FRESNO, Calif. – Thousands of Indian residents from the Central Valley who practice the Sikh religion plan to vote on a referendum that could establish a new, independent nation in India.
Known as “The Khalistan Referendum,” the vote – while nonbinding and symbolic – calls attention to persecution of those who follow the Sikh faith.
The referendum calls for the northern Indian state of Punjab to break away and form a new country called Khalistan.
According to the Punjab Referendum Commission, the goal of the historic vote is to determine how much support the movement has before bringing the matter to the United Nations.
Supporters of the movement hope to hold an official referendum vote in India in 2025. Voting for the Khalistan referendum has been taking place since 2021 in countries like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
This year, the U.S. vote will take place in San Francisco on Sunday.
The advocacy organization Sikhs for Justice has been mobilizing hundreds of Sikhs in the region to make the trip to cast their votes.
In the Valley, supporters of the movement have placed billboards along Highway 99, adorned their cars in stickers, and left pamphlets outlining the cause at various Indian markets.
“We are one culture,” says Jagroop Singh, a volunteer in Fresno. “We are [the] Sikh community. We are trying to unite our community together because we are not getting our rights in our country.”
Khalistan Referendum holds deep history
The call for a separate Sikh state dates back to the 1930s, when British rule in India ended. The movement for the independent Khalistan slowly began to grow in support amongst Sikhs through the 1970s.
But according to the Human Rights Watch, Sikh separatists in the early 1980s committed human rights abuses such as massacring civilians, attacking Hindu minorities and bombing crowded places. In June 1984, the Indian government deployed troops to remove extremists who had seized the Golden Temple in Amritsar – Sikhism’s most sacred site.
The military campaign caused serious damage to the shrine and resulted in hundreds of deaths. In retaliation, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. It’s estimated more than 30,000 Sikhs were killed, thousands of women raped, hundreds of temples burned and more than 300,000 displaced in the period following Gandhi’s murder.
The unrest in India sparked migration to the U.S., Canada, and various European countries. Reports from the Sri Lanka Guardian describe continued cases of religious persecution and mass violence against Sikhs.
In 2016, Fresno, Bakersfield and Kerman city councils voted to recognize the 1984 mass killing as a genocide.
Going for the ‘ballot not the bullet’
There are an estimated 30 million Sikhs worldwide - with the majority concentrated in Punjab.
According to the Sikh Coalition, roughly 500,000 followers of the faith live in the U.S., with large populations in the Central Valley and the Bay Area in California.
Sikhism is considered a minor religion in India – with its core beliefs rooted in truthful living, service to humanity, and devotion to God.
The referendum was proposed by the U.S. based group Sikhs for Justice group. According to the organization, forming a new nation would restore religious liberties and expand protections for Sikhs in Punjab.
“The people of Punjab came [to the U.S.] to establish their life because there’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” says Gurdeep Singh, a Fresno organizer with the local branch of the organization. “We want the same thing for every Sikh in Punjab.”
Singh says he expects more than 20,000 Sikhs from the Valley to cast their ballot in San Francisco. Gurudwaras – what are known as Sikh temples – from across the region are sending dozens of buses to help people make it to the polling center.
And even more are traveling from different states. According to Singh, there are buses driving from cities like Portland, Salt Lake City, Reno, and Dallas.
“We want a peaceful, [democratic] way, because these days, we use the ballot, not the bullet,” Singh says.
