Sikh Heritage Celebrated at Stockton Nagar Kirtan as Punjabi Gang Founder Faces Sentencing
Stockton's South Asian community is in the news on two distinct fronts this season. At the historic Gurdwara Sahib Stockton, tens of thousands are expected to gather for the annual Nagar Kirtan parade, a celebration of Sikh heritage that has defined the city's identity for generations. Separately, a federal case involving the founder of the Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club is moving toward sentencing following a guilty plea on firearms charges earlier this year.
🎉 Stockton Sikh Temple Hosts 27th Annual Nagar Kirtan Parade
The Stockton Sikh Temple is hosting its 27th annual Nagar Kirtan parade — also known as the Sikh Parade and Festival — on Sunday, April 19, at the historic Gurdwara Sahib Stockton, located at 1930 Sikh Temple Street. The event, which commemorates Vaisakhi, is one of the largest and most celebrated Sikh gatherings in California, drawing more than 19,000 attendees each year to observe and take part in the festivities. Admission to the parade is free and open to all.
Nagar Kirtan, which translates roughly as a procession through the neighborhood, is a deeply rooted Sikh tradition in which the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scripture, is carried through the streets in a procession accompanied by devotional music, prayer, and acts of community service and generosity. For Stockton's Sikh community, it is an annual moment to honor a legacy that stretches back well over a century. The Gurdwara Sahib Stockton is one of the oldest Sikh temples in the United States, founded in the early twentieth century when Punjabi laborers first settled in California's Central Valley and established one of the country's first and most enduring South Asian communities.
Vaisakhi, the spring harvest festival that Nagar Kirtan commemorates, carries both agricultural and religious significance in Punjabi culture. It marks the Sikh New Year and honors the founding of the Khalsa in 1699. For Stockton's large Punjabi-American population, the parade is an annual affirmation of that heritage, and the event has grown steadily over the decades into one of the most significant Sikh public celebrations in the western United States. [1]
Punjabi Devils Founder Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms Charges in Stockton
The 27-year-old founder of the Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club in Stockton has pleaded guilty to federal firearms charges, according to documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California. Jashanpreet Singh, a Lodi resident whom federal prosecutors describe as the leader of a regional outlaw motorcycle gang with ties to the Hells Angels, faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 11, 2026.
Court documents state that Singh attempted to sell illegal weapons to an undercover federal officer. After a court appearance, he fled, and was subsequently arrested at San Francisco International Airport while attempting to board a flight to India. His guilty plea brings to resolution a federal case that has drawn attention to organized criminal activity linked to the broader Punjabi-American community in the Central Valley.
Federal prosecutors have described the Punjabi Devils as a regional criminal enterprise that crossed lines between motorcycle club culture and more serious illegal activity. The case is one of several in recent years in which law enforcement has brought charges against organized groups with ties to the Punjabi diaspora in and around Stockton and nearby communities. Singh's upcoming sentencing is expected to draw close attention from both the legal community and local residents.
The case does not reflect on the wider Sikh and Punjabi community in Stockton, which has deep and lawful roots in the region, and whose most prominent public expression remains the annual Nagar Kirtan parade — a gathering that draws tens of thousands and stands as a testament to the community's enduring positive presence in California's Central Valley. [3]
Sources: [1] The Stockton Record · [3] The Desert Sun