Artifact #5: So Near and Yet so Far

Citation: Fisher, Edward. “So Near and Yet so Far.” Cartoon. Vancouver Sun, 1914. https://council.vancouver.ca/20230530/documents/regur1staffpresentation.pdf

The way the media portrayed the Indians on the Komagata Maru exaggerated racial stereotypes enforced upon South Asians. This political cartoon’s speech bubbles are written in such a way that portrays the cliché Indian accent by replacing “th” words with “d.” The incorrect grammar in the speech bubbles also enforce the warped perception Canadians held against South Asians. Additionally, every person on board, with the exception of the captain, is depicted wearing a turban, implying another stereotype that all Indians are Sikhs and are not rich in culture. The Xenophobic attitude of the Canadian government at the time, greatly affected the way the media villainized immigrants and their intentions of “tainting” the country, showing the reluctance of both the government and Canadians to let the passengers of Komagata Maru enter British Columbia. This cartoon highlights the struggles of immigrants and reflects the government’s need for excluding others that are not deemed to fit the “White” standards of Canada. 

Bibliography: Panesar, Nilum, Yolande Pottie-Sherman, and Rima Wilkes. “The Komagata Through a Media Lens: Racial, Economic, and Political Threat in Newspaper Coverage of the 1914 Komagata Maru Affair.” Canadian Ethnic Studies 49, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 85–101. https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2017.0004.