By Dr. Raghbir Singh Bains
July 1914 was a month of terrible pain, misery, agony, grief and anguish for the South Asian community when 376 passengers of Komagata Maru – Guru Nanak Jahaz were refused to land in British Columbia by the then Government of Canada and not allowed to enter the shores of Canada.
On forced return to the back home country, the unfortunate passengers were brutally fired at by the then Government of Calcutta. Several of the passengers lost their lives and remaining were sentenced to lengthy imprisonments. Those were terrible memories and it was unfair and unjust action.
We, the South Asian living in Canada had to wait for 102 years to get justice.
Today, we are grateful and sincerely thankful to the Government and people of Canada especially the Prime Minister Rt. Honorable Justin Trudeau for an official apology in the House of Commons for the said happenings.
The open minded admission by the Government of Canada will bring back a positive hope for the new era to unite the countrymen in one thread for attaining unity and world peace.
We hope that such an unfortunate incident will never ever repeat in Canada.
Let us stand for human liberty, equality and fraternity without leaning towards any caste, color, creed or ethnicity of a person. Let us move forward to respect human rights and work for future of multi-racial and multicultural Canada to establish world peace and prosperity.
Today’s apology is a great gratitude and our heartfelt appreciation.
With sincere thanks to the Prime Minister Rt. Honorable Justin Trudeau and the government of Canada, I respectfully submit to the country mates to stand for wellbeing of entire human race.
