Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show and taught the show host how to bhangra, in addition to discussing his career. During the conversation, he mentioned his recent concert in Vancouver, Canada, and spoke about why it moved him to see a stadium filled with Indians for his performance.
Diljit Dosanjh on Vancouver concert
Diljit kicked off his Aura Tour at BC Palace in Vancouver on April 23. This is two years after he performed at the same venue two years ago in what Billboard Canada termed as the ‘largest ever Punjabi music concert outside of India.’ On Jimmy’s show, Diljit mentioned that 50,000 Indians had attended the concert.
Talking about why that moved him, he said, “That stadium we did in Vancouver…like 1914, our people came first time in Canada, they didn’t allow us to come and go to Canada. And that stadium is just two kilometres away from the Guru Nanak Jahaz Komagata Maru incident. So, it’s a big thing for us now, 55,000 people in the one stadium there, just two kilometres away, you didn’t allow us to come. And now, here we are, man. So, that’s why it’s amazing.”
The incident Diljit Dosanjh is talking about
In 1914, Gurdit Singh, a Sikh businessman, chartered the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru from Hong Kong to Canada, which he named the Guru Nanak Jahaz. It was carrying 376 passengers: approximately 340 Sikhs, 27 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, mostly originating from Punjab, India. Despite carrying the required documentation, the passengers were detained on the ship in Vancouver, without proper food or water.
The Canadian government used the Continuous Journey Regulation to refuse the passengers entry into Canada despite their status as British subjects. After two months, all but approximately 20 of the passengers were directed to return to India, and the ship was escorted out of the harbour by the Canadian military. Upon the ship’s arrival in India, 19 passengers were shot and killed, and many others were imprisoned or placed under house arrest by British Indian police and troops as they were labelled political agitators.
According to the Vancouver City Council website, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered an apology for the incident in 2016. The Vancouver City Council also formally apologised in May 2021 for historical discrimination against the passengers of the Komagata Maru.
Diljit last starred in the 2025 Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3 and the Hindi film Border 2 this year. He has Main Vaapas Aaunga with Imtiaz Ali lined up. The film also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina, and Sharvari Wagh. It will be released in theatres on June 12.