Japanese steamship called the Komagata Maru
The story so far:
In the spring of 1914, a Japanese steamship called the Komagata Maru sailed from Hong Kong toward Vancouver, British Columbia, carrying 376 passengers: 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus from Punjab in British India. They were British subjects hoping to build new lives in Canada. What awaited them was a two-month standoff in the harbour, a brutal denouement on the docks of Calcutta, and a place in the history of both India’s anti-colonial movement and Canada’s long reckoning with its own past. The episode was recently mentioned by singer Diljit Dosanjh on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Published – May 01, 2026 08:30 am IST

