The Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation held its remembrance of the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of the Panama Maru in Victoria BC, on Oct.17th, 1913

The event was held at Studio 7 in Surrey. Candle light vigil and one minute silence was observed by all attendees. The incident involved the arrival of 56 emigrants from India aboard the ship Panama Maru who were barred entry to Canada, despite the fact they all had valid passports. 39 of these passengers were detained for over one month until Justice Hunter ruled that that the Canadian Governments’ policies were

Speakers shared brief history and stories of the Panama Maru incident, John Price who teaches Asian History at University of Victoria was the chief guest,who wrote a paper with his students on Panama Maru.

Speakers who shared their views included: Raj Toor from Descendents of Komagata Maru Society, Sukhi Bath of Sukhi Bath Seva Club,John Price from University of Victoria, and Kulvinder Lehal of Vancouver Art Gallery gave a presentation on history of the Panama Maru.Harpreet Singh of Harpreet Singh Show was the Master of Ceremonies.

Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation President Harbhajan Gill pledged that Foundation will continue to prioritize the Canadian Historic events in future and shared information on 100th Anniversary of Komagata Maru in 2014.