A referendum advocating the creation of Khalistan was held in Indianapolis under the auspices of Sikhs for Justice, with organisers saying participants travelled from other cities and states to vote (Geo News).
Voting continued through rainfall, with women and families among those attending. Organisers said polling would run until 6pm, after which the number of ballots cast would be announced.
Alongside slogans supporting Khalistan, participants raised slogans calling for the freedom of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Ghazala Habib, chairperson of Friends of Kashmir, addressed the gathering and said she was the only non-Sikh speaker invited to the stage.
Vikramjit Singh, associated with the campaign, said the initiative launched in 2020 but was disrupted by the pandemic, with the first vote held in London on October 31, 2021. Votes have since taken place in the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Italy and Canada — three in Toronto, two in Vancouver and one in Calgary — and in the United States in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, with Indianapolis the latest.
He claimed around two million Sikhs worldwide had participated. The figure could not be independently verified.
Singh accused the Indian government of historical injustices against Sikhs, citing violence against the community, damage to the Akal Takht in 1984 and what he described as the exploitation of Punjab’s economic resources. He argued for dismantling India’s existing federal structure, saying fundamental changes to the region’s political map were necessary for lasting peace — remarks reflecting the campaign’s position.
He said the campaign pursued its aims through peaceful and democratic means and wanted a formal, binding referendum in Punjab with practical political effect.
The exercise has no legal standing in India, which has banned Sikhs for Justice and designated its founder a terrorist, and no state recognises the vote as binding. The referendum campaign has been a persistent source of friction between India and the countries where it is held, most acutely Canada.
