Osgoode Hall Law School Marks Komagata Maru Week

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Komagata Maru episode when Canada turned away 376 migrants of South Asian origin aboard a Japanese steamship in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, the South Asian Law Students’ Association (SALSA) at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School is launching Komagata Maru Week (March 10-15) and the Komagata Maru Reflections Project.  

The media is invited to attend a series of events, including an exhibit (the Komagata Maru Reflections Project), an award-winning documentary and several lectures, in recognition of the anniversary.  

Third-year Osgoode student and SALSA member Avnish Nanda and Osgoode Professor Sean Rehaag, an immigration and refugee law expert, are available for media interviews. Rehaag can draw comparisons between the migratory laws, policies and discourses that existed during the period of the Komagata Maru and more recent immigration/refugee reforms.

During Komagata Maru Week at Osgoode, a portion of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada’s Komagata Maru Collection will be displayed in the Osgoode Hall Law School Library, Ignat Kaneff Building, Keele campus, during regular library hours.

Other Komagata Maru Week events include:

Monday, March 10, 12:30 to 2:30pm, Moot Court, Ignat Kaneff Building: Screening of the documentary, A Continuous Journey, followed by a Q+A session with Ali Kazimi, filmmaker and Associate Professor in York’s department of film.

Tuesday, March 11, noon to 2pm, Moot Court, Ignat Kaneff Building: University of Toronto Professor Audrey Macklin will discuss, “Getting to We: The Komagata Maru, the Unmaking of Empire and the Making of a Settler Society.”  The lecture is co-sponsored by SALSA, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (Osgoode Student Branch), the South Asia Research Group and United South Asians at York.

Wednesday, March 12, 12:30 to 2:30pm, Helliwell Centre for Innovation in Dispute Resolution, Ignat Kaneff Building: Pardeep Nagra, Executive Director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada, will discuss “Sikhs in Canada: The Legacy of the Komagata Maru.”

Thursday, March 13, 6 to 8pm, Law Society of Upper Canada, 130 Queen St. W., Toronto: Former British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh will discuss “Why Apologizing for Historical Wrongs is Wrong.” The lecture is co-sponsored by SALSA and the Osgoode Alumni Association.