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Vancouver: Finally, Canada will formally apologise to the Indians here for the Komagata Maru tragedy of 1914 and acknowledge the hurt caused to the community.
The Komagata Maru ship brought 376 Indians to Canada in 1914 in violation of the racist immigration laws of that time. But it was not allowed to anchor here and forcibly sent back to India after two months. On return to India, many passengers were shot dead by British Indian police in Calcutta, now Kolkata.
Making this commitment to the Indo-Canadian community at a gathering in Surrey near here on Saturday, Jason Kenney, secretary of state for multiculturalism and Canadian identity, said the government would soon tender a formal apology on the issue in the nation's parliament.
The government has already apologised to Chinese Canadians for the so-called head tax that was imposed on them (from 1890 to 1925) to deter their immigration to Canada. Kenney said the federal government would also make funds available to the Indian community for building a Komagata memorial.
He also hinted that his government will work with provincial (state) governments to have a Komagata chapter in school textbooks. "It is the biggest step for the Indian community in Canada. I never expected this to happen when I raised this issue first in 1997 and later introduced a petition in parliament in 2002," said former MP Gurmant Grewal who was present at the meeting with his wife and sitting MP Neena Grewal.
The current Tory government set in motion the apology process soon after taking over in 2006.
Speaking at a local Ghadar Mela in August 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to study the Komagata issue and recognise "the sad moment in the history" of the Indo-Canadians.
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