NEW YORK—Over 60,000 American Sikhs participated in a voting process conducted by the secessionist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). The voting was held at the California State Capitol in Sacramento during the second phase of the Khalistan Referendum. US snipers and police provided security at the event.
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According to reports from US media, during the first phase of voting, several thousand Sikhs could not cast their votes. The SFJ organized a voting day on Sunday, March 31st to accommodate those who missed out. The voting was overseen by the independent Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC) and held under tight security, with US police and snipers keeping a close watch.
On voting day, nearly 20,000 Sikh men and women queued at the centre to cast their votes, starting from the break of dawn. Throughout the day, thousands of Sikhs stayed at the centre, chanting devotional Sikhism lyrics, calling for the establishment of Khalistan, and condemning the assassination plots of Sikhs by Narendra Modi’s Hindutva regime.
It’s worth noting that this voting day was held months after Khalistan Referendum’s Canada lead, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was killed by Indian agents inside Canada’s biggest Gurdwara. The US secret services also foiled a plot by the Indian government to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is leading the worldwide Khalistan Referendum campaign.
The voting event was held on Sunday, March 31st. However, the activities began two days earlier with Akhand Path Sahib to honour and declare Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, the religious head of Sikhs, as “Quami Shaheed” (a martyr of the Sikh nation) who the Indian Government killed. During the event, a team of Sikh priests recited the holy scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, from beginning to end. Thousands of Sikh families and individuals from Sacramento and surrounding areas attended the prayer and paid their respects to Jathedar Kaunke. The Khalistan Referendum Voting Center, located at the California State Capitol on March 31st, was named after and dedicated to Shaheed Jathedar Kaunke.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Attorney at Law and General Counsel to SFJ, paid tribute to “Kaunke, who worked tirelessly for the cause of the right to self-determination of Sikhs.”
Pannun added that Gurdev Singh Kaunke was martyred because he was devoted to the cause of Khalistan and wanted Sikhs to have their homeland. Pannun said Sikhs have followed the path of Kaunke and gave their lives for the rights of Sikhs, including noted UK-based Sikh leader Paramjeet Singh Pamma, who has spent time in jail in Europe on an Indian extradition warrant.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun told the crowd: “The issue of Sikhs started in 1947 when they should have been liberated, but instead they went under Indian occupation. From 1950, Hindutva started suppressing Sikhs to end and dilute their identity, and that effort continues. In 1984, the Hindutva Congress regime assaulted the holiest Sikh place, the Golden Temple, in Operation Blue Star and committed genocide of thousands of Sikhs. The genocide that started under Congress continues under BJP and Modi.
“We demand Modi’s political downfall through democratic channels. The Indian state’s involvement in the Sikh genocide must end. Sikhs are determined to dismantle Indian dominance and achieve autonomy.”
The Punjab Referendum Commission has announced a rescheduled date for the Khalistan Referendum, which will now occur on July 28th, 2024, in Calgary, Canada.
