Comments on: The Dark Mark

By: someone else

someone else — Tue, 02 May 2006 23:43:05 +0000

y’all might be interested in this history of Sikhs in Canada. I was trying to find a reference to the mass deportation that they wanted to conduct (some folks wanted to send all the desis to Guyana) and came across it:

n 1908, there was even an effort to deport all those who remained in Canada to British Honduras in order to effectively rid the country of ” hindoos ” in order to ” keep Canada white. ” H. H. Stevens, the leader of the Asiatic Exclusion League and a city of Vancouver alderman, said in 1907, ” We contend that the destiny of Canada is best left in the hands of the Anglo-Saxon race, and are Â‘unalterably and irrevocablyÂ’ opposed to any move which threatens in the slightest degree this positionÂ…. As far as Canada is concerned, it shall remain white, and our doors shall be closed to Hindoos as well as to other Orientals. ” The federal government paid a delegation to go to British Honduras and investigate employment opportunities, economic conditions and possibilities of settlement for all of British ColumbiaÂ’s Sikhs. This delegation consisted of J. B. Harkin of the Interior Ministry of the federal government, William Hopkinson, a Vancouver immigration official and interpreter, and two local Sikhs, Nagar Singh and Sham Singh. When the Sikhs returned and reported back to the community about the unsuitability and poor living and economic conditions of British Honduras, the local Sikhs unanimously rejected the proposal and steadfastly declared their intention to stay in Canada. This plan was probably far too extreme ever to have succeeded, but it does give an indication of the intensity of the anti-Asian sentiments of that time and the stance of all levels of government on the issue.

Oh. Canada.

By: ty

ty — Tue, 02 May 2006 03:10:31 +0000

A truly sad history for both Indian and Chinese Canadians. I would like to say the world has made great strides but I know it hasn't. Oddly enough what B.C. Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal said also bothered me.

"The Conservative government should issue an apology and compensation to Indo-Canadians over the Komagata Maru incident if it is going to give both to Chinese-Canadians over the head tax paid by Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century, B.C. Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal saidÂ… Â“If the government is going to apologize to one group of Canadians, they should also have a similar line for other groups of Canadians who have suffered discriminationÂ”

Granted the only part of the speech I have read is from this site, but he didnt seem to be happy that the chinese community was getting reparations for the government. In fact he seemed to come off as being upset that if indians werent being recognized as well the Canadian government shouldnt have done anything. Maybe i am just naive but I believe that any time a government recognizes the ignorance and cruelty of their past laws is a reason for celebration for all of us. I am indian-american but I have to say I am dissapointed in the way MP Sukh Dhaliwal decided to voice his opinion. I feel that it makes us look unsupportive of our fellow asians.

By: dhaavak

dhaavak — Tue, 02 May 2006 03:03:51 +0000

WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. W… The Metro Cinema, home to Pornoween and my first ever viewing of Vampyros Lesbos (it was for the sake of art), is owned by a Guju? Are you sure, D? Please, why are you apologizing?

oh yea… guju… absolutely sure… but i’d still be leery of trying out their buttered popcorn.

By: Neha

Neha — Tue, 02 May 2006 02:44:20 +0000

WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. W... The Metro Cinema, home to Pornoween and my first ever viewing of Vampyros Lesbos (it was for the sake of art), is owned by a Guju? Are you sure, D? Please, why are you apologizing? I mean, this is huge, are you really sure? I cannot wait to tell my parents and hear them "hai hai"ing like desi werewolves on a full moon!

By: dhaavak

dhaavak — Tue, 02 May 2006 02:16:10 +0000

that porn theater at bloor and bathurst us up for sale – coincidentally owned by hirji, i believe a fellow guju as you, and screen anything you want there – i believe they are showing emmanuelle #13 right now.

hey neha… that was a stupid remark, the “fellow guju” bit. I am sorry.

By: dhaavak

dhaavak — Tue, 02 May 2006 01:56:45 +0000

Dunno about this, people that watch the CBC (myself included) are usually a) pretty sympathetic to such issues b) living in Ontario/ BC/Maratimes c) don’t have any cable d) all of the above. A wider audience would surely be reached with a cinema release. Doubt the big bad Famous Players and Odeons would allow a country-wide release of Kazimi’s film.

or… that porn theater at bloor and bathurst us up for sale – coincidentally owned by hirji, i believe a fellow guju as you, and screen anything you want there – i believe they are showing emmanuelle #13 right now.

By: Neha

Neha — Tue, 02 May 2006 01:44:18 +0000

My expectations for this movie are very low. If it's awareness amongst Canadians that we want to raise, I say push the CBC to show Continuous Journey.

Dunno about this, people that watch the CBC (myself included) are usually a) pretty sympathetic to such issues b) living in Ontario/BC/Maratimes c) don't have any cable d) all of the above. A wider audience would surely be reached with a cinema release. Doubt the big bad Famous Players and Odeons would allow a country-wide release of Kazimi's film.

By: Sahej

Sahej — Tue, 02 May 2006 00:27:07 +0000

i’m not saying there should or shouldn’t be an apology, but do you think South Asians, including Sikhs, even need an apology? Canada has been pretty good to Sikhs for example. I wonder if as a community they (we) need that kind of thing

By: brownfrown

brownfrown — Tue, 02 May 2006 00:07:10 +0000

Ha! All the brown men on this boat are evil, but you’re supposed to feel bad for them, even though they’re mistreated by white men, who are all good! Or maybe she would change the story so it had only brown women and white men on the boat, and brown men refusing it permission to dock.

I’m glad I didn’t have to say it first She’ll also probably throw in some scenes of the brown women back in the village in Punjab, making eyes at each other under some palm trees for some mirch masala and because she forgot to edit. Oooh! I wonder if she’ll explore some evil brown man homoerotic tension on the Kamagata Maru. That’ll be exotic and high-grossing and allow people another glimpse into “What’s Wrong With Men in India for Dummies”. Maybe, if he’s not too busy being emotionally abusive to his wife and virginal nieces, Gandhi can ride in on his train and save the day again!

My expectations for this movie are very low. If it’s awareness amongst Canadians that we want to raise, I say push the CBC to show Continuous Journey. It’s an excellent film and no amount (especially no amount) of Amitabh Bachan and John Abraham can tell the story better.

Anyone going to watch Deepa’s documentary at “Let’s Talk About It” at HotDocs in Toronto? I won’t be in town but even from the synopsis, does it not seem ethically problematic? Oh hey! It’s another Evil Brown Man movie and kids with cameras get to film the trauma in their own families! Score!

By: Neha

Neha — Mon, 01 May 2006 23:15:22 +0000

knowing what happened a hundred years back isnt important because we need to nurse a grudge, but because we need to know that good people can take terrible decisions under the garb of righteousness

AMEN.

we’ll have to wait till ang comes to town and takes us all out to a dinner of dosa and kasmiri tea:-)

Umm, what I’m trying to say is…AMEN. How very sweet of Ang, I think I’ll have two mysore sadas, one plate vada, one bissibille baht and two teas, yes that’ll do…thanks Ang, wherever you are