1. Komagata Maru
Vancouver, BC
1914

2. Why emigrate?
Lands owned by Punjabi peasants were often reduced to small plots because there was not enough land to be shared among all the brothers of a family
Land was divided and subdivided into smaller and smaller plots
India was in a midst of an economic crisis
The lands owned by Punjabi peasants were often reduced to small plots because there was not enough land to be shared among all the brothers of a family and as a result, the land was divided and subdivided into smaller and smaller plots.
The country was in the midst of an economic crisis. During the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, the economic condition of the Punjabi peasants deteriorated due to the havoc caused by British imperialist ruling of the country's economy.
The immigrants learned from the American and Canadian travellers in Shanghai and Hong Kong that a worker could earn $2 to $2.50 daily. It came as a pleasant surprise to them because this daily wage was a great amount compared to the going rate of 30 cents in India. The incomes of the Punjabi peasants never exceeded 10 cents a day. This reason was enough to encourage some Punjabis who settled in Shanghai to move to Canada and the United States. The first migration took place around With strong builds, the new immigrants soon showed their worth in lumber yards and steel factories. The factory-owners convinced these first arrivals to call others from Shanghai and Hong Kong; eventually a good force of Indian workers formed.
The immigrants sent news about their exaggerated incomes to their relatives and friends who were living in the villages. As a result, a significant number of Punjabi peasants mortgaged their land and migrated to America and Canada

3. Obstacles…
Early 20th century  many Indians arrived in Vancouver in hope of finding work so that they could improve their economic situation
Met with hardship and discrimination
Canadians feared that the Indians would take their jobs in factories, mills and lumber yards
They reached Canada and America after long and arduous journeys. In the year 1900 the census reported 2050 people from India on the North American continent. The majority of these people were Punjabis who had settled in Canada. They had come with the hope of finding work so that they could improve their economic situation from what it had been in the Punjab. Upon arrival in Canada they encountered numerous hardships and discrimination. Canadians wanted the "brown invasion" to stop. They felt that the growing number of Indians would take over their jobs in factories, mills and lumber yards.

4. Exclusionist Laws BC tried to discourage Indian immigrants
Indians were required to have at least $200 with them when they arrived
“Continuous Passage Law”
It was these insecurities which led British Columbia to pass stringent laws discouraging the immigration of Indians to Canada. Indians had to have at least $200 on their person to enter British Columbia and had to have come via direct passage from India. These were very unreasonable laws as the average Indian only earned about ten cents a day. The Canadian government was also pressuring steamship companies to stop selling tickets to Indians. In 1907 a bill was passed denying all Indians the right to vote. They were prohibited to run for public office, serve on juries, and were not permitted to become accountants, lawyers or pharmacists. All this was done to stop the "brown Invasion."

5. Continuous Passage
The law stated that Indian immigrants had to come to Canada by continuous passage from India. In those days that was impossible. No steamship lines provided direct service from India to Canada
Required that immigrants must come directly to Canada without stopping in any other country

6. KOMAGATA MARU INCIDENT
On May 23, 1914 the Komagata Maru anchored in Burrard Inlet
The ships passengers, consisting of 376 East Indians from the Punjab, were refused permission to land
In 1914 the Komagata Maru was an outright challenge to these exclusionist laws. The Komagata Maru was a Japanese steam liner chartered by an affluent businessman to bring Indian immigrants to Canada. The ship's route departed from Hong Kong, stopped in Japan and then headed to Canada. Its passengers included 376 Indians, all Punjabis, among whom 340 were Sikhs, 12 Hindus, and 24 Muslims. The ship was eventually turned back at Vancouver where landing was refused, and terminated eventually at Calcutta.
a wealthy Indian businessman, had chartered the Komagata Maruand sailed the freighter from Hong Kong to Vancouver. On board were 376 Punjabis, mostly Sikhs who had begun their journey in India. They were on their way to Canada where they hoped to immigrate and start a new life .When the Komagata Maru arrived at Vancouver, however, most of the passengers were detained on board. They waited for 2 months while immigration officials and the Indian community fought over their admission to the country(1).
"The news was picked up by British press. The Vancouver daily "Province", published the inflammatory news report under the heading of "Boat Loads of Hindus on Way to Vancouver". The British Columbia press began giving such headlines to their articles as "Hindu Invasion of Canada".

7. Komagata Maru
12 men formed the 'Shore Committee', and mounted a court challenge. The Committee's first meeting drew 500 people from the Indian community . About twenty white supporters and a few reporters were also in attendance. The meeting was called to order and the most urgent order of business quickly addressed. They needed hard cash - enough to keep the ship in Vancouver while its status was negotiated. The hall was full of men who had never banked but carried savings in their pockets or turbans. Money spilled out; a pile of five, ten, and even one hundred dollar-bills rose on a table in front of the speakers. The largest contribution was $2,000. When the contributions slackened, other speakers would rise to stoke the fire of religious and patriotic fervour. As the meeting ended $5,000 in cash lay on the table(3). Altogether the Committee eventually raised an astronomical $70,000.
Despite these efforts, the battle was lost at the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Komagata Maru was forced to return. This meant defeat for the passengers and for the Indian community in Canada as well
The arrival of an armed Royal Canadian Navy cruiser, Rainbo, bolstered the Canadian position and on July 23 the Komagata Maru was forced to sail for Calcutta. Upon arrival, it was met by police suspicious of the organizers' intentions. Upon disembarking, shooting broke out and 20 passengers were killed. This tragedy strengthened Indian nationalist feeling, but it did not significantly soften Canadian immigration law(5).
From then on, immigration to Canada from India was reduced to a trickle
The passengers were forced to stay onboard for two months
The ship had conformed to the Canadian “continuous passage” law but was escorted from the harbour by a Canadian warship and forced to return to Calcutta.

8. Then Labour Minister Mackenzie King claimed, "The Hindu is not suited to the climate of this country." In 1909 the government of British Columbia took away the rights of Indians to vote - a right that should have been guaranteed by the fact that they were British subjects, like all other Canadians.
Even if they'd been allowed to buy homes, they would have been empty most of the time. Indian families were rarely allowed to join their men in Canada. The Indian community, 6,000 strong, was primarily a bachelor society. It wasn't until the 1920s that wives and children of legal Sikh residents were finally allowed to enter the country.
In 1947, fifty years after their arrival in Canada, Indian were finally given the right to vote. Shortly after, in the 1950s, the immigration ban was lifted and immigration resumed.