British Columbia's Sikh independence vote comes as Canada-India tensions rise.

Thousands of Sikh voters are expected to turn out in Metro Vancouver's Surrey town hall today to vote in an unofficial referendum at the center of Canada's ongoing tensions with India.

Organizers say the referendum on Khalistan - an independent state in India proposed by some Sikhs - will be held at the same Suri Gurdwara where Hardeep Singh Najjar was shot dead in June.

Today's vote is the second round of the referendum in British Columbia, after organizers said the first one on Sept. 10 was so popular that voting could not be completed in one day.
   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons on September 18 that there were "credible allegations" potentially linking the Indian government to Najjar's murder.


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