Posted on 10/19/2010 8:03:30 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
NEW DELHI: US President Barack Obama will not visit Amritsar during his stay in India next month. While there was no official confirmation from the government, sources said the proposal to visit Amritsar had been dropped owing to reservations of US officials over the kind of scarf Obama would have to wear to visit the Golden Temple.
The decision was yet to be communicated to the government till late on Tuesday. However, sources said Obama, who will arrive in Mumbai on November 6, will directly come to Delhi now after a day's stay in the country's commercial capital. Earlier, he was to fly to Amritsar from Mumbai for a brief visit to the Golden Temple.
Sources said a team of US officials, which visited Amritsar last month, had expressed concern that Obama wearing the traditional headscarf might lead to "misinterpretation" that he is a Muslim. The US is wary of giving any such impression.
He is a Muslim!
Buckwheat cakes I presume.
I saw that after I hit "enter". I wish there was a way to edit things after posting; I'd have used it a hundred times by now. :)
What Temples are still on the President’s schedule, please?
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
The secret service wouldn’t let him go because all of the sikhs must carry a kirpan - a dagger for defense. Sometimes its in the turban.
Not to mention, the violence in the 80s was from Pakistan-trained Khalistanis who, contrary to the origins of Sikhism, were pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu.
Is the real reason the fact that as a muslim he can’t wear the headgear of a Sikh? Is that forbidden in Islam? Will he ask that the Sikhs God name or images be covered? Does Islam forbid him from entering a non muzzie place of worship?
Rush said Baraq should wear a yarmulke, that would satisfy the headgear possibility and DEFINITELY show he’s not Muzzie, LOL
Me too. :)
Actually I find it puzzling why they even agree to this jaunt in the first place.
He could’ve gone to a Hindu temple without covering his head, simply taking his shoes off as is the custom, much as Bush did when he went to the DC mosque right after 911 and stood with the CAIR guys.
And all he has to do is buy a handkerchief, sold outside by vendors, but knotting that on his head may have given him a Monty Pythonesque Gumby look.
Anyway, even in India, his star is way, way down, as the almost universal euphoria over his election has worn off, and the arms provided to Pakistan have jarred the military.
Well, the Pakistan funded Khalistan movement is gone.
It took General Gill, himself a Sikh, to go decisively and hard after it. He also maintains a website call SATP.org (South Asia Terror Portal).
But a funny anecdote; one of the seeds of grievance was laid back in the 1960’s in the UK. Sikh immigrants sought help from the Indian government for redress of their grievances against the UK.
The Indian government, quite sensibly, told them, you have left India to go there, you deal with those issues yourself, the Indian government has enough on its hands without getting into being an advocate for you.
Then of course, in the 80’s, Pakistan and the ISI used the tsunami of funds coming in from America and Saudi Arabia to finance, train and nurture the Terror that overtook the Punjab in the 80’s.
However, despite all the carnage in Punjab, agricultual production never dropped, and the majority of Sikhs refrained from joining the Khalistanis.
That’s interesting — do you have information on that UK incident and why that triggered off the terrorist activity?
INdians never supported Obama — though they were hesitant about McCain, the fact that Obama visited Pakistan and was/is a closet moslem gave them a good wake-up call. I hope he gets very little publicity in India so that all the news is about how the Democrats get thrashed in the elections
It was a series of events in the mid to late 60’s and early 70’sin the UK over a period of a few years.
It concerned issues like discrimination in hiring, housing, dress codes and other cultural and social issues.
Wasn’t a rational reaction, after all, why would the Indian govt spend political capital watching out for emigres in their new country.
I do not recall where I read it, unfortunately. In an article on rediff/outlook/tehelka magazine site.
It wasn’t a primary cause, but did engender feelings of hostility in the Sikh diaspora in the UK and laid the groundwork as the Khalistani movement took off, fueled in part by money from Sikh immigrants in California who had moved there in the early part of the 20th century after migrating to Canada from India.
Well, the IndoAms in America were as infatuated as any other of their peers in suburban America.
In India, there was more skepticism but among the 20-30’s
demographic, a lot of adulation.
Although the cold water of Obama’s largesse to Pakistan rankles, Indians are more concerned with economic progress and do not view Obama’s Pakistan policy as that different from that of other Presidents for the past six decades.
However, he will get wall to wall 24/7 coverage from the plethora of news and entertainment channels. It’s a huge deal, a visiting US President.
From what I've seen, apparently something sleeveless and ill-fitting.
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