Khalistan Referendum rounds in 2024 and 2025

Who: Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), with Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and co-founder Bakhshish Singh Sandhu; the Punjab Referendum Commission, which announces its figures; host cities and governments; and India's Ministry of External Affairs.

What: The rounds of these two years were:

• 28 January 2024, San Francisco: Thousands queued at Civic Center Plaza, The San Francisco Standard reported. The commission announced that 127,000 voted and about 30,000 more were left in line when time ran out. A follow-up vote was set for Sacramento on 31 March.
• 28 July 2024, Calgary: At Municipal Plaza, SFJ claimed more than 55,000 voters. Mayor Jyoti Gondek said council could not stop it, adding that the public may gather at the plaza at any time. India's foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, asked Canada to act against "anti-India elements".
• 17 November 2024, Auckland: At Aotea Square, "thousands" voted, RNZ reported. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had raised the vote with New Zealand's Winston Peters on 6 November. New Zealand police said they recognised the right to protest, and hundreds gathered at the Indian High Commission in Wellington in support of India's territorial integrity. Pannun announced the next vote for Los Angeles on 23 March 2025.
• 23 November 2025, Ottawa: SFJ claimed more than 53,000 voters at the McNabb Community Centre, in freezing weather, with queues of nearly two kilometres. It tied the day to Prime Minister Mark Carney's trade meetings with Narendra Modi at the G20 and said voters it asked were overwhelmingly against engagement without accountability for Nijjar's killing.

Where: San Francisco, Calgary, Auckland and Ottawa, with Sacramento and Los Angeles announced as follow-ups.

Why it mattered: After Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing the rounds became a test of how far host governments would go. In each case local officials said they could not or would not prevent a peaceful assembly, while India complained at ministerial level. SFJ says it aims to gather the numbers and then seek a binding referendum run by the United Nations. For the next round see the 2026 Seattle vote.