CALGARY, CANADA: Thousands of Sikhs lined up at Calgary's iconic City Square in front of the local US diplomatic mission to take part in the Khalistan referendum, which called for the creation of an independent state of Khalistan for the Sikh nation.
Organised by the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the vote is being held in Calgary to seek the views of Sikhs in the Canadian province of Alberta on the creation of an independent state for Sikhs. There are an estimated one million Sikhs currently living in Canada and nearly 100,000 in Calgary.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar's family was the first to cast their votes, surrounded by prominent Khalistani figures.
The SFJ leader announced that the Calgary vote is dedicated to the nine Canadian Sikhs killed by India for their support of 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 . .
As voting began with Sikh prayers led by local Sikh religious figures at the Gurdwara Dashmesh Cultural Centre, thousands of people formed long queues to cast their votes for the day-long process.
Men, women, youth, children and the elderly have gathered in the city from across the province to cast their votes in the non-binding referendum aimed at canvassing the views of Sikhs around the world, before submitting the final results to the United Nations.
The Sikhs who gathered in front of the town hall carried Khalistan flags. The street was decorated with large posters of Sikhs who accepted martyrdom for Sikh causes and who are revered by Sikhs around the world.
Veteran Khalistan leaders and Chairman of Khalistan Council 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 send a message to the world that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign to kill Sikhs in Western countries is unacceptable as it is transnational terrorism and oppression that justifies global sanctions against the Indian state.
All phases of voting in the Khalistan referendum are being conducted under the guidance and supervision of a panel of non-aligned direct democracy experts from the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC).
The entire voting process, from registration to monitoring of the ballot boxes and sealing of the ballots at the end of the election day, is carried out by external personnel approved by the Commission to maintain the highest level of transparency.
The People's Republic of China is holding a vote on the question of “Should Punjab, ruled by India, be an independent country?” with two options: “Yes” and “No”.
