Tensions rise within Indian diaspora at pro-Sikh vote at Federation Square

Police deployed pepper spray during a small scuffle between rival protesters in Melbourne on Sunday after thousands of Sikh Victorians voted in a non-binding referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state.

The brief fracas broke out at 4.30pm after a group of pro-India supporters waving national flags arrived at the voting site in Federation Square. Five people across the pro-India and pro-Sikh camps were pepper-sprayed and one man was handcuffed and led away by officers.

Police officers lead away a protester at Federation Square on Sunday.Credit:Penny Stephens

Sikhs for Justice, the US-based group spearheading the non-binding referendum, has proposed a new state called Khalistan, which would take in the Punjab regions of northern India and Pakistan, as well as parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

Those voting on Sunday were asked to answer yes or no to the referendum question, “Should Indian-governed Punjab be an independent country?”

Amritpal Kaur, who has lived in Melbourne for 15 years, said she wanted a Sikh homeland with “good prospects and good job opportunities”.

“We want our religion to be given the respect it deserves, the same as the other religions overall,” she said.

A police officer with a man who was pepper-sprayed at Federation Square.Credit:Penny Stephens

“There’s a lot of people who project [Khalistan] as a negative thing, but it’s not – we’re here for our freedoms and for our kids to have a better future.”

Tensions have risen within Australia’s large and growing Indian diaspora since the campaign among local secessionists intensified recently, and there have been a spate of graffiti attacks on Hindu temples in Melbourne over the past fortnight.

The Hindu Council of Australia condemned graffiti found on three Hindu temples across the city, including the ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple in Albert Park, which serves as the hub for Melbourne’s Bhakti Yoga Movement.

Temple management discovered last Monday that the front wall had graffiti saying “Hindustan Murdabad”, which can be translated as “Death to India”; and “Khalistan Zindabad”, or “Long live the Sikh homeland”.

Supporters of a sovereign state for a Sikh majority at Federation Square.Credit:Penny Stephens

“This cowardly act is unacceptable in the strong multicultural Australia where every religion is respected, and communities live in peace and harmony,” the council said in a statement.

Many Sikhs assembled on Sunday said their religion had not been respected in India since the country was partitioned in 1947, with Punjab being split between India and Pakistan.

Jaswinder Singh, from Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, said that if a Sikh independent state was declared, he and his family would return to India immediately and permanently.

“We want our own independence … we want our own land,” he said. “It will take a long time to get there, but it will happen.”

Singh said he didn’t believe relations between Hindus and Sikhs in Melbourne had worsened as a result of the referendum, and that those against a Sikh state had the right to their opinions.

Hundreds of people were still standing in the voting line as the 5pm deadline approached. Many tried to push into the voting-booth room when it became clear not everyone assembled would have time to vote.

Those locked out of the room joined in prayer, taking their shoes off in a show of respect.

Avtar Singh Pannu, co-ordinator of Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India, said the group aimed to use the voting results from Melbourne and around the world – with referendums already held in Canada, Switzerland and the UK – to pressure the UN into recognising a sovereign Sikh state.

Pannu said millions had already voted for the right for Sikhs to have self-determination in an independent state.

“I was born a slave, but I want to die an independent,” he said.

The 2021 census found there were about 210,000 Sikhs in Australia – up from 130,000 in 2016 – with almost half this cohort living in Victoria. The number of Hindus in Australia grew from 440,300 in 2016 to 684,000 in 2021.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Victoria Police were contacted for comment.

With Matthew Knott

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