CHANDIGARH: US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Sunday paid obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar as part of a high-level 28-member American delegation comprising prominent US senators, senior government officials and foreign policy scholars.
During Gor's visit to the Sikh shrine, senior representatives of Sikh religious bodies welcomed the envoy. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami, along with senior SGPC officials, welcomed Gor and the delegation according to Sikh traditions.
Dhami and Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj also met Gor and held discussions on various issues concerning the Sikh community.
The visit marked Gor's second trip to the Golden Temple. He last visited Amritsar nearly 15 years ago.
"Honored to return to this very special place I visited for the first time 15 years ago. Thrilled to be back," Gor wrote in the visitors' book at the Golden Temple.
Dhami said Gor fondly recalled memories of his previous visit to the holy city and expressed appreciation for the spiritual significance of the shrine.
After visiting the Golden Temple, the delegation visited the Partition Museum housed in the historic Town Hall. The group was also scheduled to visit Jallianwala Bagh but did not go there, according to sources.
Gor's visit also saw a brief demonstration outside the Golden Temple complex. Acting president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Emaan Singh Mann, along with party workers, gathered outside the shrine's main entrance and raised slogans of "Khalistan Zindabad" and "God Bless America". State police and security personnel subsequently managed the crowd.
The district administration and police had heightened security measures and implemented traffic diversions across the city to facilitate the delegation's movement between the historic landmarks.
The day-long outreach programme is part of Gor's broader engagement across India and comes amid Washington's efforts to strengthen ties beyond New Delhi. Punjab has particular relevance in this context because of its longstanding social, cultural and family links with the United States through its large diaspora in North America.
While the visit was primarily religious and cultural, its timing has drawn attention in Punjab, where issues concerning religion, border tensions, India-Pakistan relations and the Sikh diaspora remain politically sensitive.
For Gor, however, the Amritsar visit is part of his wider travel across India. In August, he visited Srinagar and Ladakh, becoming the first US ambassador to visit Jammu and Kashmir in more than six years. During his Srinagar visit, Gor described Jammu and Kashmir as "an important part of India", a remark that prompted a diplomatic response from Pakistan.
