Baba Gurdit Singh (25 August 1860 – 24 July 1954) was the central figure in the Komagata Maru incident of 1914,[1] one of several incidents in the history of early 20th century involving exclusion laws in both Canada and the United States designed to keep out immigrants of only Asian origin.

[2] His grandfather, Sardar Rattan Singh was a high-ranking military officer in the Sikh Khalsa Army and had fought against the British during the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars.

Gurdit Singh received little education in his childhood, partly due to the harsh treatment of his teacher which caused him to leave school.

The obstructions put up by the alien authorities and the hardships faced by its passengers turned them into staunch nationalists.

However, the passengers were not allowed to enter Calcutta; they were rather ordered to board a Punjab-bound train especially arranged for the purpose.

[4] Gurdit Singh was aware of the problems that Punjabis were facing in getting to Canada due to exclusion laws.

[6] The Ghadar Party was an organisation founded by Indians of the United States and Canada in June 1913 with the aim of liberating India from British rule.

[citation needed] Singh died on 24 July 1954, in Amritsar and was cremated at his native village Sarhali Kalan, Tarn taran.