried 376 passengers from British India to the Dominion of Canada. When the ship arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1914, the Canadian government refused to allow 352 migrants, mainly Sikhs, from disembarking because of a 1908 law called the Continuous Passage Act. The law, which remained on the books until 1947, required immigrants to enter Canada directly from their country of origin without any stops in between, according to The Star. It was an exclusionary immigration policy meant to racially discriminate against South Asians, said Naveen Girn, a Vancouver-based project manager for the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident and Canada Post will be unveiling a new stamp on May 6 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident, drawing attention to an exclusionary immigration policy that denied hundreds of Indian migrants entry into Canada in 1914. The passengers argued that the provision didnt apply to them because they were British subjects, as India and Canada were still considered British colonies. The government eventually allowed 24 migrants to enter Canada because they were deemed returning residents, but refused to allow the remaining passengers entry. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.