Artifact #6: Losing Appeal

Citation: “Hindus Lose Appeal Must Now Return on Komagata Maru.” The Vancouver Sun, 1914. https://council.vancouver.ca/20230530/documents/r1.pdf

The long battle of challenging immigration policies did not end well for the passengers of the Komagata Maru. Months being stranded, hoping for a way to somehow feel the Canadian soil beneath their feet and to start anew in a whole different country, but nonetheless, the Canadian government stands its ground and refuses to stand with the South Asian passengers hoping to immigrate to Canada. Even their status as British subjects did not phase the government, as discrimination and racist beliefs came first before the wellbeing of people deemed undesirable to the ideal White, Eurocentric country. The ”absolute authority” claimed by this article is nothing more than to enforce the power of those in charge to mock the passengers and to remind them that they have no place in Canada, forcing the ship to go back to India. A reminder of how laws were weaponized to impose imperialist beliefs on communities perceived as unworthy to live among the people of Canada. 

Bibliography: The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Komagata Maru,” n.d. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/komagata-maru.