

Vancouver residents of Indian descent gathered to mark the 110 years presence of the Guru Nanak Jahaaz previously known as the Komagata Maru. They passed a resolution to correct history by recognizing the name of Guru Nanak Jahaaz which was named by Baba Gurdit Singh when he charted the Japanese freighter Komagata Maru in Hong Kong which sailed to Vancouver in 1914.
The Guru Nanak Jahaaz (Ship)/ Komagata Maru came to Vancouver on May 23, 1914, with 376 passengers, two women, four children, 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, including my grandfather, Baba Puran Singh Janetpura. He was well-educated, having studied at an English-language high school in Ludhiana, Punjab, and telecommunications at the University of Amity. He was coming to Canada to further his education.
He was told at the time that any Indian who was part of the British Commonwealth would be welcomed to study further their studies in Canada. The passengers of the ship were all British subjects and thus British passport holders.
The welcome received by the passengers of the Komagata Maru was a cold refusal by the government to allow the ship to dock. No food, water or medication was provided, even though it was the government’s discriminatory law that prevented the passengers from disembarking.
The local Indian and indigenous communities provided the passengers with food, water, and medication. Furthermore, this help was limited by the Canadian government because officials restricted the Indian residents from accessing the ship. Often the passengers went for 24 hours without food and water, and sometimes two or three days, or more.
Passengers were getting sick. The passengers drank rainwater while the ship’s Japanese crew was allowed to head to shore to get their own groceries. Efforts by Indian residents and indigenous communities to transport provisions were rebuffed by the Canadian government.