Komagata Maru incident (1914)

During the summer of 1914, 376 Punjabis, mainly Sikhs, were stranded on the steamer Komagata Maru in the Vancouver harbour. They challenged the policy of the Canadian government, which, owing to a prejudiced social and legal climate, had halted immigration from India in 1908. Despite the efforts of the leadership of the Vancouver Sikh temple to gain entry for the Punjabis, Canadian authorities prevailed.