Canadian PM visits Golden temple - Fusion - WeRIndia

Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada is currently paying a visit to India, as a continuation of his apology to India two years ago on behalf of one of Canada’s past actions.

In 1914, the Komagata Maru, a Japanese steamship, arrived in the port of Vancouver.

The Komagata Maru was carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, a majority of which were Sikh passengers.

The steamship had sailed all the way across the Pacific Ocean, from Hong Kong to Vancouver, only for the passengers to be denied entry to Canada.

The Canadians refused to let the passengers leave the ship and forced them to return to India, which was then controlled by Britain.

Much has changed since the Komagata Maru incident, and, in light of that, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to address the hanging issue in both nations’ histories.

In 2016, 102 years after the Komagata Maru episode occurred, Justin Trudeau officially apologized in the Canadian parliament for the incident.

Marking the 102nd anniversary of the incident, Trudeau described how Canada utterly failed these passengers by refusing them an opportunity at a new and better life in their country.

He described the Komagata Maru passengers as people with potential, who could have contributed much to their would-be home of Canada.

Now, Trudeau has paid a visit to the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. As a part of “seva” (service), he rolled “chapatis” at the communal kitchen at the temple.

He brought his wife and his children to the temple along with him, and he paid his respects to the holy shrine.

Trudeau recorded his thoughts in the visitors’ book at the temple, describing how he was honored to be received so well at “such a beautiful, meaningful place”.

Given Trudeau’s overwhelming kindness and friendly diplomacy toward India, there can be no doubt that both India and Canada have come a long way from the Komagata Maru incident.

Image credit: Photo by Chirag Jain on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://unsplash.com/photos/vpOWkXUbko8