Amritsar

Published on 18th September, 2016, in Bangalore Mirror. Why does one visit Amritsar? To see division, or union? The division manifests as the Indo-Pak Wagah border, where sibling nationalistic rivalry is in glorious display. The division manifests as the 1919 massacre at Jallianwala Baug by the British that is now also a tourist spot. The division manifests as operation Blue Star in 1984, when the Indian army stormed into the Golden Temple complex. The division manifests as the discomfort against the authoritarian style of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), administrator of the Golden Temple complex since the Gurudwara Reform Act of 1925 that sidelined ..