India In 1952, the Indian government set up a memorial to the
Komagata Maru martyrs near the Budge Budge. It was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru. The monument is locally known as the
Punjabi Monument and is modelled as a (Sikh dagger) rising up toward the sky. A tripartite agreement was signed between the Kolkata Port Trust, Union Ministry of Culture and the
Komagata Maru Trust for the construction of a G+2 (three storey) building behind the existing memorial. The building will house an administrative office and library in the ground floor, a museum in the first floor and auditorium in the second. The total cost of the construction will amount to 24 million
Indian rupees (INR). In 2014, the Indian government issued two special coins, INR 5 and INR 100, to mark the centenary of the
Komagata Maru incident.
Canada A plaque commemorating the 75th anniversary of the departure of
Komagata Maru was placed in the Sikh gurdwara (temple) in Vancouver on July 23, 1989. Also, a plaque for the 75th anniversary lies in Portal Park, at 1099 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. The 80th anniversary of the arrival of
Komagata Maru is commemorated by a plaque placed in Vancouver Harbour in 1994. The first phase of the
Komagata Maru Museum was opened in June 2012 at the
Khalsa Diwan Society Vancouver Ross Street Temple. A monument in remembrance of the
Komagata Maru incident was unveiled on July 23, 2012. It is located near the steps of the seawall that lead up to the
Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Coal Harbour. A stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the arrival of
Komagata Maru was released by
Canada Post on May 1, 2014. Raj Singh Toor, spokesperson and vice-president of the Descendants of the
Komagata Maru Society has worked to bring about commemorations to the legacy of the
Komagata Maru. Toor is a grandson of Baba Puran Singh Janetpura, one of the passengers on the
Komagata Maru. After Toor spoke to Surrey, British Columbia city council, part of 75A Avenue in Surrey was renamed
Komagata Maru Way on July 31, 2019. As well, a heritage storyboard titled "Remembering the
Komagata Maru" was installed at R. A. Nicholson Park in Surrey on September 17, 2020. On December 23, 2020, as a result of Toor's presentations to Delta city council, a storyboard commemorating the
Komagata Maru was installed in the North Delta Social Heart Plaza. On October 4, 2022, an interpretive plaque for the
Komagata Maru Perimeter Trail and Dock was unveiled in New Westminster, BC, after Toor requested New Westminster name a civic asset in memory of the
Komagata Maru. One month later, on November 9, 2022, Port Moody, BC, unveiled a new heritage storyboard at Rocky Point Park recalling the plight of the
Komagata Maru, after Toor's 2021 presentation to Port Moody City Council. Richmond, BC, installed on July 12, 2023, two
Komagata Maru commemorative signs in King George Park following Toor's 2019 request that the city acknowledge the journey of the
Komagata Maru. Then on July 22, 2023, the section of South Fraser Way in front of the Abbotsford Sikh Temple National Historic Site (also known as the
Gur Sikh Temple) was commemoratively renamed
Komagata Maru Way. As well, three signs were installed, detailing the contributions of the Sikh community in helping to address the thirst, hunger, and ill health that many passengers of the
Komagata Maru were experiencing. These commemorations were the result of work that Toor began in 2019 along with the Abbotsford Parks, Recreation & Culture department. Toor was part of the unveiling ceremony in Mission, BC, on August 16, 2023, of a
Komagata Maru interpretive sign at Jack Poole Park. This sign was the result of Toor's April 19, 2021, presentation to Mission council requesting recognition of the
Komagata Maru, given the importance of the South Asian community in Mission's history. Mission City Council and the Mission School Board also approved a display board that is to be used to teach Mission students about the
Komagata Maru incident, and about the need for respecting and valuing people of different cultures. In 2024,
Canada Place in
downtown Vancouver was co-named
Komagata Maru Place. The city of New Westminster and city of Victoria declared May 23, 2021, as
Komagata Maru Remembrance Day, while the city of Vancouver commemorated the day as
Komagata Maru Day of Remembrance. The city of Burnaby and the city of Port Coquitlam proclaimed May 23 of every year as
Komagata Maru Remembrance Day.
