WASHINGTON: More than 60,000 American Sikhs took part in the second phase of the Khalistan Referendum voting, which was held at the California State Capitol in Sacramento by the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), with security provided by US law enforcing agencies and police.
Earlier, more than 127,000 American Sikhs actively participated in the 1st phase of the referendum, marking the first example of such voting on American soil. This took place on January 28, shortly following the US authorities revealed its prevention of an assassination attempt on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leading pro-Khalistan leader and India’s most sought-after individual.
More than 200,000 Sikhs joined both phases of the Khalistan Referendum in California to pay rich tribute to Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, hailed as a hero of the Sikh nation. Several thousand Sikhs were unable to take part in the first phase of the vote. The voting last night was organized by the SFJ to facilitate those Sikhs who missed out earlier. This voting process was supervised by the independent Punjab Referendum Commission and held under stringent security steps, with US police and snipers closely monitoring the current situation.
As the voting day started, about 20,000 Sikh women and men formed long queues to cast their votes. Across the day, thousands of members of Sikh nation remained at the center, singing devotional Sikhism songs, advocating for the establishment of Khalistan, and condemning assassination attempts by Narendra Modi’s Hindutva regime. The voting occurred months after the assassination of Khalistan Referendum’s Canada leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, inside Canada’s largest Gurdwara, and the foiling of an assassination attempt against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who leads the international Khalistan Referendum campaign, by US secret services.
The last night voting, was preceded by a key event starting two days earlier: the Akhand Path Sahib. This ceremony was also held to honor and recognize Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, who was illegally killed by Indian agents, as a “martyr of the Sikh nation.” During this time, a group of Sikh priests recited the holy scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, from start to end. Thousands of Sikh individuals from Sacramento and the surrounding regions also attended the prayer, paying their respects to Jathedar Kaunke. The Khalistan Referendum Voting Center at the California State Capitol bears the name and dedication of martyred Jathedar Kaunke.
In the weeks prior to the Akhand Path Sahib at California, thousands of Sikhs from across the world sent emails to Giani Raghbir Singh, the head of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and to the President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to officially declare Jathedar Kaunke as “ martyr of the nation.”
Gurdev Singh Kaunke was unanimously acknowledged as chief of Sri Akal Takht Sahib in 1986 by the grand assembly of Sikh people known as Sarbat Khalsa.
He was extra-judicially killed by Indian forces on January 01, 1993 for his active role in leading the Sikh people’s movement for their political and religious rights. Recently, in December 2023, Punjab Human Rights Commission also admitted that Jathedar Kaunke was extra-judicially killed by the Indian forces.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Attorney at Law and General Counsel to SFJ paid rich tribute to “Kaunke who worked determinedly for the cause of right to self-determination of Sikhs”.
Pannun said that Gurdev Singh Kaunke was martyred as he was devoted to the cause of Khalistan and wanted Sikhs to have their motherland. Pannun added Sikhs have followed the path of Kaunke and gave their lives for rights of Sikh nation, including noted UK-based Sikh leader Paramjeet Singh Pamma who had spent time in prison in Europe on Indian extradition warrant.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun told the gathering: “The issue of Sikhs started in 1947 when they should have been freed but instead, they went under the occupation of India. From 1950 Hindutva started suppressing Sikh nation to end and dilute their true identity and that effort continues. In 1984, the Hindutva Congress regime attacked the holiest Sikh place, the Golden Temple, in Operation Blue Star and carried out genocide of thousands of Sikh people. The genocide that started under Congress regime continues under Modi and BJP.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that they demanded Modi’s political downfall through democratic channels. The Indian state’s involvement in the Sikh genocide must end. Sikhs are determined to dismantle New Dehli dominance and attain autonomy.”
The Punjab Referendum Commission had announced a rescheduled date for the Khalistan Referendum, now set to take place on July 28th, 2024, in Calgary, Canada.
