By Prof. Kartar Singh MA
Baba Gurdit Singh of Sarhali, District Amritsar, had migrated to Malaya States, now called Malaysia, some thirty years before. He had established himself there as a merchant. He was looked up to by his countrymen for his age and experience in the East. He learnt that the Canadian Government’s Immigration Laws against the Indian had been suspended in consequence of the Supreme Court’s verdict. He knew that in places like Hong Kong and Shanghai, there were many people eager to go to the country. He decided to help his countrymen by making arrangements to take them there.
Accordingly, he gave up his lucrative business in Malaya. He went to Hong Kong in the first week of January 1914, and began to make arrangements for taking his countrymen to Canada. At first some shipping companies agreed to take Indians to Canada, but they soon withdrew the promise. Thereby the only course left to Sikhs in the East was to charter a ship of their own, at any cost and settle the immigration question once and for all.
“They trusted the judgment of the Court, and believed that there would be no difficulty about getting admission into the country.”
Baba Gurdit Singh wanted to leave nothing to chance. Keeping in view the “continuous voyage” clause in the Canadian Immigration Law, he proposed to start direct from Calcutta after a ship was chartered. In negotiating with different companies in Singapore he had to spend about a month there. But the intending immigrants wanted to be quick and reach Canada before the Dominion Parliament met and enacted the Immigration Law afresh, They must have heard by this time that the Governor-general of Canada had, on January 7, 1914, issued another order in council, identical with the one already declared invalid by the Supreme Court, but they trusted the judgment of the Court, and believed that there would be no difficulty about getting admission into the country, or hoped to win their cause legally, as their brethren had done before.
Therefore the intending immigrants wired to him at Singapore on January 29, urging him not to go to Calcutta, but to come and start a vessel direct from Hong Kong to Vancouver. He reached Hong Kong accordingly.
Guru Nanak Jahaz
After trying many Chinese companies at Hong Kong, he chartered, on March 24, 1914 a ship named the S.S. Kamagata Maru from a Japanese Company for 6 months at $11,000 dollars a month. The ship was renamed the Guru Nanak Jahaz. The hire was to be paid in installments, the last one being due after two months from the commencement of the charter. It was clearly stated in the charter that the ship would be taken to Canada.
Baba Gurdit Singh issued tickets to a large number of the intending immigrants; but many of them were not able to pay their fare, and executed notes for the amounts payable, as is evident from the fact that noted for nearly 24,000 dollars, executed by various passengers on this account were found afterwards in the ship. As recorded in the Report of Enquiry Committee appointed by the Government, “Majority of them were poor men who had saved but little and many had sacrificed all they had in the way of saving to pay their expenditure incurred by the voyage. There is also evidence to prove that many gave up regular service and appointments in which they ‘were receiving good pay in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and elsewhere to embark on this disastrous voyage.
The ship was to start on the 27th March 1914, but on the 25th the Baba Sahib was arrested by the Hong Kong police and put in confinement without any charges being brought against hint. Most of the intending passengers were frightened away. Only 165 out of S00 or more were ready to start. When, after a great deal of trouble, the case was withdrawn, the Governor refused to sign the an certificate. The Baba sahib strongly protested to the Governor against this illegal detention, and represented that he was being put to a great loss. The acting Governor, who turned out to be an old friend of Baba Gurdit Singh, admitted in an interview that he had detained the ship because he had, six days before, wired for instructions to the Canadian Government at Ottawa and the Indian authorities in London, and was expecting their reply. After waiting in vain for a reply, the Governor allowed the ship to start on April 4, 1914. He also promised to move the Governments of Canada and India to help the Baba Sahib.
“The progress of the Komagata Maru was reported in British Colombian papers as “a mounting Oriental invasion” of Canada.
The ship proceeded to Shanghai where it halted for five days and took in 111 new passengers. From Shanghai the ship proceeded to Moji , where 86 more passengers were taken on board. At Yokohama 14 new passengers were added. From Yokihama the ship proceeded to Canada with 376 men, out of whom only 25 were Muhammedans and the rest were Sikhs.
The progress of the Komagata Maru was reported in British Colombian papers as a “mounting Oriental invasion” of Canada. The ship touched the shores of Canada on May 21, and anchored off Victoria. A thorough checking of the steamer was done at the Victoria Quarantine Station, and it proceeded on and reached Vancouver on May 23. Here the tussle began.
The Canadian Immigration authorities held up the ship atsome distance from the coast, and placed it under strong guard in launch boats. Only the ship’s doctor and its Japanese captain were admitted, as they had established secret wrongful contacts with the authorities against the Baba Sahib. The other passengers, in spite of repeated protests, were not allowed to land.
Ship Held In Sea
If the coastal authorities had decided to proceed strictly according to law, they should have allowed Baba Gurdit Singh and his personal staff to disembark as nonimmigrants, for he was a merchant who had come with his ship to touch the coast temporarily. Then they should have put the remaining passengers in the Immigration shed ‘and held ‘a regular enquiry into each individual case, to see if the person could be accepted as an
immigrant under the immigration Law in force at the time. The ship should have been released. But nothing of the sort was done. The attitude of the Immigration officers of Canada may be gathered from the following recorded words of one of them:
“The Hindus on board the ship came to this country deliberately, attempting to force their presence on a people who do not wish them”.
From the 1st June onwards the Immigration authorities began to take one passenger after another to the coast and leisurely examined each case before a Board of Enquiry. This was done simply to cause delay. The authorities were informed by the Japanese captain of the ship that Baba Gurdit Singh had to pay the last installments of his ship rent by the 4th June, failing which he would lose his ship and incur an enormous loss. They decided, therefore, to see to it that he be put to all that loss.
It may be stated here that, as a result of the above said examination of each case by the Enquiry Board, 23 passengers who could prove their Canadian domicile were allowed to land.
The Immigration authorities refused to let Baba Gurdit Singh sell his cargo and realize money thereby, or to correspond with his countrymen on the coast who had formed a committee to help his. Even his legal adviser was not allowed to go on board the ship.
Indian Government Unhelpful At the end of May, the provisions ran dry and the passengers began to starve; but, in spite of protests from Baba Gurdit singh, the Immigration department would
“But beyond acknowledging the receipt of the Diwan’s representation, the Government of India gave no assurance of help.”
not help him, nor allow him to go to the shore and make his own arrangements. He had to wire to the King Emperor in London and the Governor General of Canada at Ottawa, before he was allowed relief on that score. He also wired to the Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar, to move the Indian Government for aid. But beyond acknowledging the receipt of the Diwan’s representation, the Government of India gave no assurance of help.
The next installment bell be published in next issue.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 19, 1989
