Komagata Maru - remembering
18x24 ins, acrylic. Feb. 12, 2015. A young Sikh boy recalls the incident. The Komagata Maru was the name of the ship that arrived in Vancouver in 1914 carrying mostly Sikhs from the Punjab. The Canadian authorities would not allow them entry, consequence of a racist policy implemented from 1908 to 1948, called the Continuous Journey regulation which meant that one had to arrive directly to Canada or be barred entry. In 1914, a ship from India could not possible arrive without stopping somewhere to refuel. Harper issued a belated apology in 2008 in the Commons. I placed the commemorative $2.50 postage stamp issued in 2014 on the bird's wing. When I went looking for it at Canada Post, no one seemed to have known it even existed. A sad and sorry chapter in Canadian human rights history.

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