Numismatic (coins and notes) investment
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NEW 5 RUPEES INDIAN COIN RELEASED
Kamagata Maru incident
In the year 1900 2050 people from India on the North American continent. The majority of these people were Punjabis who had settled in Canada. They had come with the hope of finding work so that they could improve their economic situation from what it had been in the Punjab.
Upon arrival in Canada they encountered numerous hardships and discrimination. Canadians wanted the "brown invasion" to stop. They felt that the growing number of Indians would take over their jobs in factories, mills and lumber yards. It was these insecurities which led British Columbia to pass stringent laws discouraging the immigration of Indians to Canada. Indians had to have at least $200 on their person to enter British Columbia and had to have come via direct passage from India. These were very unreasonable laws as the average Indian only earned about ten cents a day.
The Canadian government was also pressuring steamship companies to stop selling tickets to Indians. In 1907 a bill was passed denying all Indians the right to vote. They were prohibited to run for public office, serve on juries, and were not permitted to become accountants, lawyers or pharmacists. All this was done to stop the "brown Invasion." On the other hand Japanese and Chinese were immigrating in unlimited numbers.
In 1914 the Komagata Maru was an outright challenge to these excursionist laws. The Komagata Maru was a Japanese streamliner chartered by an affluent businessman, Gurdit Singh, to bring Indian immigrants to Canada. The ship's route departed from Hong Kong, stopped in Japan and then headed to Canada. Its passengers included 376 Indians, all Punjabis, among whom 340 were Sikhs, 12 Hindus, and 24 Muslims. The ship was eventually turned back at Vancouver where landing was refused, and terminated eventually at Calcutta.
"Bhai Gurdit Singh was released on bail on March 24, 1914. Mr. Severn, chief secretary for the Governor of Hong Kong, was known to Bhai Gurdit Singh while he was in Malaya. Mr. Severn told Singh that he had been waiting instructions from England and Canada, which never arrived. The governor granted Singh permission for passage on April 4, 1914.
"That very day Komagata Maru left Hong Kong with 150 passengers. On April 8 at Shanghai, 111 emigrants boarded the ship, and on April 14, at the Port of Moji, 86, at the Yokohama port, 14 more passengers boarded the Komagata Maru totalling 376 passengers. From Moji, Bhai Gurdit Singh took 1500 tons of coal to sell in Canada and had intended to buy lumber from B.C. to sell back in the East. Finally, the Komagata Maru left Yokohama on May 3, 1914.
"[There were words of caution from several quarters to the passengers.] Bhai Balwant Singh travelled in the Komagata Maru from Moji to Kobe and explained to the passengers the attitude of the British Government of India, Britain, and Canada towards their mission. Gyani Bhagwan Singh, who was forcibly deported from Canada on November 19, 1913, also the passengers at Yokohama and told them the story of his own deportation. Mahamad Barkatullah, the great teacher, who was professor of Hindustani in the University of Tokyo, also met the passengers of Maru in Yokohama
When Komagata Maru made it to Shanghai, a German cable company sent a message to the German press announcing the departure of the steamer Komagata Maru from Shanghai for Vancouver on April 14 with "400 Indians on board..."
"The news was picked up by British press. The Vancouver daily "Province", published the inflammatory news report under the heading of "Boat Loads of Hindus on Way to Vancouver". The British Columbia press began giving such headlines to their articles as "Hindu Invasion of Canada".
The news of its departure reached the British Columbia authorities. Their instant reaction was that "Hindus would never be allowed to land in Canada." The Indians who had already settled in Canada had also started to prepare for the arrival of the Komagata Maru. Meetings were held in the Gurdwaras concerning what actions to take. Money and provisions were collected to help the passengers upon their arrival in Vancouver. The entire Indian community in Canada united to fight the opposition.
decided to march to Calcutta.
Their main purpose on reaching Calcutta was to hand over the holy Guru Granth Sahib and to see the governor. The journey was long and after numerous threats by the police, they were left with no choice but to head back to Budge Budge. At Budge Budge, they were ordered to board the ship once again. The passengers, led by Baba Gurdit Singh, refused. A policeman attacked Baba Gurdit Singh with his baton but was stopped by a fellow passenger. It was at this point that firing started. Baba Gurdit Singh was carried to safety. But not all passengers were to be so fortunate.
Twenty-nine fell victim to the bullets of British officials and 20 died. Here was another senseless massacre of innocent Indians at the hands of the British. The was the tragic end of the passengers of the Komagata Maru.
The Komagata Maru returned to India's waters on September 26, 1914, leaving behind only twenty-four passengers who could prove residence in Canada. The repercussions of the Government's actions - the Budge Budge riot. The radicalization of those abroad, the vigilante action against informers, the murder of Hopkinson, the execution of Mewa Singh, were overshadowed by the outbreak of World War I, in August 1914. Today the only reminders of this incident are a plaque near the Gateway to the Pacific in Vancouver, B.C.and a memorial plaque at Ross Street Gurdwara, in Vancouver, B.C.
Komagata Maru apology rejected
An apology from Prime Minister Stephen Harper Sunday for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident in which hundreds of Indians seeking a better life in Canada were turned away has failed to win over Sikh community members. Harper was speaking to a crowd of about 8,000 people in Surrey, B.C., which has a large east Indian community. The prime minister said the event was one “which ended in terrible tragedy” for many on the vessel. He said the apology came after the government passed a motion in the House of Commons to apologize for the incident. “On behalf of the government of Canada, I am officially conveying as prime minister that apology,” Harper said. But as soon as he left the stage, members of the Sikh community rushed to the podium immediately denouncing the apology. They said they wanted it delivered on the floor of the House of Commons.
“The apology was unacceptable,” said Jaswinder Singh Toor, president of “The Descendent's of Komagatamaru Society.”
“We were expecting the prime minister of Canada to do the right thing. The right thing was … like the Chinese Head Tax.,” said Toor, referring to Harper’s full apology to the Chinese-Canadian community in 2006 for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants who came to Canada between 1885 and 1923.
