India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947; India -- Politics and government -- 1765-1947
"During the return voyage the War broke out. On hearing at
Yokohama that his ship's company would not be allowed to land at
Hong Kong, Gurdit Singh replied that they were perfectly willing
to go to any port in India if provisions were supplied. The
British Consul at Yokohama declined to meet his demands, which
were exorbitant; but the consul at Kobe was more compliant, and
after telegraphic communication between Japan and India, the
_Komagata Maru_ started for Calcutta. At neither Hong Kong nor
Singapore were the passengers allowed to land. This added to their
annoyance, as, according to the findings of the Committee, many
had not wished to return to India at all."
The Committee found that most of the passengers were disposed to
blame the Government of India for all their misfortunes. "It is
well known," states the Report, "that the average Indian makes no
distinction between the Government of the United Kingdom, that of
Canada, and that of British India, or that of any colony. To him
these authorities are all one and the same. And this view of the
whole _Komagata Maru_ business was by no means confined to the
passengers on the ship. It inspired some Sikhs of the Punjab with
the idea that the Government was biased against them; and it
strengthened the hands of the Ghadr revolutionaries who were
urging Sikhs abroad to return to India and join the mutiny which,
they asserted, was about to begin. Numbers of emigrants listened
to such calls and hastened back to India from Canada, the United
States, the Philippines, Hong Kong and China." [The italics are
ours.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account