To The Golden Temple and Pakistan

Today we boarded the train for Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, which was founded in 1577. Our first event was to witness the colourful spectacle of the changing of the guard at the Indian Pakistan border. Each day this ritual is played out between the Indian and Pakistani border guards when the flags are lowered at sunset. Before we even got close to the border, there was a SWAT team checking our vehicles. The security was extremely tight because last month there was a bomb that went off killing over 100 people.  I was nervous as we passed by signs that read BEWARE OF ANTI-NATIONAL ELEMENTS, WARRIORS OF ATTARI, BSF SECOND TO NONE, DO NOT USE ANY FILTHY BODY LANGUAGE. The soldiers were well-armed and some were standing behind sandbag huts. You could feel the tension in the air and at one point, our guide got out and walked in front of our vehicles to get them in. Once out of the cars, we had to pass through three different personal body checks where the women had to enter an enclosed area and be searched...the men had a different line and were searched on the spot.

Once inside Doris' friend and several of her group met us and showed us the memorial that they had built in honour of the people who had been killed during the partition of Pakistan and India. In the riots which preceded the partition in the Punjab region, between 200,000 to 500,000 people were killed in the retributive genocide. 14 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were displaced during the partition; it was the largest mass migration in human history.This group is making earnest efforts to foster a sustainable peace between India, Pakistan and Afganistan. The media was there to take our pictures as citizens from Canada here in India to learn about Pakistan Indian relations.

We were ushered into the open-air stadium where we were packed into the Western section. The ceremony was filled with pomp and arrogance as the Indian Army ceremony tried to outdo the Pakistani Army ceremony. Who could kick their feet higher, who could play their music the loudest, whose crowd could yell the loudest, whose soldiers could make the most agressive body language, who could wave the most flags? I personally found this drumming up of national sentiment and the aggressive behaviour towards a neighbouring country unsettling.

From here we went to the Golden Temple, the magnificent and serene centrepiece of the the Sikh religion. Before entering you need to remove your shoes, cover your head, and wash your feet in the river of water running across the entrance. It was beautiful to watch the lights reflecting off the golden structure and the tranquil waters that surround it. Pilgrims bathe in these holy waters. We participated in Langar, food that is served to all visitors for free regardless of race, cast, or religion. We ate sitting on the floor and were served food on stainless steel dishes. They serve food 24 hours a day. It cost 1 1/2 million dollars per month to run the Golden Temple and these funds are raised from Sikhs all over the world.