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Vancouver unveils street signs in honour of Komagata Maru ship
The city of Vancouver unveiled street signage as part of the honorary naming of a prominent avenue as Komagata Maru Place.
The city of Vancouver unveiled street signage as part of the honorary naming of a prominent avenue as Komagata Maru Place.
The new signage in downtown Vancouver is “a further act of cultural redress for the City’s role in the 1914 Komagata Maru tragedy,” a release from the Vancouver City Council said on Friday.
The site for Komagata Maru Place was chosen for its historic significance, being the location closest to where the Japanese steamship was stationed in Burrard Inlet in 1914.
The ship arrived near Vancouver harbour on May 23 that year. Its passengers were from India, mainly Sikhs but also Hindus and Muslims. Many were seeking to immigrate to Canada, though that was also a political act as some among them returned to fight for Independence. Upon arrival of the ship at the harbour, immigration authorities refused to allow the majority to come ashore, citing the discriminatory Continuous Passage Regulation, a law that mandated that immigrants arrive in Canada directly from their home country. For those from India, that was logistically impossible. The racist legislation was meant to be exclusionary. The passengers had a standoff with authorities. On July 23, two months after the arrival of the ship, the resistance was overcome and the ship was escorted away from Vancouver and back to India. On its return, British police boarded the vessel and attempted to arrest the leaders of the passengers who they considered to be insurgents. In the resultant riot, 19 passengers were killed and over 200 arrested.
Among those at the unveiling function was Raj Singh Toor, spokesperson for the non-profit Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society. He said that the signs were “a great tribute to those passengers who suffered a lot during the tragedy.”
“We can’t undo the past but we can move forward and leave a legacy for the future generations by educating them about the past,” Toor added.
The signage was created by Indo-Canadian artist Jag Nagra, who said, “Being able to share our community’s stories through art is something that’s so important to me and it’s an immense honour to have had the opportunity to create artworks for Komagata Maru Place.”
“The storyboards affixed to the lampposts at eye-level allow passersby to learn about the artwork and the history of the Komagata Maru tragedy,” the release said.
“As a City, we are committed to learning from the past and building a more inclusive future,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said.
On May 18, 2021, the city council had formally apologised for the role it played in the episode and officially declared May 23 as Komagata Maru Remembrance Day.
Toor had first requested the naming of a Vancouver street in memory of that Komagata Maru and its passengers in 2018.
