10-BOOK REVIEW: THE VOYAGE OF THE KOMAGATU MARU;                                                   (Part 1)
THE SIKH CHALLENGE TO CANADA’S COLOR BAR:
HUGH JOHNSTON (1979)[162P] ISBN:0-7748-0340-1
BOOK REVIEW: KAVNEET SINGH
Hugh Johnston has written more than one book to his credit in reference to the Sikhs. Namely “Four Quarters of the Night; The Life Story of an Emigrant Sikh” and a upcoming book about “Kapoor Singh, Pioneer and Philanthropist”. A retired professor emeritus of History at Simon Fraser University, Canada. Also served on the board of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute from 1992-2001 and again in 1995-96 in India. HJ is keenly aware of the Sikhs, their Faith, Culture and History. HJ has by and large written a unbiased, balanced book depicting the real life saga of Gurdit Singh and the vast majority of his fellow Sikh passengers sailing on the Komagatu Maru trying to gain entry into another commonwealth country namely Canada in 1914 when the barriers against non-whites were very high.
William Charles Hopkinson a British secret service agent, working for the Canadian and the US governments, a key player in this book embodies the true slimy character of the British in their duplicity and wiliness when dealing with anyone other than their own. The overt racism by the officials went against all logic and reason even when it came to the law. Every unethical and immoral trick was used to circumvent the law simply to frustrate the entry of the Sikhs into Canada.
Another very intriguing character is Dr.Raghunath Singh. This man has not been once mentioned as a Hindu by HJ except as a Punjabi which leaves the reader wondering is he a Hindu or a Sikh. The harsh reality was that Raghunath (Raghunath is a typical Hindu name and not a Sikh first name) was not a Singh or a Sikh but a Hindu ‘traitor’ [one of 12 Hindus on board] who decided to blow the whistle on his co-passengers, who were all primarily Sikh that they were ‘Ghadar’ sympathizers therefore unfit to land. In return Dr.Raghunath and his family were given exemption from the provisions of the laws of “continuous journey” and let ashore, thereby entering Canada.