‘Komagata Maru’ the voyage of a Japanese ship hired by people from Punjab led by Gurdit Singh from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 1914 with 376 passengers on board seeking a new life in the promise land.
On May 23, 1914, the Komagata Maru reached Vancouver and anchored near Burrard Inlet. Both the Indians and the Canadian authorities had been waiting for it. The Canadians wanted to send the ship back to where it had originated. The Indians on the other side had lawyers, money and other provisions ready to help the passengers.
The Canadian authorities have claimed to pay the $200 per passenger that would have qualified them to enter British Columbia. But they did not have that much money. Twenty-nine were injured to the bullets of British officials and 20 died. This is another bloodbath of innocent Indians at the hands of the British.
Finally, the Komagata Maru returned to India's waters on September 26, 1914, leaving behind only 24 passengers in Canada.
Now a new film ‘Komagata Maru’ is planned on this real incident and is being directed by Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta. Akshay Kumar will be playing as Gurdit Singh and Shriya Saran is heroine. Vinay Virmani is playing the character of Mewa Singh.
The film will jointly produced by Hamilton-Mehta Productions Inc and Akshay Kumar's Hari Om Entertainment. Currently the flick is in pre-production and will begin in 2009. The film will be shot in various locations around the world.
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