One hundred years ago, on May 23, 1914, the Komagata Maru, a Japanese steamship, arrived in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet with 376 passengers, all British subjects, mostly Sikhs from Punjab, India. Under the era’s exclusionary immigration policies, the passengers were denied entry, and the ship was forced to return to India.
Greg Kabatoff, Director of Retail Business from Canada Post joined Harbhajan Gill, President of the Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation, NDP MP Jinny Sims and descendants of those who had travelled on the ship to unveil the commemorative stamp.
This was followed by a cruise of the harbour with 376 passengers on board, just as there were 376 passengers on Komagata Maru 100 years ago.
