Mayor and members of City Council unveiled a new heritage storyboard titled Remembering the Komagata Maru at a local Surrey park this week. Raj Singh Toor, representing the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, was also on hand for the unveiling.
“This storyboard is an important reflection on a significant moment in Canadian history,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “Surrey is a diverse City, and we embrace people from all over the world. This permanent storyboard reinforces that we will learn from, and not forget the injustices of the past. Racism has no place in our City.”
“We can’t undo the past, but we can move forward and leave a legacy for future generations by educating them about the past,” said Raj Singh Toor, Vice President of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society. “This new storyboard will help educate the community and remind us of Surrey’s diverse makeup. I hope that it will help in connecting British Columbians, Canadians and Surrey residents with their past, in order to build a more peaceful and tolerant tomorrow.”
In 2019, Council supported recommendations from the Surrey Heritage Advisory Commission to conduct research into the earliest South Asians in Surrey, deliver programming relevant to Surrey’s diverse communities, and to create a heritage storyboard reflecting on the Komagata Maru incident and systemic racism.
Each year, the Surrey Heritage Advisory Commission funds new heritage storyboards and other interpretive features throughout the City. This program ensures Surrey’s diverse history is accessible in locations city-wide. To date, over 50 heritage storyboards exist across the City.
The storyboard is located in R.A. Nicholson Park, 12140 75A Avenue, not far from the Komagata Maru mural and commemorative street signs on 75A Avenue. The storyboard is located on the pedestrian path just behind the Strawberry Hill Hall.
Photo (left to right): Raj Singh Toor, Vice President of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, Surrey Councillor Mandeep Nagra, and Mayor Doug McCallum honour victims of Komagata Maru with the new heritage storyboard.