WINNIPEG – A new travelling exhibit, “Lions of the Sea,” is coming to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and its focus is on a tragic incident in Canada’s history.
In 1914, 376 passengers aboard the former coal ship Komagata Maru were stranded on board for two months while legal battles ensued over Canada’s immigration laws at the time. The passengers, all British subjects of Indian descent, lost the case and were forced back to India.
They were branded as dangerous political agitators.
The exhibit will also include a lecture by the Sikh Heritage Museum. The CMHR has its own permanent exhibit on this tragic story, presented on a massive digital canvas in the Canadian Journeys gallery.
A news conference is planned for Monday morning where Pardeep Singh Nagra, director of the Mississauga-based Sikh Heritage Museum, will also share his own efforts to overcome barriers of discrimination in the boxing ring. In the lead-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Nagra launched a successful legal challenge after being barred from fighting at the national championships.
Nagra had been banned because he refused to shave his beard.
The CMHR had its official opening September 19th and welcomed its first visitors on the 20th.
However, not all of the galleries were ready for viewing when the general public had its first look inside on the following week. Set backs have forced the museum to only open five of the eleven galleries.
The full museum is set to open on November 11th.
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