Chandigarh: British Prime Minister David Cameron was a devout person, a politician regretting a historical tragedy and a business leader — all rolled into one within a space of four hours during his visit to Sikh holy city Amritsar on Wednesday.
Cameron became the first prime minister of Britain, the highest democratically elected leader of that country, to finally step into the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in the congested walled city of Amritsar. Cameron walked through the same narrow pathway, painted in pale saffron colour, to bow his head and pay homage to hundreds who were killed inside. However, Cameron, who placed a wreath and even took off his shoes at the memorial, did not offer any apology for the massacre.
Cameron also went around the holiest of Sikh temples, Harmandar Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, amid tight security.
Covering his head with a navy blue scarf, Cameron could be seen keenly observing and listening to the details about the temple from the octogenarian Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar and other officials.
Inside the sanctum sanctorum, Cameron bowed his head with folded hands and was presented a “Siropa”, a traditional, religious honour, by the shrine priests. He greeted people with a smile and folded hands and observed the all-gold shrine roof and walls inside.
Cameron also went inside the “Langar” (community kitchen) hall, where more than 100,000 people partake food in a single busy day, inside the Golden Temple complex and did symbolic kar sewa (voluntary work).
Acknowledging the visit of British prime minister to the Golden Temple, radical Sikh group Dal Khalsa said the visit “will put Sikhs on the world map, catching the attention of the world community and thereby creating more understanding of the Sikh community”.
Britain is home to thousands of immigrants, Sikhs and Punjabis, who have strong Punjab connections and his visit would certainly please them.
At the end of his visit to the Sikh holy city, Cameron went to the factory of the Lal Qila basmati rice brand, which is exported to Britain and other countries and is quite famous there.