Governmental apologies In response to calls for the government of Canada to address historic wrongs involving immigration and wartime measures, the Conservative government in 2006 created the community historical recognition program to provide grant and contribution funding for community projects linked to wartime measures and immigration restrictions and a national historical recognition program to fund federal initiatives, developed in partnership with various groups. The announcement was made on June 23, 2006, when Prime Minister
Stephen Harper apologized in the House of Commons for the
head tax against Chinese immigrants. On August 6, 2006, Prime Minister Harper made a speech at the (Festival of the Ghadar Party) in Surrey, BC, where he stated that the government of Canada acknowledged the
Komagata Maru incident and announced the government's commitment to "undertake consultations with the Indo-Canadian community on how best to recognize this sad moment in Canada's history". On April 3, 2008,
Ruby Dhalla, MP for
Brampton—Springdale, tabled motion 469 (M-469) in the House of Commons which read, "That, in the opinion of the House, the government should officially apologize to the Indo-Canadian community and to the individuals impacted in the 1914
Komagata Maru incident, in which passengers were prevented from landing in Canada." On May 10, 2008,
Jason Kenney, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), announced the Indo-Canadian community would be able to apply for up to $2.5 million in grants and contributions funding to commemorate the
Komagata Maru incident. Following further debate on May 15, 2008, Dhalla's motion was passed by the House of Commons. On May 23, 2008, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia unanimously passed a resolution "that this Legislature apologizes for the events of May 23, 1914, when 376 passengers of the
Komagata Maru, stationed off Vancouver harbour, were denied entry by Canada. The House deeply regrets that the passengers, who sought refuge in our country and our province, were turned away without benefit of the fair and impartial treatment befitting a society where people of all cultures are welcomed and accepted." On August 3, 2008, Harper appeared at the 13th annual Ghadri Babiyan Da Mela (festival) in Surrey, B.C., to issue an apology for the
Komagata Maru incident. He said, in response to the House of Commons motion calling for an apology by the government, "On behalf of the government of Canada, I am officially conveying as prime minister that apology." Some members of the Sikh community were unsatisfied with the apology because they expected it to be made in Parliament. Secretary of State Jason Kenney said: "The apology has been given and it won't be repeated". Before Prime Minister Harper made his statement about the tragedy (at the Mela Ghadri Babiyan Da), members of the Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation had insisted the apology during an election swing through Surrey was not enough, and that a formal apology in Parliament was required (this was a part of the original ask by the Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation). Mr. Harper's team was not willing to make that offer, and he was roundly booed at the festival by foundation members when he did make his statement. The foundation continued in its efforts to obtain an apology, and eventually worked with the government of Justin Trudeau to make it a reality. Trudeau promised an apology in the House of Commons before he was elected PM, and kept that promise in 2016, when he offered an official apology in the House of Commons. To members of the Professor Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation only an official apology in Parliament, and written into Hansard, was acceptable. The apology, according to the group (and many legal experts they worked with) had to be entered into the public record - the record of the House of Commons - or it was just empty words. It was important to the group that future generations would have that record, and the apology didn't just disappear in a pile of press releases and web stories. The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own), which was involved in the expulsion of the
Komagata Maru, was commanded by a Sikh,
Harjit Sajjan, from 2011 until 2014. He later became Minister of National Defence. On May 18, 2016, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau gave a formal "full apology" for the incident in the House of Commons. This formal apology came about due to lobbying from the Indo-Canadian community, such as the work done by the Professor Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation (as specifically noted in the Prime Minister's speech) and The Descendants of the
Komagata Maru Society. On May 18, 2021, due to lobbying efforts of Raj Singh Toor, Vancouver City Council said that they "sincerely apologize for the role the City played in the incident, especially supporting laws that prevented passengers from disembarking". Also due to lobbying efforts of Toor, New Westminster City Council acknowledged on September 27, 2021, that the city's "...formal support of discriminatory, racist and exclusionary legislation contributed to the plight of the passengers of the
Komagata Maru, both in Canadian waters and upon their return to India." Consequently, "The City of New Westminster formally apologizes to the South Asian community and the descendants of the survivors of the
Komagata Maru for its past actions which resulted in discrimination and exclusion."
