Hanged in Canada, still a criminal

Bhai Mewa Singh, the first Punjabi executed by the then British government of Canada after the Komagatu Maru incident, is still registered as a criminal in Canada's legal records. Following Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's recent announcement for apology, Punjabis settled in Canada have renewed the demand to declare Mewa Singh a martyr, 101 years after his execution. 

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Mewa Singh was hanged in the New Westminster jail in January 1915 for killing British immigration inspector William Charles Hopkinson, who had gained notoriety among Punjabis residing in Canada during around two-month stay of Komagata Maru at the Vancouver harbour.

Hopkinson was killed in October 1914 two months after the Canadian government forced Komagata Maru to sail back in July 1914 without admitting most of its passengers. 

"Today, Bhai Mewa Singh is an icon for Punjabis living in Canada, who sacrificed his life for the cause of immigrants. But, if one goes by the legal record, he is still a criminal. Therefore, in 2015, while observing the death centenary of Bhai Mewa Singh, several groups launched a petition demanding martyr status for him", said Parminder Kaur Swaich, spokesperson for the Canada-based East India Defence Committee, which has played a key role in launching the petition.

"So far, the petition has been signed by 7,000 people. We hope it will cross the 10,000 mark this year. In any case, we will soon submit the petition to the government. Now that the government has announced a formal apology, Mewa Singh, whose martyrdom was a fallout from the Komagata Maru incident, should also be granted a status of martyr", said Parminder Kaur Swaich.

Mewa Singh had killed Hopkinsons as the latter patronized a group of Punjabis led by Bela Singh, who had sided with the Canadian government during the Komagata Maru crises creating sharp divisions among Punjabis settled in Canada. However, Bela Singh's group remained in a minority.