Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau has formally apologized in the country's parliament for the Komagata Maru incident in 1914, in which hundreds of Sikh, Muslim and Hindu passengers were denied entry to Canada and forced to return to India where they were fired upon by the police.
"Canada does not bear alone the responsibility for every tragic mistake that occurred with the Komagata Maru and its passengers, but Canada's government was without question responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers from immigrating peacefully and securely, for that, and for every regrettable consequence that followed, we, are, sorry," CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying.
Last month on the occasion of Vaisakhi, the Canadian prime minister had announced he would make a formal apology.
"Passengers of Komagata Maru, like millions of immigrants to Canada since, were seeking refuge and a better life for their families. With so much to contribute to their new home, they chose Canada. And we failed them utterly," Trudeau had said.
Komagata Maru was a Japanese steamship that arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1914, with 376 passengers from Punjab, mostly Sikhs. Admitting only a handful of the immigrants, rest of them were forced to stay aboard the ship. Two months later, 352 of them to returned to India.
On September 27, 1914, when the ship entered the Calcutta harbour, the British police tried to arrest the leaders whom the Raj considered dangerous, including Baba Gurdit Singh. As these men resisted the police, shots were fired and 19 passengers were killed, some managed to escape and the rest were arrested.
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Canada's PM to formally apologise for Komagata Maru
