Punjab Referendum 2020 for Khalistan.

Diaspora group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) argues Punjab is “currently occupied by India” and vows to organize a non-binding vote in Punjab and 20 countries abroad where Sikh Diasporas exist on the issue of establishing an independent country, which they call Khalistan. The group believes that “an overwhelming ‘yes’ vote” would “start the process through which we will eventually conduct an official legally a binding referendum in Punjab thereby peacefully establishing Khalistan.”

According to the Referendum website, “Punjab Referendum 2020 is a campaign to liberate Punjab, currently occupied by India. US and Canada based group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has planned Referendum-2020 in support of a separate state of Khalistan, throwing the Indian establishment in panic. Reports have revealed that most Gurdwaras in the US and Canada have started campaigns for the referendum.

SFJ says it aims “to get 5 million votes in support of independence for Punjab” in the unofficial vote, the result than “presented to the United Nations with a request for them to intervene and negotiate an agreement between the Punjabi peoples and India for holding an independence referendum in Punjab,” a legally binding one this time. The group has not disclosed how it will be able to organize the vote in Punjab in the face of Indian opposition to it.

Analysts say support for independence is popular among Sikhs diaspora. In a 2017 survey among Sikhs in the UK, 40% of respondents said they had “positive” or “very positive” attitudes towards Punjab independence, while 30% said they were “neutral” and the remaining 30% harbored “negative”.

Indian governments oppose referendum calls, claiming that SFJ is being helped by Pakistan to undermine the unity of its longtime regional foe. India Army Chief General Bipin Rawat referred to “external linkages” to “revive insurgency” in Punjab and linked SFJ with Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

The issue has also become a sore point in India-Canada relations. Some Sikh members of the Canadian government are Khalistan separatists or have links with them. In an official visit to India, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied that any of the four Sikh members of his cabinet is a separatist, but at the same time insisted that pro-independence views among members of the Sikh Canadian community are legitimate. Some 470,000 Sikhs live in the North American country.

In the United States in December 2018, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said: “We have freedom of speech in the United States, we have freedom of association and these are bedrock principles of American society.” The UK government has sent a formal Verbal Note to New Delhi after India repeatedly raised concerns over the Referendum 2020 event to be held in London on August 12 by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).