India: PM begins New Year praying at the Golden Temple in Amritsar

Amritsar (Punjab, India), Jan 1 (PTI) On a personal visit to Amritsar in the northern Indian state of Punjab, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began his new year by paying obeisance at the Sikh holy shrine of Golden Temple in the city this morning. Singh along with his wife Gursharan Kaur reached the temple at 6.30 am and went to the sanctum sanctorum where they spent about half an hour. They listened to the Shabd Kirtan (religious hymns) and Ardas (prayer) while sitting cross-legged with folded hands in the VIP corridor of the sanctum sanctorum of the Harmandar Sahab, more popularly known as the Golden Temple. The couple, who arrived in Amritsar last evening, took a full round of the marbled periphery around the water pool of the Golden Temple to reach the sanctum sanctorum. Afterwards they went to Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, to pay obeisance where they listened to the Ardas for five minutes. After leaving the Golden Temple, the couple also visited the adjacent Hindu Durgiana Temple where they paid obeisance. Before leaving for Delhi, the Prime Minister spent some time with his two Amritsar-based two brothers Surjit Singh Kohli and Daljit Singh Kohli, three sisters Gian Kaur, Nirman Kaur and Manjit Kaur and their children. It was a rare occasion for the entire family to come together on the New Year's Day as around 17 family members sat for a while and wished each other, said Surjit Singh Kohli. Amritsar is the hometown of the Prime Minister, who studied at the local Hindu College after his family migrated here from Pakistan after the country's partition in 1947. The Prime Minister had last visited Golden Temple in March 2009. Meanwhile, as the Prime Minister came out after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in the morning, he had to face a protest by some supporters of social activist Anna Hazare. The supporters numbering around 40, including some women, raised slogans against the Indian government as well as corruption. PTI Caption for pic: Prime minister Manmohan Singh arrives to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Sunday. PTI Photo