VANCOUVER: The pro-Khalistan secessionist group Sikhs For Justice is planning to hold Khalistan Referendum-II on 29 October 2023, in Surrey, BC, Canada, emboldened by the principled and unequivocal stand of Canadian Liberal and Conservative leadership on pro-Khalistan activities in the country.
Alongside Khalistan Referendum-II, SFJ has announced its plans for the “Shaheed Nijjar Kill India Referendum”, after a turnout of more than 135,000 Sikhs in support of Khalistan creation on September 10 at Guru Nanak Gurdawara in Surrey, British Columbia and to further enable those to vote who could not vote due to the heavy turnout.
According to the SFJ, the central question of the referendum is whether Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma bears responsibility for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The voting would be held at the Gurdwara, which was the site of the tragic assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistan Referendum Canada’s President and a prominent Sikh activist who was assassinated on 18 June 2023 by a group of unidentified individuals believed to be Indian state agents.
Nijjar’s assassination has been condemned by Sikhs but celebrated by pro-Modi and pro-BJP media organizations, observers and Hindutva supporters.
SFJ General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun underlined the historical context, citing the 1984 killing of Indira Gandhi as a response to Operation Bluestar at Sri Darbar Sahib.
He asserted that pro-Khalistan Sikhs have transitioned from armed struggle to peaceful means, “From Bullet to Ballot” in their pursuit to liberate Punjab from Indian occupation.
Khalistan Referendum
In October 2021, US-based Sikhs for Justice started the Khalistan Referendum voting drive in the UK. Since then, similar events have been organized in over a dozen European cities.
On 10 September, Khalistan Referendum-I took place at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, drawing a great turnout of over 135,000 Sikh voters. Remarkably, this exceeded the previous record set 5 months ago in Brompton, Canada. It is worth noting that more than fifty thousand individuals were unable to cast their votes before the voting concluded.
The independent Punjab Referendum Commission employed several hundred individuals to oversee the balloting process, ensuring a fair procedure for this important demand.
