By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: Nikki Haley, daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab and current US envoy to the United Nations, on June 28 went on an inter-faith journey in Delhi. She visited a temple, mosque, gurdwara, and church.
On arriving in India a day earlier, Hailey had asserted that freedom of religion was as important as freedom of people and their rights.
In the morning on her second day in India, she visited Gauri Shankar Mandir, Jama Masjid, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, and Central Baptist Church – all in the Old Delhi area.
After visiting the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, she interacted with a child who was sitting outside the mosque.
The US envoy to the UN yesterday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to enhance India-US cooperation in various fields, including counter-terrorism.
Haley had also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to deepen the ongoing cooperation between the two countries at the UN. She also met Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and reiterated America’s commitment to end child trafficking.
Accompanied by the US ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, Haley began her India tour with a visit to the majestic tomb of Mughal emperor Humayun.
Speaking to reporters, Haley said, “We think freedom of religion is just as important as freedom of rights and freedom of peoples.”
She had visited India in late 2014 when she was the South Carolina Governor.
Haley, 46, was born Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina, to an Indian American Sikh family. Her father Ajit Singh Randhawa, and mother Raj Kaur Randhawa, emigrated from Amritsar District. Her father was formerly a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, and her mother received her law degree from the University of Delhi.
Haley’s parents moved to Canada after her father received a scholarship offer from the University of British Columbia. Her father moved to South Carolina in 1969 to become a professor at Voorhees College. Her mother, Raj Randhawa taught for seven years in the Bamberg public schools before starting a clothing company, Exotica International, in 1976.
Haley has two brothers, Mitti, a retired member of the United States Army Chemical Corps who served in Desert Storm, and Charan, a web designer. She has one sister, Simran, a radio host and Fashion Institute of Technology alumna, who was born in Canada.
She married Michael Haley in 1996, with both Sikh and Methodist ceremonies. Haley identifies herself today as a Christian, but attends both Sikh and Methodist worship services. She made a pilgrimage to the Harmandir Sahib with her husband in 2014 during her visit to India.
Her husband is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard and was sent on a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in January 2013. The couple have two children, daughter Rena and son Nalin.