Premier Kathleen Wynne honoured at Darbar Sahib despite media controversy

Wynne was warmly welcomed Sunday, receiving the “siropa” robe of honour at the Sikh faith’s most sacred site.

A large and aggressive throng of Indian news photographers accompanied the premier — here leading an Ontario trade delegation — as she toured the sprawling temple for two hours.

The second biggest story on the front page of Sunday’s Hindustan Times, one of India’s major newspapers, was about the “pro-gay” premier, who is travelling with her spouse, Jane Rounthwaite.

According to the Times, “the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee … would not welcome her with a ‘siropa’ … during her visit to the Golden Temple as she is a supporter of same-sex marriages.”

But Wynne was presented with the orange cotton robe in a private ceremony at the end of a tour that also saw her preparing chapati in the massive kitchen that serves 70,000 free meals to pilgrims every day.

Bizarrely, the Times’ website reported “no robe of honour for Ontario’s premier at Golden Temple” beneath a photograph from Twitter of her sporting the ceremonial garment she had just been given. Some other Indian news outlets also erroneously reported a snub that never happened.

“People were so gracious and happy to have us there. It was very humbling actually,” the premier told the Star.

“I got the ‘siropa’ and we exchanged gifts and it was a lovely experience,” said Wynne.

“The head of the temple wanted to talk about one issue. You know what it was? Turbans on motorcycles, helmets on motorcycles. He’s going to send me a letter requesting that I consider it. I was very clear with him where I was coming from,” she said, referring to Ontario’s safety law that does not allow religious exemptions from wearing a motorcycle helmet.

There was considerable press attention for a subnational leader’s visit to the Golden Temple due to the fact Wynne is Canada’s first openly gay premier, which troubles some conservative Sikhs while piquing the curiosity of other Indians.

“My apprehension was that there would be an unpleasantness and that would be upsetting to people who were there because it’s a sacred place,” she said.

“But I wasn’t worried about it becoming a difficult or dangerous situation — I mean the only thing that was dangerous was the number of (media) people and the excitement.”

Indeed, there were far more Indian journalists covering her visit than she usually encounters at Queen’s Park.

“They were enthusiastic, they were positive, they wanted to get pictures and they wanted to share in the experience,” she marvelled.

Punjab state Revenue, Public Relations, and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the kerfuffle over Wynne’s Golden Temple pilgrimage was a tempest in a teapot.

He said that in India’s hyper-competitive media market, newspapers sometimes torque stories to boost circulation.

“This was quite sensationalized,” said Majithia.

The premier also toured a DataWind factory here, where the Mississauga-based company manufactures inexpensive tablet computers that service burgeoning markets in India, Nigeria, Mexico, and Colombia.

Suneet Singh Tuli, DataWind’s president and CEO, said “we want to empower people through accessibility.”

“Not only do we make very low-cost devices, we make sure they can be connected,” said Tuli, whose cheapest Android tablet retails for less than $50.

“Education alleviates poverty,” he said as he launched a new Netbook computer, the DroidSurfer, that will sell for $100 and come with free internet access, which should be a boon for school children in developing countries.

Tuli, a Canadian, pointed out that his company employs 700 people here — producing 5,000 computers a day with output expected to soon double at India’s only touch-screen manufacturer — while doing its research and development work in Mississauga.

“We are proof that when Ontario invests in technology, it generates jobs not only in Ontario, but around the globe and here in Amritsar.”