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President Obama to bypass Sikh holiest site once again

January 23, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On his state visit to India this week, President Barack Obama is not scheduled to make a visit to Harmandir Sahib (aka the Golden Temple), barring any unexpected developments. As he partakes in India’s Republic Day festivities in India’s capital, his itinerary seems to be focused on solidifying the business/political relationship between the US and India. As reported in the Washington Post: Officials said Obama and Modi are expected to conduct talks around the business climate, trade, climate change, Afghanistan and terrorism. […]

Categories: Events, Politics • Tags: Ami Bera, Amritsar, Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Joe Crowley

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill lay a wreath at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on July 23. Gandhi's granddaughter, Tara Gandhi, is at right. (Source: Deccan Chronicle)

The Veep visits India

July 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As Vice President Joe Biden visits India this week, I was reminded of President Barack Obama’s visit to India in late 2010, in which he avoided visiting the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, Punjab, a site which reportedly draws up to a hundred thousand of visitors per day, not including Presidents of the United States. For a well-known location which has such appeal to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike and to residents of and visitors to India, it was noteworthy that […]

Categories: 1984, Politics • Tags: 1984, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Amritsar, anti-Sikh pogroms, Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, drug trade, drugs, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Joe Biden, Mahatma Gandhi, November 1984, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, Vice President of the United States

A graphic by the National Sikh Youth Federation in the United Kingdom describes the initiating events during the Indian government's attack on Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in June 1984, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths. (Source: NSYF)

Remembering June, 1984

June 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The year 1984 is forever etched into the Sikh psyche after it was added to the long list of atrocities against the Sikh people by rulers of their land. During the first week of June of that year, the Indian Government launched “Operation Blue Star“, an attack on the center of the Sikh faith in Amritsar, India, and invasions of numerous other Gurdwaras (Sikh houses of worship) across Punjab and India, under the pretext of neutralizing militants that had taken […]

Categories: 1984 • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Gunisha Kaur, Guru Arjan, Guru Arjun, India, Indian Army, National Sikh Youth Federation, NSYF, Operation Blue Star, Punjab, Simran Jeet Singh

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A hitchhiker’s guide to Darbar Sahib

February 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For Sikhs around the world, Darbar Sahib, the center of the Sikh faith in Amritsar, India, is held in sacred esteem. Also known as Harmandir Sahib or as the Golden Temple, Sikhs around the world endeavor to visit this place constructed in the early 17th century by Guru Arjan. Such is the devotion of Sikhs to this place that in the 19th century, the Sikh king, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, gilded the upper walls of the structure in gold. After its […]

Categories: Interfaith, Sikhism • Tags: Adam Pervez, Angela Dollar, Captain Stephen Phillips, Carolyn O'Donnell, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, GT1588, Harmandir Sahib, Huffington Post, John Busteed Ireland, Wanderlust and Lipstick

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Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and the Golden Temple in Amritsar. (source: The Telegraph)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Honorable mentions

January 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For each of five days, I looked at what I considered as the Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The Oak Creek Massacre Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana Victories in employment equality The inspiring grace of Balpreet Kaur Sikh Americans celebrate a century All of these stories were significant in relation to Sikh Americans during the year. However, there were several events during 2012 that arguably could be considered among the top five stories (and, while the “top five” list […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, Democratic National Convention, Dr. Onkar Bindra, FlyRights, Golden Temple, Harpreet Singh Saini, Ishwar Singh, Jay Leno, Jusleen Kaur, Michelle Obama, Mitt Romney, Republican National Convention, Ricky Gill, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, White House

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Picture of the Day: Gurpurab of Guru Ram Das in Amritsar, India

October 10, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Yesterday, Sikhs around the world celebrated the birth anniversary of the fourth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Ram Das (1534-1581). Born in Lahore in present-day Pakistan, Guru Ram Das’ contributions to the Sikh faith are numerous, including founding the city of Ramdaspur, which would later be called Amritsar and become the site of Harmandir Sahib (aka the Golden Temple), constructed by the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan.

Categories: Picture of the Day • Tags: Amritsar, Golden Temple, Guru Arjan, Guru Ram Das, Harmandir Sahib, Lahore, Ramdaspur

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Picture of the Day: Houston, TX Sikhs give blood in memory of 1984

June 21, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Center of Gulf Coast Area in Houston, Texas holds an annual blood drive in June to commemorate the events of 1984 in India: “This blood drive has been going on for the last 10 to 15 years,” explained Harjit Singh Galhotra, the Secretary of the Sikh National Center, “to remember those who not only perished in the Indian Army’s attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984 but all the thousands who subsequently died in the […]

Categories: 1984, Picture of the Day • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Houston, Sikh Center of Gulf Coast Area, Texas

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Picture of the Day: The Wonder of Darbar Sahib

June 1, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The above photo of Darbar Sahib (Sikhism’s holiest shrine, also known as Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple) comes from photographer Ratul Upadhyay who describes this image thus: A Work of Art is not a living thing, that walks or runs. But the making of a life, that which gives you a reaction, certainly is. To some it is the wonder of man’s fingers, to some it is the wonder of the mind, to some it is the wonder of […]

Categories: 1984, Picture of the Day • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, National Sikh Youth Federation, NSYF, Operation Blue Star, Ratul Upadhyay, United Kingdom

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Picture of the Day: “Ever blessed by God be the women of Amritsar”

March 16, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The blog GT1588 provides us with the above photo taken in 1906 of pilgrims entering and leaving Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple): Although the viewpoint chosen by Ponting was a familiar one to photographers who came to the Golden Temple before him, no one in my opinion came as close as he did in capturing the mood that permeates that sacred space or the zestful energy of its devotees. The manner in which he captures the quiet rhythm of […]

Categories: Picture of the Day • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Harmandir Sahib, Sikh women

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Golden Temple

President Obama to bypass Sikh holiest site once again

The Veep visits India

Remembering June, 1984

A hitchhiker’s guide to Darbar Sahib

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Honorable mentions

Picture of the Day: Gurpurab of Guru Ram Das in Amritsar, India

Picture of the Day: Houston, TX Sikhs give blood in memory of 1984

Picture of the Day: The Wonder of Darbar Sahib

Picture of the Day: “Ever blessed by God be the women of Amritsar”