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No memorial to
Baba Gurdit Singh
WSN Bureau
Though the
government of Canada has decided to apologise to Indians for the
Komagata Maru tragedy in 1914 and acknowledge the hurt caused to the
community, the house of Baba Gurdit Singh at Sirhali, Tarn Taran,
still remains deserted. The government of India has not made any
efforts to raise a memorial to the Baba, who had chartered the
Japanese ship, Kamagatamaru, in 1914 to go to Canada where the
government had put restrictions on the entry of Indians.
His family has
already moved to Chandigarh and other places. However, the bed,
chairs and other furniture used by the Baba have been preserved. The
family visits the house twice a year to commemorate the birth and
death anniversaries of the Baba.
The state has not
taken any initiative to keep the memory of the Komagata Maru tragedy
alive. The first Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, had
attended Baba’s cremation at his native village. Except for naming
an ITI after him, no memorial has been raised in his memory.
With the efforts of
Prof Mehal Singh, principal of Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, a
science block is coming up on the college premises after the name of
the Baba.
Chairman of Prof
Mohan Singh Yadgari Foundation Jasdev Singh Jassowal has welcomed
the decision of the government of Canada to tender an unconditional
apology to the Indians. The president of the Almi Punjabi Virsasat
Foundation claimed that the matter was first raised by the
foundation and its affiliated associations.
The invaluable
contribution of the Baba is still fresh in the minds of his
companions, some of whom are still alive and live near his ancestral
house. His neighbour Jaswant Singh says Baba Gurdit Singh would give
the police the slip by jumping from the terrace of his house. He had
lived in disguise for several years after surviving the tragedy.
14
May,
2008
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