India faced a major diplomatic setback in Canada when the Canadian government declared the Khalistan referendum as a legal and democratic right of the Sikhs.
Sikhs for Justice leaders say that the Indian government is using crude tactics. The leaders further said that they will continue to gain independence from India and more than one lakh Sikhs will vote in the referendum. Earlier, the Canadian government said that the Khalistan referendum is a legitimate right of the Sikhs.
Voting will take place on September 18 at Gore Meadows Recreation Center in Brampton. Mass activities in support of the referendum have already begun. SFJ Council General Singh Pinan has said that thousands of Canadian Sikhs gathered in Ardas in support of the Khalistan referendum. In support of the referendum, Canadian Sikhs set a new record last week by organizing a car rally that stretched for several kilometres.
In an interview, Khalistan Council President Dr. Bakshi Singh said that the people of Indian Punjab have understood that their rights can be protected only by gaining independence. He expressed his opinion that he will participate in this referendum in large numbers.
He said that in the last 75 years we have learned that not a single government of India is concerned about the rights of Sikhs. Dr. Bakshi Singh said that it is the law of the United Nations that colonial nations can get their right through referendum. He also criticized the Indian government for the illegal detention of Khalistan Movement leaders.
The referendum on Sikh independence from India will be held in Canada today, Sunday, September 18. A large number of Sikhs living in Canada will participate in the referendum. It should be noted that large-scale activities in support of the referendum have already started and prayer events are also being organized for the success of the referendum. More than 50 thousand Sikhs prayed together in Toronto, Canada.
This prayer was offered at Sri Guru Granth Sahib Prakashpurab, Malton. The participants in the prayer ceremony carried flags with slogans in favor of Khalistan. Men, women and children shouted slogans and vowed to continue the struggle till the establishment of Khalistan. The SFJ, a Sikh body supporting the cause of the referendum, has hailed the large gathering.
Earlier, referendums for a separate homeland of Sikhs have been held in various European countries, including the United Kingdom, in which thousands of people participated.
Earlier, using the incident of writing the slogan of Khalistan on the door of a temple in Canada as an excuse, the Indian government strongly protested to Canada and demanded the arrest of the administrative leaders of the referendum. Before writing the slogan of Khalistan on the temple, the poster of Sikh leader Jarnal Bhandarwala was torn down and the Sikh community protested. A man of Indian origin was also arrested by the local police for tearing down a poster of a Sikh leader.
Rejecting India’s pressure, several hundred pro-Khalistan Sikhs protested in front of the Indian consulate and raised loud slogans against Indian diplomats. Demonstrators said that India is involved in temple attacks and writing slogans on its own out of fear of the referendum.
