NEW DELHI: The Centre has kicked off the centenary celebrations of the heroic struggle of Indian immigrants against discriminatory immigration laws best remembered by Komagata Maru incident.
During the inaugural function to mark the completion of 100 years of the incident when Komagata Maru ship carrying 376 Indians were turned back from Canada, Culture Minister Sripad Naik on Monday honoured the three granddaughters of Baba Gurdit Singh, hero of the episode. Harbhajan Kaur, Satwant Kaur and Balbir Kaur were felicitated on the occasion, which also saw the release of commemorative coins of `100 and ` 5 denomination.
Secretary, Culture, Ravindra Singh said the government has chalked out a number of programmes including national and international conferences, special publications, development of digital archives and production of films and documentaries. The Ministry of Culture has also received a host of proposals from individuals. For instance, a proposal from IIT, Kharagpur sought to throw light on Komagata Maru’s voyage by retracing its journey from Budge Budge in Kolkata to Punjab and to understand its significance for addressing the contemporary discourse on nation, diaspora and citizenship. An international seminar titled ‘Komagata Maru: Context, Significance and Legacy’ is also proposed to be organised.
It was on May 23, 1914, Komagata, a Japanese steamer with 376 passengers on board mostly immigrants from Punjab in the then British India, arrived in Vancouver, Canada, from Hong Kong. The Canadian authorities denied permission to the steamer to berth at the port. Following a two-month-long stalemate, the ship was escorted out of the harbour and forced to sail back to India. The Komagata arrived in Calcutta in September, 1914. The British saw the men on Komagata as dangerous political agitators.