Timeline of Discriminatory Laws: A South Asian History
About
Canada, known for its multicultural society and commitment to human rights, has a history marked by discriminatory laws, policies, and practices targeted at various communities. This platform aims to shed light on the development of racist laws and practices against South Asians in Canada. Exploring the historical records, we seek to illuminate the adversities, obstacles, and victories of the South Asian community in dealing with systemic prejudice.
Immigration Act 1906 and continuous journey Act 1908
The Immigration Act of 1906 marked a significant shift towards stricter
immigration policies. It broadened the list of forbidden immigrant
categories, established a formalized deportation procedure, and granted
the government expanded authority to exercise discretionary judgments
regarding admission.
An amendment to the Immigration Act was made in 1908 to incorporate the "continuous
journey regulation" of the Canadian government, which forbade the entry into
Canada of any immigrant who had not traveled continuously from the place
of their birth or citizenship. As most voyages from the region involved stops,
this posed a considerable obstacle to immigrants from South Asia.
Dominion Elections Act
In 1920, the Dominion Elections Act resulted in the removal of federal voting privileges for those who had been denied the right to vote at the provincial level due to their ethnicity, particularly impacting people of Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian descent in British Columbia. Moreover, individuals of Chinese origin in Saskatchewan were also denied their right to vote.
The Komagata Maru Incident
This incident unfolded during the spring and summer of 1914, just before the onset of the First World War. It turned out to be a harrowing and sorrowful ordeal for the passengers involved. Initially, there was an unsuccessful attempt at confrontation with officials, police, and the military at the Port of Vancouver. Subsequently, as the passengers returned to India, they faced a tragic and fatal clash with police and troops near Kolkata. The Komagata Maru tale illustrates the Canadian government's purposeful exclusionary policy toward ethnic groups it deemed unfit to enter. These defenses of Canada's continued status as a "White Man's Country" were couched in racist and ethnocentric notions of "progress," "civilization," and "suitability."