Ambassadors And Diplomats From Over 100 Embassies To Visit Golden Temple On 22 October

Ambassadors and high-level officials of 100 embassies would visit the Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara, the holiest of Sikh shrines, in Amritsar on 22 October, organisers said on Saturday (19 October).

"Nearly 100 delegates, comprising ambassadors and high-level functionaries, are reaching the Golden Temple to pay obeisance on 22 October," an official with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) told the media.

SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal will receive them and present them siropa (robe of honour). The shrine complex will be lit with millions of lights and a fireworks display will also be organised.

The SGPC, considered a mini Parliament of Sikh religious affairs, has an annual budget of nearly Rs 1,200 crore. It controls Sikh religious affairs and manages gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, including the Harmandir Sahib.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)