With a saffron-coloured cloth covering his head, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday offered prayers at the Golden Temple here, where he was presented with a traditional robe of honour.
In a white kurta-pyjama, the visiting premier prayed at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple during an almost hour-long visit to the shrine.
Trudeau was accompanied by his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and two of his three children, who were also clad in traditional Punjabi outfits.
The prime minister and his family also tried rolling out rotis at the Guru Ram Das Jee Langar hall, where devotees do voluntary kitchen work for feeding visitors.
Sri Harmandir Sahib, known as the Golden Temple. Sacred to Sikhs and open to everyone. I don’t think I will ever forget this. Our cabinet ministers, MPs, Sophie and I were profoundly honoured by the welcome & hospitality today. pic.twitter.com/Yp5qNfUfDE
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2018
They greeted devotees with folded hands while scores of visitors could be seen holding up their mobile phones to take pictures and videos of the Trudeaus.
Punjab police officials and SGPC task force 'sewadars' (volunteers) formed a security ring around the dignitaries. Canadian security officials were also part of their security cover.
Trudeau, along with a delegation of his ministers and MPs, reached the Golden Temple straight from the Amritsar international airport at around 11:55 am.
A red-coloured carpet was laid out for the dignitaries by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee at the Golden temple complex.
Trudeau and his family took a round or 'parikarma' of the Temple.
The prime minister and his family were given a 'siropa' (robe of honour) inside the shrine.
Among those accompanying the Canadian PM was his defence minister Harjit Sajjan.
Union minister of state (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Punjab Cultural Affairs and Tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also accompanied the Canadian PM at the Golden Temple.
Sikhs constitute a large segment of people of Indian origin settled in Canada.
Later, Trudeau also visited the Partition Museum in the city.
Visuals of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family in Golden Temple in #Amritsar, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/h09ne52urN
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2018
Puri and Sidhu had received the Canadian prime minister and his delegation at the Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport at around 10.40 am.
Amritsar Commissioner of Police S S Srivastva and Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha were also present at the airport, officials said.
Shiromani Akali Dal Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Gobind Singh Longowal welcomed the visiting PM at the Golden Temple.
Visuals of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family in Golden Temple in #Amritsar, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/h09ne52urN
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2018
Tight security arrangements have been put into effect by the Punjab police in Amritsar with over 1,500 police personnel deployed in the holy city for the visit. Senior police officials including SSPs and DIGs, besides a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team, have also been deployed.
The Canadian PM is on a week-long visit to India. Trudeau is accompanied by wife and three children -- Ella-Grace, Xavier and Hadrien.
His visit to Punjab had triggered a controversy over reported links between key members of his cabinet and Sikh separatists. Speculation on whether he would meet Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh was put to rest when it was announced that the two would hold a meeting.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Both leaders discussed the strong bond that exists between the two places, largely due to an influential Punjabi community settled in the western nation.
Besides the Trudeau-Amarinder meeting, which remained uncertain till Monday evening, the other highlight was the chief minister meeting Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, who was born in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district and is the first Sikh to handle the defence portfolio of a western country.
‘Cold-shouldered’ in Delhi, Trudeau lauds reception at Golden Temple, reports @IamsurjitSingh https://t.co/Byofvc0yz9 pic.twitter.com/eMeC8VwQ9B
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) February 21, 2018
TRUDEAU VISITS PARTITION MUSEUM AT AMRITSAR, SAYS 'POIGNANT REMINDER THAT DIVIDING PEOPLE IS NEVER THE ANSWER'
The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, visited the world’s first Partition Museum at Town Hall, here on Wednesday, along with five Cabinet Ministers and 15 Members of Parliament.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Ministers Harjit Sajjan, Navdeep Bains, Bardish Chagger, Kirsty Duncan, and Amarjeet Sohi. The Prime Minister was escorted by Mallika Ahluwalia, the CEO and Curator of the Partition Museum; Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State; Navjot Singh Sidhu, Minister of Local Government, Culture and Tourism; Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Member of Parliament, Amritsar and Karamjit Singh Rintu, Mayor of Amritsar.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ms. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. pic.twitter.com/3KXsnbRpTv
— CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) February 21, 2018
The Prime Minister spent about 25 minutes in the Partition Museum. He spent time in the Gallery of Migration hearing the stories and looking at the various objects carried by people as they fled their homes and moved across the newly drawn borders.
He also paused at the well installation in the Gallery of Divisions, dedicated to the women who were lost at the time of Partition. He spent the maximum time in the Gallery of Hope, which focuses on love and reconciliation. He left a note on the Tree of Hope writing that the Museum is “a poignant reminder that dividing people is never the answer; we must learn to live together and love our differences”.
Mallika Ahluwalia, CEO and Curator, Partition Museum, said, “We are very grateful to Prime Minister Trudeau for visiting the Partition Museum. As Canada has a vibrant Punjabi community, the Museum is very keen to record and include the stories of Punjabis settled there.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits the @PartitionMuseum in Amritsar, India. pic.twitter.com/buodU08l84
— CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) February 21, 2018
Prime Minister Trudeau also shared his thoughts on the Partition Museum saying “to think of the lives torn apart, the violence and loss…We need to remember that it’s always easy to divide people. It’s much more difficult but it’s the only path to bring people together in love and understanding. We have to be ever vigilant that that is what we are putting into the world and that is the way we are building our future”.
The Canadian Prime Minister is on an eight-day visit to India. Earlier in the day, he paid obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The Partition Museum is the world’s first Museum dedicated to the Partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947. The Museum is dedicated to all those millions impacted in the largest migration in human history and is a space of reconciliation.
The museum uses multimedia exhibits, including oral histories, archival footage, historical newspapers, official files, as well as personal documents and objects carried by individuals and families who lived through the Partition to tell the story. It also aims to become a comprehensive archive on the Partition. The museum opened with a curtain raiser exhibition in October 2016 and opened all its galleries to the public on August 17, 2017.
The Partition Museum is located in Town Hall, Amritsar, a short walk from the Golden Temple.
