Abbotsford (with files from VoiceonLine/Wikipedia) – On Monday January 30, Abbotsford Council unanimously decided “to create a commemorative renaming of South Fraser Way to ‘Komagata Maru Way’” between Fairlane Street and Ware Street.
It also directed staff “to create an interpretive plaque at the Heritage Sikh Temple Historic Site in partnership with the South Asian Studies Institute that focuses on the “Abbotsford story” of the Komagata Maru incident, along with education kits to enhance learning.”
Councilor Dave Loewen : Very pleased to have had this opportunity to commemorate this significant event in Canadian history and to recognize the history of our local South Asian community.
Background from Wikipedia:
The Komagata Maru incident involved the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, on which a group of people from British India attempted to immigrate to Canada in April 1914, but most were denied entry and forced to return to Budge Budge, Calcutta (present-day Kolkata). There, the Indian Imperial Police attempted to arrest the group leaders. A riot ensued, and they were fired upon by the police, resulting in the deaths of 22 people.
Komagata Maru sailed from British Hong Kong, via Shanghai, China, and Yokohama, Japan, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on April 4, 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab province in British India. The passengers comprised 337 Sikhs, 27 Muslims and 12 Hindus, all Punjabis and British subjects.[2] Of these 376 passengers, 24 were admitted to Canada, but the other 352 were not allowed to disembark in Canada, and the ship was forced to leave Canadian waters. The ship was escorted by HMCS Rainbow, one of Canada’s first two naval vessels.[3] This was one of several incidents in the early 20th century in which exclusion laws in Canada and the United States were used to exclude immigrants of Asian origin.
