Khalistan referendum vote draws huge crowd of supporters to Brampton

Hundreds, if not thousands of Canadian followers of the Sikh faith came to Brampton this weekend to take part in a controversial vote on creating a new sovereign nation known as Khalistan.

On Sunday (Sept. 18), Brampton’s Gore Meadows Community Centre was used as a voting centre for the Khalistan referendum – a nonbinding vote asking Sikhs across the globe whether or not they believe Punjab should become its own independent country and separate from India.

The referendum vote reportedly drew more than 110,000 Canadian Sikhs to Brampton for the voting. Those claims could not be independently verified by inSauga, however, photos and videos posted on social media show large crowds of Khalistan supporters queued for voting at the Gore Meadows Community Centre.

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The push for Sikhs to have their own country known as Khalistan is being spearheaded by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) – a secessionist group based in the USA calling for the Indian state of Punjab to succeed from India and become the state of Khalistan.

SFJ have been banned by Government of India for anti-India activities, and the groups leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been declared a terrorist in India for promoting sucessionism and allegedly encouraging Sikh youth to join militant ranks.

Voting in the referendum started in October of last year, and SFJ has held votes in the UK, Switzerland and Italy. The group says approximately 450,000 Sikhs had already cast their votes prior to Sunday’s vote in Brampton.

Earlier this month, a car rally was held last week ahead of the vote in Brampton and reportedly had over 2,000 vehicles in attendance, with drivers waving flags and voicing their support for the Khalistan movement.

The results of the referendum are nonbinding.