Visit a Delhi gurdwara, Sikh leader to Obama

NEW DELHI - With Barack Obama cancelling a trip to the Golden Temple, a Sikh leader here has urged the US president to visit at least a prominent gurdwara in the national capital.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna said in a letter to Obama: “We cordially invite you to visit Gurdwara Bangla Sahib or Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, adjacent to the President’s House and Parliament of India.

“If President Obama visits a gurdwara in Delhi, it will partially remove the disappointment among the Sikhs (following) the news of the cancellation of his visit to the Golden Temple,” Sarna told IANS.

Obama will arrive here Nov 7 from Mumbai and leave India two days later.

Obama was to originally visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikhdom’s holiest shrine, on Nov 7.

But the trip was reportedly scrapped on the advise of the White House security team which visited India last month. Some US officials have said the cancellation was due to a packed schedule.

Since Gurdwara Rakab Ganj was located just behind the Rashtrapati Bhawan in a VVIP zone, there would be no security concerns for the US president, Sarna said.

Sarna said a visit by Obama to a gurdwara would remove many “mistaken notions” about Sikhs.

Sarna’s letter said: “As the national and international media is centred in Delhi, your visit will help remove misconception about Sikh identity, which (has) led to unfortunate incidents in the aftermath of 9/11.”