With blisters on their feet, members of the Sikh community’s Jakara Movement and other supporters continued a long march forward Monday morning through Stockton.
They started 20 days ago from Bakersfield, having walked more than 200 miles since they started, to highlight the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh genocide in India, as well as to garner support for state and federal legislation to recognize the genocide and to prevent foreign oppression of American citizens.
The group made its way through Stockton to the Sikh temple in Lodi, with the ultimate goal of marching up the steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento by Nov. 1.
Stocktonians and local organizers joined the group Monday morning, slowly gathering at the Stockton Gurdwara Sikh Temple around 9 a.m. to continue the Fearless for Justice March from south Stockton to Lodi. The group began making its way along Sikh Temple Road near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard just before 11:30 a.m.
The group is traveling along Highway 99, the same route made famous by Mexican farmworkers led by Cesar Chavez in 1966. They will be stopping at homes and temples along the way to Sacramento.
Jaspreet Kaur, 31, a regional organizer for the Sikh community, says the march is about bringing people together to remember their history and advocate for federal recognition of the 1984 genocide.
“It was a massacre,” Kaur said. “It has been 40 years since then, and there are families that have not been able to get justice.”
In November 1984, more than 30,000 Sikh people were killed in a three-day period of violence in India following the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards after military action called Operation Blue Star was carried out on a holy site five months earlier.
Operation Blue Star was carried out by the Indian government at the orders of Gandhi to oust Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Punjab who were calling for an independent Sikh state.
Organizers and participants of the march are calling on members of Congress to pass a resolution to recognize the genocide, introduced Oct. 25 by California Congressman David G. Valadao.
They also are pushing for the adoption of the Transnational Repression Reporting Act of 2024, which would document cases of transnational repression against American citizens. Kaur says it is important that both bills pass to protect Americans from foreign repression in light of the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar by three Indian men last year in Canada.
“We have the freedom of speech, and that is what makes this country beautiful. … How come we are unable to talk about what happened to our people?” Kaur said. “How come we are unable to talk about our own history and everything we went through without getting threats from outside governments?”
Sacramento is the final destination of the 350-mile march, which began Oct. 9 in Bakersfield. Deep Singh, 42, executive director of the Jakara Movement, a Sikh grassroots organization who is in charge of logistics for the march, said the route took months of planning.
Singh was one of a few people who has been in attendance since the group left Bakersfield. He remains in what he describes as eternal optimism, saying community support for the march is noticeable at every step.
“Every day we are finding new people to join us and march. Some of our other community partners have been welcoming,” Singh said.
According to Singh, local Californian Gurdwaras — Sikh places of worship — have been helping along the way, providing food and shelter to anyone participating, no matter the length of time.
Little Manila Rising, an organization based in south Stockton, was present at the march in solidarity with the Sikh community. Dillon Delvo, executive director of the organization, said it is important for marginalized groups to support each other.
“The Jakara Movement reached out to us because, like the Sikh people, in the Philippines, there are people that have been persecuted by the Philippine government,” Delvo told Stocktonia. “We are showing up in solidarity. We see the same things happening in the Filipino community in the Philippines.”
Around 40 people began their march in the Stockton Gurdwara around 11 a.m. following the sidewalks of south Stockton until they reached Airport Road, which took them to the Lodi Gurdwara.
Along the way, Stockton citizens honked their horns in solidarity with the marchers, who carried a yellow flag at the lead while others carried signs about the 1984 genocide.
Vans operated by the local Sikh community were following the marchers at a distance, periodically stopping to provide water, snacks and transportation back to the Gurdwara in Stockton if requested.
The journey to Lodi was expected to take four to five hours, with periodic breaks along the route.
Singh says that the number of people participating depends on the day, with a higher turnout on weekends. The number of marchers also changes throughout the day, with people dropping in and out along the route.
Several marchers had blisters on their feet from many days of walking in sandals along the California roads. During the first break from Stockton to Lodi, organizers passed out blister tape to those with fresh wounds.