Q1. The Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908, which was used to deny entry to the Komagata Maru passengers, was originally enacted by Canada in response to which of the following? (a) A surge in Japanese immigration following the Meiji industrialisation (b) The organised entry of South Asian workers into British Columbia’s lumber industry (c) Pressure from the British government to restrict Indian revolutionary activity abroad (d) The recommendations of the Natal Formula used earlier in South Africa Q2. Which of the following statements about the Shore Committee formed in Vancouver in 1914 is correct? (a) It was formed by the Canadian government to process the legal claims of Komagata Maru passengers (b) It was led by Gurdit Singh from aboard the ship to coordinate legal resistance (c) It was a Vancouver-based South Asian community body that raised $20,000 to support the passengers and their legal challenge (d) It successfully secured the release of all passengers through a writ of habeas corpus Q3. Consider the following pairs regarding key figures in the Komagata Maru and Ghadar movement: 1. Sohan Singh Bhakna — First President, Ghadar Party 2. Lala Har Dayal — Editor of the newspaper Hindustan Ghadar and General Secretary, Ghadar Party 3. Barkatullah — Treasurer of the Ghadar Party 4. Kartar Singh Sarabha — Executed in the Lahore Conspiracy Case Which of the pairs above are correctly matched? (a) 1, 2 and 4 only (b) 1 and 4 only (c) 2, 3 and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 Q4. The Budge Budge confrontation of September 1914 occurred primarily because: (a) Gurdit Singh attempted to organise an armed march on the colonial administration in Calcutta (b) Passengers refused to board a Punjab-bound train and began marching toward Calcutta, leading to a police interception and firing (c) Ghadar Party members already in Bengal instigated the passengers to attack the colonial police (d) British authorities attempted to seize Ghadar literature found aboard the ship, provoking violent resistance Q5. Which of the following correctly describes the route taken by the Komagata Maru before reaching Vancouver? (a) Calcutta → Singapore → Yokohama → Vancouver (b) Hong Kong → Shanghai → Moji → Yokohama → Vancouver (c) Singapore → Hong Kong → Honolulu → Vancouver (d) Lahore → Karachi → Colombo → Hong Kong → Vancouver ANSWERS
1: (b) The Continuous Journey Regulation was specifically designed to restrict the flow of South Asian — primarily Punjabi — workers who had been entering British Columbia in significant numbers to work in the lumber, railway, and farming sectors. The regulation used race-neutral language to achieve racial exclusion without naming any community explicitly. 2: (c) The Shore Committee was an independently organised body within Vancouver’s South Asian community. Led by figures such as Husain Rahim, Bhag Singh Bhikiwind, and Muhammad Akbar, it raised $20,000 to sustain the passengers and fund legal representation. The legal challenge ultimately failed when the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld the exclusionary laws on 6 July 1914. 3: (a) Sohan Singh Bhakna was indeed the first President; Lala Har Dayal was the General Secretary and key editor of the Ghadar paper; Kartar Singh Sarabha was executed in the Lahore Conspiracy Case at barely 19. However, the Treasurer of the Ghadar Party was Pandit Kanshi Ram, not Barkatullah. Barkatullah was a senior Ghadar ideologue and was among those who boarded the Komagata Maru at Yokohama. Pair 3 is incorrect, making (a) the right answer. 4: (b) British authorities at Budge Budge attempted to force the passengers onto a special train to Punjab, intending to isolate them from Calcutta’s politically active population. The passengers refused, suspicious of their fate in Punjab, and began walking toward Calcutta. Armed police intercepted them, a confrontation with a police superintendent escalated, and troops opened fire, killing 20 passengers. 5: (b) The ship departed Hong Kong on 4 April 1914, stopped at Shanghai, then at the Japanese port of Moji (where coal and 86 passengers were taken on), and subsequently at Yokohama (where 14 more passengers boarded, including Ghadarite leaders). It then crossed the Pacific to arrive at Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, on 23 May 1914.