Amritsar - The world's Sikh community was given a new spiritual leader yesterday following a factional dispute that resulted in the sacking of his predecessor.
Puran Singh (51) was given a rousing reception at Sikhdom's holiest shrine - the Golden Temple in Amritsar - when he rose to accept a ceremonial robe heralding him as chief of the Akal Takht, the temporal seat of the religion. Nearly 25,000 Sikhs, dressed in a riot of colourful turbans, called out religious slogans during the two-hour ceremony inside the temple.
Puran Singh replaced Ranjit Singh, who was sacked last week by members of an influential Sikh religious parliament that controls all its shrines in India. Ranjit Singh, a hardline nationalist, has refused to accept his dismissal and stayed away from yesterday's ceremony. The rift has sparked fears of a revival of Sikh militancy in Punjab.