Komagata Maru monument provokes no apology in Parliament by federal government

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      Former Vancouver park commissioner Raj Hundal says the unveiling on Monday (July 23) of a federally funded monument commemorating the 1914 Komagata Maru incident will be a “step in the right direction”.

      However, Hundal also noted that an apology in Parliament for this chapter in Canada’s history of dealing with immigration from Asia is “long overdue”.

      “It’s important to note that the South Asian community has not asked for any monetary compensation,” Hundal told the Straight in a phone interview. “All they want is a formal apology given in the House of Commons.”

      July 23 is the 98th anniversary of the day the Komagata Maru, a chartered ship carrying mostly Sikh immigrants, was forced out to sea from Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. It had arrived two months earlier, and its passengers had not been allowed to disembark. The ship returned to India, where some of its passengers were killed by British soldiers.

      On August 3, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the Komagata Maru episode at a community event in Surrey’s Bear Creek Park. “If he can make an apology in a park, why not make an apology in the House of Commons and make it part of the official record?” said Hundal, who is now the B.C. NDP’s candidate for Surrey-Tynehead.

      Vancouver’s Khalsa Diwan Society, which runs the Sikh temple on Ross Street, received money from Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Community Historical Recognition Program for the monument project. While he was park commissioner, Hundal worked with the group to find a site, in the end settling on Harbour Green Park, at the north foot of Bute Street in Coal Harbour.

      Khalsa president Sohan Deo said in a telephone interview that his group has invited Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney and other members of Parliament to the Monday ceremony, which starts at 2 p.m.

      Deo also said that because Harper has already apologized for the Komagata Maru incident at a public event, it is “very hard” to convince the Conservative government to do it again in Parliament.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      monty/that'sme

      Jul 18, 2012 at 6:27pm

      This revisionist history is amazing. My grandfather, AWH Curtis was Overseas Buyer at Hastings Mill when this incident took place. He was on a committee that provided food and water to the persons on this ship.

      The laws in force at that time clearly outlined the various ports that the ship could visit. The laws were ignored. Hence, there were persons on the ship who should not have been there becuse they had defied the laws. This is why the vessel was ultimately sent back.

      Alas, the actual history has been replaced with a new version. Even the Archives in Ottawa have changed to original records. Jasper at Vancouver Parks was contacted over a year ago but he never returned phone messages. Grandfather came to BC in 1888. His picture is at the Vancouver Archives as he played for the Vancouver Rugby team.

      JRH Curtis

      Jul 19, 2012 at 10:35pm

      Actually, our grandfather came to Vancouver from the Raj (via France and a trip across the US with Big Jim Hill) in 1883, not 1886. The rest of the post above is accurate as far as it goes. Our ancestors commanded Sikh trooops in the First Afgahn War in the 1840's and embraced Sikhism and the Sikhs. That there has not been an apology in both the Parliament and in the Provincial Legislature is shamefull.

      Progressive Person

      Jul 20, 2012 at 8:03pm

      Good job Raj. I was there too at Bear Creek Park when Harper came. If Harper can apologize in House of Commons for other communities for past wrongs, why not this too?

      monty/that'sme

      Jul 30, 2012 at 4:06am

      That's it, folks. How do you like them apples,eh?

      Cheers, Claire