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A whiteman's country:
an exercise in Canadian Orejudice.
By Ted Ferguson. Doubleday, 1975, 216 pages, cloth, $8.95.
BOOK-REVIEW By Jagpal S Tiwana
The renowned journalist, Ted Ferguson, has come out with a remarkable
book, A Whiteman's Country, at a most appropriate time when racial
feelings have again flared up in Canada. The soul of Ferguson was stirred
when he witnessed the acts of violence and vandalism by white people
against East-Indians in British Columbia and Ontario.
"Obscenities were painted on the walls of the Sikh temple. Rocks smashed
through windows in private homes. Youth gangs hunted and assaulted East
Indian
men and women in the streets... the situation in British Columbia is
shocking and repulsive..."
To build a convincing case for the acceptance of East Indians in
Canada, by white Canadians in general, and the immigration authorities in
particular, Ferguson has chosen the pathetic story of the 376 passengers
of the
Komagata Maru ship which dropped anchor in Vancouver Harbor on May 23,
1914.
The passengers on board - all .Sikhs, except for 17 Muslims came with the
high hopes of settling, in the "Promised Land", British Columbia. They
were not only British subjects, but nearly all 'were veterans of the
British army's famous Sikh regiments.
However, a sorrowful fate awaited them in Vancouver. The atmosphere in the
new land had been charged with hatred and prejudice against the Asians.
There had been racial clashes before between the Chinese and Japanese and
the White population. The press carried a vituperative campaign against
them. The government had hastily passed an order in council to bar the
entry of Hindus to Canada.
It was against this background of racial turmoil and legal confusion, the
Komagata Maru passengers sought to enter Canada. The passengers. decided
to appeal against the discriminatory law, but they did not have, adequate,
funds. The local East Indian community came .to their rescue. They raised
funds and provided all kinds of help to their compatriots. As the parleys
with the immigration authorities dragged on, the passengers ran short of
provisions. All this made them desperate and the situation became very
tense. .
The passengers lost the case in court and were ordered to go back. They
would not leave without adequate provisions. The Japanese captain of the
ship was ordered by the immigration authorities to move the ship, but he
would not dare as he saw the rattling of swords around his head.
Malcolm Reid, the immigration inspector, came on board to study the
complaints about the shortage of food. The exasperated Sikhs turned red
with rage when they saw him. They drew out their swords to attack him, but
the timely intervention of Gurdit Singh saved his life. ' An attempt by a.
force of 160 police and immigration officials aboard the tug, Sea Lion, to
move the ship out of Vancouver Harbor was foiled by the passengers' stiff
resistance.
However, to the great relief of the authorities, the ship left Vancouver,
on July 23, 1911, when the Canadian cruiser Rainbow was' called' and
adequate food was provided to the passengers.
The relief was, however, short lived. The episode caused bloodshed on
both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
Like their compatriots on Koinagatu Maru, the Vancouver East Indians were
equally embittered by the episode. The Ghadrite revolutionaries started
hunting the government spies who had been betraying their efforts to help
the passengers. Two friends of the immigration henchman, Bela Singh, were
found murdered Bela Singh ran amok, killing Bhag Singh, the priest, and
Badan Singh, a labourer, and injuring seven others in the Sikh temple
Bela Singh was arrested and charged with murder. William Hopkinson came
to the court to testify that Bela Singh had opened fire in self defense.
Mewa Singh, a close associate of Bhag Singh, shot Hopkinson to death in
the court. Calm and unruffled, Mewa Singh made a moving confession at the
trial "All this trouble and the shooting, Mr. Reid and Mr. Hopkinson are
responsible for. I shot Mr. Hopkinson out of honour and principle to my
fellow countrymen and for my religion .(A more touching excerpt from this
statement is quoted by Khushwant Singh in 'A History of Sikhs, Vol 2, p
179-10)'
Mewa Singh was tried more speedily than Bela Singh and hanged, but Bela
Singh was acquitted.
Worse fate awaited the passengers when they arrived at the Budge-Budge
harbor near. Calcutta. They were not allowed to move freely in their own
country. They were ordered to board a train for the Punjab. They refused
and clashed with the police. The police opened fire. Twenty -six men were
killed in the violence. Gurdit Singh was, however, able to escape with
twenty-seven others
As fascinating as the melodramatic story itself are the characters that
figure in it. The dominating personality is the head-strong Sikh Gurdit
Singh. Held in extreme awe and respect by the passengers he gives the
authorities a really tough time right up until the last minute. Opposing
him is Malcolm Reid, the bureaucratic immigration inspector, whose
stubbornness and lack of finesse caused an awkward situation to degenerate
into human tragedy. Supporting Reid is the Lahore born William Hopkinson.
Fluent in Punjabi, he plays the dual role of a uniformed official and
masqueraded Punjabi labourer, Narian Singh, who collects information from
the East Indian community. Foremost amongst the East Indians in Vancouver
is the Ghadrite revolutionary, Bhag Singh. Acting as temple priest, he,
organizes, a formidable support on shore for the passengers. Opposed to.
him is the unscrupulous informer, Bela Singh, who spies on him and his
associates. Provoked by the dastardly murders committed by Bela Singh is
courageous Mewa Singh,
who after finishing Hopkinson, the most important witness of Bela Singh,
cheerfully walks to the gallows.
