Thousands gather in Calgary for Khalistan Referendum voting

CALGARY, CANADA: Thousands of Sikhs queued at Calgary’s iconic Municipal Plaza — opposite the local United States diplomatic mission — to take part in the Khalistan Referendum voting for the creation of an independent state of Khalistan for the Sikh nation.

Organised by the pro-Khalistan Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group, the voting is being held in Calgary to seek the opinion of Sikhs of Canada’s Alberta province on the creation of an independent state for Sikhs. An estimated one million Sikhs now live in Canada and nearly 100,000 in Calgary.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s family was the first to cast their votes, surrounded by prominent Khalistan figures.

The SFJ leader announced that Calgary voting is dedicated to the nine Canadian national Sikhs assassinated by India for their support for Khalistan. 

Those Canadian Sikhs are Shaheed Lakhbir Singh Rode, Shaheed Bhupinder Singh Kooner, Shaheed Harjinder Singh Para, Shaheed Talwinder Singh Parmar, Shaheed Surinder Singh Shinder Commando, Shaheed Balbir Singh Khaira, Shaheed Jathedar Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Shaheed Mohinder Singh Kooner and Shaheed Surinder Singh Ravi.

At the start of the voting with Sikh prayers led by the local Sikh religious figures from Gurdwara Dashmesh Culture Centre, thousands formed long queues to cast their votes for the process that will last for the full day. 

Men, women, youth, children and the elderly have gathered in the town from across the province to cast their votes for the non-binding referendum which is aimed at seeking the opinion of Sikhs from around the world, before presenting the final results to the United Nations.

Sikhs who gathered outside the city hall were carrying flags of Khalistan. The road outside has been decorated with large posters of Sikhs who embraced martyrdom for the Sikh causes — and are revered by the Sikhs across the world.

Veteran Khalistani leaders and President of the Council of Khalistan Dr Bakhshish Singh Sandhu said at the start of the voting that Sikhs in Calgary will set a new record by exercising their democratic right for Khalistan and sending a message to the world that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to assassinate Sikhs in the western countries is unacceptable as its transnational terrorism and oppression which warrants global sanctions against the state of India.

All the phases of voting in the Khalistan Referendum are being held under the guidance and supervision of a panel of non-aligned direct democracy experts from the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC). 

The whole voting process from registration to supervision of ballot boxes and sealing of the ballots at the end of voting day is conducted by the Commission’s approved third party staff to maintain the highest level of transparency. 

The PRC is conducting the voting on the question of “Should Indian-governed Punjab be an independent country?” with two options of “Yes” and "No”.