Canada's Premier Stephen Harper has apologized for the infamous Komagata Maru ship incident of 1914 in which over three hundred Indians, mostly Sikhs, seeking a better life were refused entry into the country.
Speaking to a crowd of about 8,000 people in Surrey, British Columbia, which has a large Indian community, Harper expressed regret over the almost century-old incident. Members of Sikh community, however, rejected the apology, demanding that the prime minister do the same in the House of Commons.
As soon as he left the stage, about 2,000 members of the Sikh community rushed to the podium immediately denouncing the apology, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
"The apology was unacceptable," Jaswinder Singh Toor, president of The Descendents of Komagatamaru Society said.
"We were expecting the prime minister to do the right thing -- like the Chinese head tax," Toor said, referring to Harper's apology to Chinese-Canadian community in 2006 for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants to Canada between 1885 and 1923.
The Komagata Maru sailed into Vancouver Harbour on May 23, 1914, with 376 people on board. The dominion government did not permit passengers to disembark due to racist immigration laws and the vessel remained docked at the harbour for two months. The ship was later forcibly sent back to India where the British India police shot dead many passengers in Calcutta. In May, the BC government issued an apology for the incident. "The apology has been given and it won't be repeated," said Secretary of State Jason Keney, who was accompanying Harper during the visit.
