• Age: 16
• Grade: 11

A timely and superbly illustrated account of the explosive event that challenged Canada's racist immigration policy

In May 1914, the Komagata Maru, a ship carrying 376 immigrants from British India, was turned away when it tried to land in Vancouver Harbour. Many of the men on board, veterans of the British Indian Army, believed it was their right to settle anywhere in the empire they had fought to defend. Enforcing the "continuous journey" regulation, immigration boats surrounded the ship a half-mile offshore, making the passengers virtual prisoners.

Thus began a dramatic standoff that would escalate over the next two months, becoming one of the most infamous events in Canadian history. Weaving text together with rarely seen photographs and key documents, award-winning filmmaker Ali Kazimi explores what the current federal government has acknowledged as a "dark chapter" in Canada's past.

Throughout, he seeks answers to the incident's most provocative questions: Why would Canada turn away these South Asian migrants when it had accepted more than 400,000 immigrants the previous year? Why were some of the passengers killed upon their forced return to India? How did this ship pose a threat to the mightiest empire the world had ever known? By setting the story in a global context and against the early histories of Chinese, Japanese and African-American immigrants to Canada, Kazimi shows that the Komagata Maru "incident" was far from incidental. Today, with Canada's immigration and refugee framework under intense scrutiny, the story of the Komagata Maru is all the more relevant.

Ali Kazimi is a Toronto-based filmmaker. Born and raised in India, he came to Canada in 1983. Since then, his documentaries have been screened and broadcast internationally to critical acclaim. Continuous Journey, his 2004 feature documentary investigating the events surrounding the Komagata Maru, has won garnered awards on three continents to date. Kazimi is an associate professor in the Department of Film at York University.

Ali Kazimi's profile page

"Ali Kazimi creates a historical framework that allows readers to view events through the eyes of earlier South Asian migrants to Vancouver, authorities of the Dominion of Canada, and imperial officials in Britain and India...Today, with Canada's immigration and refugee framework under scrutiny, the story of the Komagata Maru is all the more relevant."

South Asian Focus

"...Kazimi has created a book full of stunning photographs from the period, a reminder for Canadians that diversity is not easy to accomplish."

Toronto Star

"Kazimi expertly draws a line from the colonial attitudes towards South Asians, who were good enough to die for Britain in various wars but not good enough to be granted equal rights, through to today...Deliciously illustrated and designed, this is a most seductive book."

Chronicle Journal

"It is a sumptuous coffee-table book with wonderful illustrations -- including many full-colour images from graphic art and documents of the period -- and a succinct and fascinating account of the forces, in Canada and British India, that came together in Vancouver in May 1914. The characters are skilfully drawn, and Kazimi shows the documentarian's deft hand in capturing the emotions on all sides."

Literary Review of Canada

"...In turning from the film medium to print, Kazimi, a York University film professor, has created illuminated pages...rich and fascinating study..."

Calgary Herald

"Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru is a lavishly illustrated account of a key moment in our history."

Vancouver Sun

Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru: An Illustrated History