In a panic that US President Barack Obama might cancel plans to visit Amritsar’s Golden Temple because of its insistence that he wear a headscarf or a similar “suitable” head covering in consonance with Sikh tradition, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee clarified on Tuesday that any covering, even a baseball cap, would be fine.
“We would welcome President Obama as long as he covers his head while inside Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple),” said SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar.
But sources said the Amritsar pilgrimage might still be given a miss as presidential security advisers feel protecting him would be a nightmare. “A visit to the Golden Temple necessarily entails a road journey through ground that would be a sniper’s dream come true. There is virtually nowhere within safe reach... where a helicopter can land,” said a security expert.