Despite vocal protests by Narendra Modi’s government and fierce opposition from Canadian Hindutva groups, more than 75,000 Canadian Sikhs voted in Khalistan Referendum Phase II in Mississauga in a massive turnout for the secession of the state of Punjab from India to create an independent homeland for Sikhs.
The voting opened at 9am under the supervision of the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC), but the Sikh men and women from Greater Toronto Area (GTA) had lined up since 6am to cast their votes at the Paul Coffee Arena, Mississauga, a Canadian government owned and operated facility.
The November 6 Khalistan Referendum voting drew a counter-protest by a handful of Canadian Hindus who carried Hindutva symbols and were sloganeering that they will make India a “Hindu Country” under Modi’s leadership. —INP
