Catalonia/Spain (November 03, 2012): According to media reports Catalonia’s gathering drive to seek independence from Spain. As per Express New Service (ENS) report November 25, 2012 regional elections could become an unofficial referendum on independence, 1.5 million residents, out of a total population of 7.5 million, will not be eligible to vote because they are not Spanish citizens.
As per reports Sikhs are among the immigrants who express some empathy for the independence movement, drawing a parallel with what they say are their own struggles at home.
An estimated 13,000 of the 21,000 Sikhs who have moved to Spain since 2000, mostly from Punjab, have settled in Catalonia. Gagandeep Singh Khalsa, who is fluent in Spanish but prefers to speak Catalan, acts as an interpreter for his fellow Sikhs. “I feel in harmony with the people here because we have been facing the same problems with India over Punjab,” he said.