What was Komagata Maru?

Komagata Maru was a steamship that carried Indian would‑be immigrants to Canada in 1914. The vessel, carrying several hundred passengers (mostly Sikhs and Punjabis), sailed to Vancouver but was refused entry under discriminatory Canadian immigration regulations; after two months the ship was forced to return to India, where confrontation at Budge Budge led to deaths and further anti‑British agitation linked to the Ghadar movement [2]. Thus Komagata Maru refers to the ship involved in this 1914 immigration and colonial‑era incident, not a political party, leader, or Chinese village [2].

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 13: First Phase of Revolutionary Activities (1907-1917) > p. 289
2. [2] https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/justin-trudeau-komagata-maru-in-the-apology-for-komagata-maru-an-attempt-to-heal-a-century-old-scar/