Panama Maru ship brought 56emigrants from India inOctober 1913, who were barredentry to Canada, despite thefact they all had valid passports.
SURREY – The KomagataMaru Heritage Foundation heldits remembrance of the 100thAnniversary of the arrival of thePanama Maru in Victoria BC, onOct.17th, 1913, which is the nonameor unknown sister of thehistoric Komagata Maru ship.A Candle light vigil and oneminute silence was observed byall attendees at an event held inSurrey Thursday night.The incident involved the arrivalof 56 emigrants from Indiaaboard the ship Panama Maruwho were barred entry toCanada, despite the fact they allhad valid passports.Thirty-nine of these passengerswere detained for over onemonth until Justice Hunterruled that that the CanadianGovernments’ policies wereSpeakers shared brief historyand stories of the Panama Maruincident.John Price, who teaches AsianHistory at University ofVictoria, was the chief guest,who wrote a paper with his studentson Panama Maru.Speakers who shared their viewswere: Raj Toor fromDescendents of KomagataMaru Society, Sukhi Bath ofSukhi Bath Seva Club, JohnPrice from University ofVictoria, and Kulvinder Lehal ofVancouver Art Gallery gave apresentation on history of thePanama Maru.Komagata Maru HeritageFoundation PresidentHarbhajan Gill pledged thatFoundation will continue to prioritizethe Canadian Historicevents in future and sharedinformation on 100thAnniversary of Komagata Maruin 2014.
