Template:AOW192
The Komagata Maru was a Japanese steam liner, that was chartered by an affluent businessman, Gurdit Singh, to bring Indian immigrants to Canada in 1914.
It began its journey from Hong Kong, sailed to Shanghai, China, then to Yokohama, Japan, and then on to Vancouver, British Columbia Canada where it arrived in Burrard Inlet, near Vancouver, on May 23. This journey took place in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India.
During the period before 1920's the whole of North America has a policy of discrimination against coloured races which was thinly disguised to appear as something else. The dominate white governments of USA and Canada were determined not to allow the flow of Asians, whether so called 'yellow', 'brown' or 'black' immigrants. In the year 1900 the census reported 2050 people from India on the North American continent.
The majority of these Indians were Punjabis who had settled in Canada in the hope of finding work so that they could improve their economic situation from what it had been in the Punjab. .....More
