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  • What is a Referendum?

    • Referendum is the process of direct balloting to get the decision of a community on a straightforward political question or proposition requiring to be answered as YES or NO. While the Referendums could be held on constitutional or legislative questions, the most commonly known use of Referendums is to determine and resolve the territorial and sovereignty issues over a geographical region. Through referendums several nations have achieved independence. Most recently, South Sudan was created as an independent country through referendum. Scotland and Quebec both have held referenda on the question of independence from the UK and Canada, respectively.

  • What is Punjab Independence Referendum a.k.a Khalistan Referendum?

    • Punjab Independence or Khalistan Referendum is a campaign to liberate Punjab, currently occupied by India.

      Through voting among the global Sikh community and the people living in Indian Punjab on the question "Should Indian Governed Punjab Be An Independent Country?", the campaign aims to ascertain the will of the Sikhs living anywhere and Punjabis living in Indian Punjab people with regards to secession of Punjab from India and to establish an independent country. The referendum will advance the consensus among the indigenous people of Punjab on the question of sovereignty and the results of the Referendum will be presented to the United Nations seeking a UN supervised official referendum for the independence of Indian held Punjab.


  • What is the objective of the Punjab referendum campaign?

    • The objective of the Punjab/Khalistan Referendum campaign is to give the indigenous people of Indian held Punjab an opportunity to vote on the future and continued association of Punjab with the Union of India. Once an overwhelming majority of the Punjabi people express the wish through ballot for independence from India, United Nations and other international forums will be approached with the goal to hold an official and binding referendum for establishment of Indian Punjab as a sovereign nation state.


  • What is the difference between the Punjab referendum and an official referendum?

    • An official referendum has an outcome that is legally binding on all parties involved. In Sudan, the United Nations administered a referendum on the question of establishing South Sudan as an independent sovereign country in which an overwhelming majority of voters opted for independence and hence that mandate of the people was accepted by both the parties, and implemented by the United Nations. However, Punjab Referendum is an unofficial referendum where the outcome is not legally binding . Yet with an overwhelming YES vote this unofficial referendum will start the process which will pave the way for conducting an official and binding referendum in Indian held Punjab thereby achieving independence through democratic, peaceful and non violent means.


  • How is an official referendum that creates an independent country conducted?

    • The official referendums that grant independence and create separate countries are
      conducted by:
      a) The state or Union currently governing a territory agrees to hold a vote on the question of secession and independence. Canada and UK agreed and held the referenda giving the people of Quebec and Scotland the right to vote on the question of independence; OR
      b) UN intervenes and negotiates an agreement between a nation demanding
      independence and the country occupying its territory, to let the people of the land
      vote on the question of independence.


  • What is the law regarding official referendums and peoples right to self-
    determination?

    • Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations grants the right to self-determination to all peoples. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and The International Covenant on Economic and Cultural Rights also guarantees the right to self-determination for all peoples. Under UN laws, nations with a separate religion or language have the right to self-determination and can seek a referendum to gain independence from the country occupying their territory. India has signed and ratified all the UN laws that guarantee the right to self-determination to the people on the basis of separate religion and language.

      Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Article 21(3), provides that the will of the people expressed through votes polled in secret and adult franchise, shall be the sole basis of the authority of government. Hence, all people have the fundamental and inalienable right to determine whether they wish to continue their lands and lives governed by the same Union or they wish to sever their ties from the Union and establish an independent country.

      In light of Article 1 of the UN Charter & ICCPR and Article 21(3) of UDHR, Khalistan Referendum is a completely lawful and democratic campaign.



  • Who is conducting and supervising the voting in Khalistan Referendum?

    • Khalistan Referendum is the initiative of advocacy group "Sikhs For Justice" (SFJ). The voting is being conducted under the supervision of a nonaligned panel of experts on direct democracy - the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC) PRC's mandate is to supervise and monitor the Referendum Question, voter eligibility, registration, balloting, tabulation and counting to ensure the compliance with international standards.


  • When and Where the Voting For Khalistan Referendum Will Take Place?

    • The voting for Khalistan Referendum started on October 31, 2021 from London, United Kingdom and has so far taken place in Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Canada.

      Outside India:
      The voting outside India will be held in all the countries/cities with significant Sikh population.

      Inside India:
      In India, the voting will be held in the State of Indian Punjab.
      In India, the voting will also be held in other cities/districts/areas of India outside Punjab with a significant Sikh population.


  • Who is eligible to Vote in Punjab Independence/Khalistan Referendum.

    • For Voters Living In Indian Held Punjab:
      - Must be 18 Years or older on the day of voting
      - Must be indigenous Punjabi of any faith or religion living in Indian Held Punjab.

      For voters living outside Indian Punjab (Overseas or Other States/Areas of India), the eligibility is:
      - Must be 18 Years or older
      - Must be a Sikh
      NOTE: For voting outside Indian held Punjab, only SIKHS are eligible to vote. For voting inside Punjab, indigenous people of all faiths and religions living in Punjab are eligible to vote.

Who Says What

U.S Declaration of Independence July 04, 1776

 - When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

 --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. 

-- Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. 

-- But when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Date : July 04, 1776

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Article 3 - UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People.

Indigenous peoples have the right to self determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political  status and freely pursue their Economic, Social and Cultural Development. Date 13.10.2007

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FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MARGARET THATCHER 1997.

I'm standing up for the right of self-determination. I'm standing up for our territory. I'm standing up for our people. I'm standing up for international law. I'm standing up for all those territories - those small territories and peoples the world over - who, if someone doesn't stand up and say to an invader 'enough, stop', would be at risk.  DATE:  1.10.1997

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Human Rights Lawyer and Former U.N. Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.

“In its essence, the right of self-determination means that individuals and peoples should be in control of their destinies and should be able to live out their identities, whether within the boundaries of existing States or through independence." Date: 10.11.2014

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Former President of France (1995-2007)

"I am logically in favour of a referendum. It would be the only legitimate way. " — Jacques Chirac, Date: June 22, 2003

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Actor

“The wish of the people, the society, to decide about its future and to vote is fundamental. If a majority says yes, it must be assumed.” - 15.02.17

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Two time Latvian president

“It’s the human point of view of the identity of people and how they identify with a nation state. If at some point they feel that the central government does not represent their interests and that they have an identity that they want to defend, according to the principle of self-determination, one should allow for a referendum because a referendum is an expression of people’s choice and people’s opinion.” - 23.02.14

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Polish priest and theologian. Assistant secretary of the International Theological Commission of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican

“There is a fundamental principle for the social doctrine of the Church, which is the right of self determination. It is therefore inadmissible in the name of the Church to qualify as immoral those who defend a nation’s rights or identity.” - 08.09.15

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FC Barcelona football player and team captain

“We absolutely have the right to vote. We must vote, the people must express themselves and I am in favour of the consultation, of course.” - 17.09.14

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Prime Minister of Japan

“We shall respect the right of self-determination of all peoples throughout the world.” - 14.08.15

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US President

“We believe that right makes might – that bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones; that people should be able to choose their own future. These are simple truths, but they must be defended.” - 24.09.14

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Barack Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speech writing

“Sometimes autonomy works, sometimes peoples end up being independent states, sometimes there are unions, and so I think as a general matter we support there being a process of reviewing these issues in each country, but ultimately each country, each set of peoples, is going to make their own determinations.” - 31.01.14

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Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Deputy Leader of the SNP

“Every country has the right to self-determination. (…) The agreement between the governments in London and Edinburgh to authorize an independence referendum in Scotland is a model for how these issues can be solved in other countries too.” - 13.02.14

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