Khalistan Referendum vote held in Melbourne, with clashes

Who: Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the US-based group banned in India, and Australian Sikhs who supported the vote, among them Gurbax Singh Bains of the Supreme Sikh Council of Australia; pro-India demonstrators carrying Indian flags; Victoria Police; India's Consul General in Melbourne, Dr Sushil Kumar; and the Australian government.

What: On Sunday 29 January 2023 SFJ held the Australian round of its non-binding Khalistan Referendum at Federation Square in central Melbourne. Voters answered yes or no to: "Should Indian-governed Punjab be an independent country?" A representative told SBS that people queued from 8.30 am and some left without voting when time ran out. Organisers spoke of a big turnout. Geo News later put it at over 50,000 without naming an independent source, and no official count has been published.

SBS reported two scuffles, one around 12.45 pm and a larger one around 4.30 pm, half an hour before voting closed. Victoria Police said officers separated the crowds and used OC (pepper) spray in the second. They arrested two men, aged 34 and 39, one for each incident, and gave each a penalty notice for riotous behaviour. Two men had minor injuries. Accounts of who started it differ. Bains said a few pro-India protesters broke away from a nearby group and came to the polling site with flags, which Khalistan supporters took as a challenge. A report carried by The Tribune from IANS said videos on Twitter appeared to show Khalistan supporters attacking Indians with sticks and damaging the Indian flag.

Where: Federation Square, Melbourne, Victoria.

Why it mattered: It was the first round in Australia and it turned a symbolic vote into a question of public order and diplomacy. Before the vote Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia respects the right to peaceful protest and supports non-violent expression of views. Community opinion was split: a petition to stop the referendum in Victoria had over 7,800 signatures, and two Melbourne Hindu temples had been defaced with anti-India graffiti on 12 and 16 January, which some blamed on Khalistan supporters while authorities had not verified who was responsible.

After the clash India's Consul General condemned the pro-Khalistan activity, and India asked Australia to bring those responsible to book. Of the later Sydney round in June 2023, for which organisers claimed 31,000 voters, Geo reported that Narendra Modi had urged Australia to stop it and that Australia replied it could not stop citizens exercising their legal and democratic rights.