Published on, Aug. 18 -- August 18, 2025 5:59 AM

The global Sikh community, a diaspora long scattered but now unified in a shared purpose, is leveraging the ballot box as its primary instrument of defiance against what it perceives as New Delhi's authoritarian overreach. As the next phase of the Khalistan Referendum unfolds in Washington, D.C., it is becoming increasingly clear that the Indian government's attempts to silence this movement are not only failing but are also inadvertently exposing a troubling slide towards illiberalism on the world stage.

This unfolding drama is a profound study in the limits of state power in an interconnected world. New Delhi's aggressive playbook, as documented across multiple continents, betrays a pro...