THE City of Richmond on Wednesday unveiled two new interpretive signs to honour the history of Sikhs in Richmond. The signs, located in King George Park adjacent to Cambie Community Centre, also acknowledge the Komagatu Maru incident of 1914 which played a pivotal role in the future of Canadian immigration policy.

“Sikh people have more than 100 years of history here in Richmond,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “The interpretive signs unveiled today acknowledge the importance of the Sikh community in the City of Richmond. These signs will help to educate others about the historical wrongs of the past, so that we do not repeat them in the future.”

Representatives from the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, and the two Sikh temples in Richmond – the India Cultural Centre of Canada (Gurdwara Nanak Niwas) and Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple – were engaged to inform the content of the signage and determine an appropriate location.

The signs detail the history of immigrants from India, particularly their role in building Richmond through work as cannery and mill workers, to modern large-scale farmers. They also highlight the incident of the Komagata Maru, a steamship that sailed into Vancouver in 1914, directly challenging the newly establish Canadian law that blocked immigration from India at that time.

“Komagata Maru interpretive signs in Richmond will help educate the community and remind us of how unique Canada’s and Richmond’s diverse makeup is,” said Raj Singh Toor, Vice President of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society. “We are all richer when we remember how special it is to have so many different ethnic communities living together. I hope that it will help to connect Canadians, British Columbians and Richmond residents with their past to build a more peaceful and tolerant tomorrow.”

More information about the Komagatu Maru and the work of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society to acknowledge this important historic event can be found at https://descendantskomagatamaru.ca/.