Stockton Sikh Parade Marks 27th Year as Punjabi Devils Founder Pleads Guilty
Stockton’s Desi community marked contrasting headlines this spring: Gurdwara Sahib Stockton hosted its 27th annual Nagar Kirtan parade on April 19, drawing more than 19,000 people to a celebration of Sikh heritage with roots stretching back over a century, while across town a federal case against the founder of the Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club moved toward resolution with a guilty plea to illegal weapons charges. Local nonprofit newsroom Stocktonia also explored why thousands of attendees keep returning to the Sikh festival year after year, finding that faith and courage remain the enduring answers.
🎉 27th Nagar Kirtan Parade Celebrates Vaisakhi on April 19
The Stockton Sikh Temple’s 27th annual Nagar Kirtan parade, also known as the Sikh Parade and Festival, took place on Sunday, April 19, at the historic Gurdwara Sahib Stockton, located at 1930 Sikh Temple St. According to The Stockton Record, more than 19,000 people attend the event each year to observe and celebrate Vaisakhi, the Sikh new year marking the founding of the Khalsa in 1699. Admission to the parade was free and open to all attendees. The Gurdwara Sahib Stockton is recognized as a historic landmark with a particularly deep place in Sikh-American history: Punjabi immigrants came to California’s Central Valley as agricultural laborers more than a century ago and established one of the first Sikh institutions on American soil. The Nagar Kirtan — literally “city hymn singing” — is a traditional procession in which a decorated palanquin carrying the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scripture, is carried through public streets while devotees sing kirtan and communities gather regardless of background. For Stockton, which has been home to one of the oldest Punjabi Sikh settlements in North America, the parade serves as both a religious observance and an annual affirmation of that long community presence. The Record noted that previous years’ parades have been documented in photo galleries drawing widespread interest, reflecting the event’s status as one of California’s most distinctive annual multicultural gatherings. [1]
Punjabi Devils MC Founder Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms Charges
The 27-year-old founder of the Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club in Stockton pleaded guilty in February 2026 to federal firearms charges, according to The Desert Sun. Jashanpreet Singh, a Lodi resident, is described by federal authorities as the leader of a regional outlaw motorcycle gang with ties to the Hells Angels. Prosecutors alleged that Singh attempted to sell illegal weapons to an undercover law enforcement officer, then fled after a court appearance. He was subsequently arrested at San Francisco International Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to India. Singh now faces up to 15 years in federal prison when he is sentenced. The Punjabi Devils had previously drawn law enforcement scrutiny; Singh was indicted in August 2025 in connection with the club’s activities, and the federal weapons case represents the culmination of that investigation. The guilty plea, entered on Monday, February 3, 2026, and reported by USA TODAY NETWORK journalist James Ward, marks a significant development in a case that prosecutors say involved both illegal weapons trafficking and an attempted flight from U.S. jurisdiction. The case has drawn attention to the intersection of outlaw motorcycle culture and Stockton’s Punjabi community, a community otherwise defined by deep religious traditions centered on Gurdwara Sahib Stockton and a multi-generational agricultural heritage in the Central Valley. [2]
🪔 Faith and Courage Bring Thousands Back to Sikh Festival Year After Year
Stocktonia, Greater Stockton’s independent nonprofit newsroom, published a follow-up to the April 19 Nagar Kirtan the next day, asking what draws thousands of attendees back to the Sikh festival year after year. The answer, according to those the newsroom spoke with, comes down to two themes: faith and courage. The festival at Gurdwara Sahib Stockton represents far more than a single afternoon’s celebration for the South Asian Sikh diaspora that built it. The Gurdwara itself stands on ground that early Punjabi immigrants chose over a century ago, and the annual Nagar Kirtan procession is a living affirmation of that founding act. For families who have attended for multiple generations, the event functions as both a religious observance and a community anchor — a moment in the calendar when Stockton’s Sikh identity becomes publicly and joyfully visible. Stocktonia’s coverage, published on April 20, frames the recurring attendance not as habit or custom alone but as an active and meaningful choice rooted in commitment to the tradition that the first wave of Punjabi immigrants to the Central Valley established when they arrived with very little. The festival’s free and open character ensures that the celebration remains accessible to newcomers and the broader public alike, reinforcing its role as one of the region’s most inclusive annual events. [4]
Sources: [1] The Stockton Record · [2] The Desert Sun · [4] Stocktonia