To tell the heartbreaking story, a comprehensive documentary film - currently being shot - will be completed and distributed in July this year, followed by a high quality publication for an official documentation of the incident.

The story in both these projects will be illustrated as documented by Canadian filmmaker Ali Kazimi in 2004 in his acclaimed documentary Continuous Journey.

The historic projects are getting a $243,625 federal government funding to educate Canadians about the Komagata Maru incident of 1914.

Devinder Shory, Member of Parliament for Calgary Northeast, last week in Brampton's Springdale riding announced the details of the Community Historical Recognition Program's funding on behalf of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

"The Komagata Maru incident is an unfortunate event in our history," said MP Shory. "It reminds all Canadians that our country has not always lived up to the ideals we most cherish."

To the question as to why an MP from Calgary is making this announcement in Brampton, Shory said firstly it is unfortunate Conservatives don't have any representative in the area, and that secondly he is among the descents of the Komagata Maru incident.

Meanwhile, Brampton-Springdale MP Ruby Dhalla, in a press release said the Conservative government continues to insult Indo-Canadians by refusing to apologize for the Komagata Maru injustice in the Parliament.

"It's unfortunate that the Conservative government has chosen to ignore the plea of the Indo-Canadian community for an official apology in Canada's Parliament. The Komagata Maru injustice will forever serve as a reminder of the struggles and challenges that so many immigrants have encountered in their hope for a better future in Canada," said Dhalla.

Book project

Peripheral Vision of Toronto will receive $197,950 funding for its publication Komagata Maru Era Book Project.

To be launched in 2011 in partnership with publisher Douglas&McIntyre, the book aims to recapture the story from Continuous Journey.

The publication will use archival photographs, official documents, newspapers and pamphlets in creating a complete account of the incident.

Copies of the book will be made available to universities, colleges and community centres.

In addition, Grayhound Information Services of Metcalfe, Ontario, will receive $45,675 for a 45-minute documentary film titled Beyond the Garden Wall: The Asian Immigrant Workers of Tod Inlet.

Recommended by Indo-Canadian Advisory Committee and the Chinese-Canadian Advisory Committee, the film will tell the story of Sikh and Chinese immigrants who arrived in the early 20th century to work at a cement quarry in Tod Inlet, a now vanished town near Victoria, British Columbia.

Describing his feelings, Ali Kazimi said: "I have been deeply moved by the story and in 1996 started working on my film Countinuous Journey. It took me eight years to complete the film because we continued to gather facts and materials as most people didn't know about it.

"I really feel that the struggle of Komagata Maru sufferers must not be forgotten because at that time they came here for what today we consider 'Canadian values'."