Media Jeevan Sangram is a 1974 Indian
Hindi-language action-drama film directed by Rajbans Khanna. Based on the
Komagata Maru incident it follows Arjun on board the ship and his return to India thereafter where he escapes the firing at the harbour and becomes a rebel against British rule in India. The first Canadian play based on the incident is
The Komagata Maru Incident, written by
Sharon Pollock and presented in January 1976. It was presented again in 2017 by the
Stratford Festival, directed by Keira Loughran, starring
Kiran Ahluwalia. The first Canadian novel based on the incident is
Lions of the Sea, written by
Jessi Thind and published in 2001. In 2011
Diana Lobb cited
Lions of the Sea as one of the first fictionalized South Asian perspectives on the
Komagata Maru in her philosophical dissertation presented to the University of Waterloo. Several friends of the author suggested the title of the novel for the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada
Komagata Maru exhibition in 2014 which was subsequently titled "Lions of the Sea: The National
Komagata Maru Exhibition."
Ajmer Rode wrote the play
Komagata Maru based on the incident in 1984. In 1989, when Indo-Canadian community of British Columbia commemorated the 75th anniversary of the
Komagata Maru, Sadhu Binning and Sukhwant Hundal wrote a play Samundari Sher Nal Takkar (
The Battle with the Sealion) and co-edited and produced first issue of Punjabi literary magazine
Watan on the
Komagata Maru incident. Phinder Dulai wrote A Letter To The Maru – 1914–1994. The letter was a fictionalized narrative utilizing both public record documentation and archival material; the piece ran in 1998 in an issue of
Rungh Magazine.
Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? is a 2006 novel by the Indo-Canadian writer
Anita Rau Badami, it follows a woman named Bibi-ji who retraces her father's steps during the incident in Canada, with the plot being linked with other contemporary issues in India.
Oh Canada, Oh Komagata Maru is a 2012 play by Alia Rehana Somani which explores memories of the incident among the Indo-Canadian community. The
CBC radio play
Entry Denied, by the Indo-Canadian scriptwriter
Sugith Varughese focuses on the incident. In 2012, filmmaker Ali Kazimi's book
Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru was published by Douglas & McIntyre. In 2014,
dream / arteries, written by Phinder Dulai, was published by Talon Books. The poetry book begins with a suite of poems that utilize archival records, public repositories, and online uploaded material never published before, including new photographs of the
Komagata Maru from the Vancouver Public Library.
Simon Fraser University Library launched a website
Komagata Maru: Continuing the Journey in 2012 funded by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada under the auspices of the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP). This website contains information and documents related to the
Komagata Maru incident and a timeline that unfolds the details and supports teaching, research and knowledge about the
Komagata Maru for school-aged, post-secondary and general audiences. In 2010 - First
Komagata Maru Memorial Youth Hockey Tournament was held in Hong Kong by Punjab Youth Club (HK) in the memory of Komagata Incident. From 2011 Punjab Youth Club (HK) made in annual. In year 2023 13th KGM Memorial Hockey tournament was held in Hong Kong
Film and Literature Guru Nanak Jahaz, a
Punjabi film based on the
Komagata Maru incident and the murder of
William C. Hopkinson was released in May 2025. It stars
Gurpreet Ghuggi as
Baba Gurdit Singh,
Tarsem Jassar as
Mewa Singh Lopoke and
Edward Sonnenblick as William C. Hopkinson. ==Gallery==