A White Man's Country is a frightening record of racial prejudice,
bureaucratic incompetence, human deceit and horrifying violence. The book
is the result of two years constant research. Not only did Ferguson read
the hitherto confidential letters, telegrams and transcripts of
conversations with the immigration informers, but he also interviewed men
like H. H. Stevens, former MP ; Fred Taylor, the retired immigration
employee;, and a 90 year old one time Ghadrite revolutionary- men who, are
alive and were involved in the Komagatu Maru affair. Thus he brings to our
attention, through the priceless date, the important events which were
swept aside by the advent of World War 1.
The Kamagata Maru affair and its consequences made Ferguson disappointed
with the white people who "unfairly stigmatized British Columbia's East
Indian community for years after the great world war ended." He pleads for
the latter's acceptance by Canadian society. At a time when Ottawa is
hammering out a new immigration policy, he exhorts them to be fair and non
discriminatory towards East Indians coming from a country which is as
important a member of the Commonwealth as is Canada. And with full
knowledge of the past events, he warns "whatever course Ottawa takes, the
East Indians will not be leaving South Vancouver. The cold unfriendliness
of a foreign land is not going to drive them away. They are determined to
endure the hardships until they are accepted and respected..."
Ferguson, indeed deserves the gratitude of East Indiana for the yeoman's
service he has done to their cause.
Ferguson is, however, not quite charitable to Gurdit Singh whom he
portrays as a greedy man with a life long passion for the bewitching
dollar. According to Ferguson, Gurdit Singh's motive in leading the
expedition was financial. There is, however, more reliability in the
Nainital (India) born Canadian historian Eric Smith's assertion that
Gurdit Singh was an agitator in the Punjab and had contacts with the
Ghadrites and "his prime motive in bringing over the passengers was .to
add to the political unrest in India."
Freguson choses to ignore Gurdit Singh's. statement to press in B.C. "What
is done with the shipload of my people will determine whether we shall
have peace in all parts of the British Empire. "
A close study of Gurdit Singh's tactics reveals that he was a patriot
who exploited every confrontation with the authorities to his political
advantage. An educated man, he was fully aware of the illegal nature of
the. enterprise and
guessed what the outcome would be, a guess which proved to be a shrewd one
in view of the subsequent developments. No businessman would offend the
authorities to the extreme and risk his own life and .no charterer would
command such a blind loyalty from the passengers as did Gurdit Singh. As a
businessman he could easily have avoided the firing at the Budge-Budge
harbor where twenty of his loyal men died and he himself was carried by
Darbara Singh Malhan on his back. In 1921, Gurdit Singh surrendered
himself to the police at Nankana Sahib where the Sikh agitation to gain
control of the shrines was at its peak. After his release, Gurdit Singh
was elected president of the outlawed Akali Dal.
The Gurdwara Reform Movement had the full backing of the Indian National
Congress. During the Jaitu Morcha at Nabha in 1923, Darbara Singh Malhan,
chief lieutenant of Gurdit Singh,was arrested and charged with a false
conspiracy case with Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru in his autobiography, makes a
moving reference to him . though he is unable to recollect his name.
. .
Ferguson is also ill at ease with Punjabi names. He writes "Nanak Davi!,
'Argan Singh' , and1 Hernan Singh for Nanak Dev, Arjan Singh and Hernam
Singh, probably borrowed from Ray Gardner's article. " When Vancouver
turned back the Sikhs." He gives 1460 as the number of pages of Granth
Sahib, whereas the Adi Granth as approved by SGPC has
1430 pages.
These are the minor mistakes. Ferguson's account, however, is well
documented and detailed, this far.
JAGPAL S. TIWANA.
……………………………………………………..
Ferguson is not the first white man to write sympathically and
realistically about the Komagatu Maru affair. Eric Morse in his paper Some
Aspects of the Komagat Maru affair,1936, Ray Gardner in the article,When
Vancouver turned back the Sikhs 1958, ErIc Nicolin1his book,
Vancouver1970,and John Norris in Strangers Entertained,
I 11-e
1971,have all dealt with the Komagata Maru affairwith\obiectivitT it
deserves. Norris strongly deplores the discriminatory attitude of the
majority community against the East Indians with Canadians, they were
British subjects, they could not vote, they could not join certain
professions, could not lease Crown lands and were vulnerable to any
economic discrimination
which the receiving community chose to exercise againstthem.". East
Indians
were given the right to vote only in 1947,thariks to the persistent
efforts of. Dr.D.P.Fandia.
But Ferguson's account is certainly the bet,we U documented anddetailed,
this far.There are eight lllustrations,a good bibliography,but no index.
There is no table of contents and the chapters are not captioned.
JAGPAL S. TIWANA.
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