Minister offends Sikhs

Punjab, India - His attempt to placate the Sikh community in his own country may have backfired when Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper paid a visit to the Golden Temple, the most significant place of worship for Sikhs - located in the city of Amritsar, in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab. 

During the visit, the prime minister’s aide, Alisa Mohammed, declined the prasad (a gracious gift, usually edible, that is believed to contain a blessing) when it was given to her. The Prime Minister followed suit, which was interpreted as a rebuff. Harper also declined partaking in langar, a tradition in which all people would sit on the floor together, as equals, to eat the same simple food. 

After Harper had left the holy city, the community voiced its displeasure at the way the prime minister and staff had conducted themselves. One official put it into these words, “It is for the first time that we have suffered such humiliation at the hands of a foreigner."