19 December 2004	Sunday	06 Ziqa'ad 1425

AMRITSAR, Dec 18: Tens of thousands of Sikhs thronged the streets of Sikhdom's holiest city in northern India on Friday to welcome the arrival from Britain of a metal pot revered by members of the faith, officials and witnesses said.

The alloy vessel of Govind Singh, Sikhdom's 10th spiritual leader, was flown to Amritsar by Pakistani MP Rai Azizullah Khan, whose family had kept the religious heirloom in a British bank for safe keeping since India's independence in 1947.

Devotees showered rose petals on Sikh leaders carrying the pot from the airport to the Golden Temple, Sikhdom's holiest shrine, as people cheered its return to India, witnesses said.

The dull-coloured container is devoid of decorative jewels as was the fashion in Mughal-era India and has a short straight spout.

According to Sikh scriptures, Govind Singh was granted refuge by a Muslim chieftain in the Punjab after Hindu maharajahs baulked at helping the Sikh leader fight India's Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 18th-century.

The Sikh martial leader presented the pot in which he drank milk to his host in gratitude and the Muslim chieftain's family kept the heirloom in its custody for three centuries until 1947 when it was deposited in a British bank vault.

Pakistani lawmaker Khan is one of the descendants of Rai Kalah, the warlord who had provided sanctuary to Gobind Singh in 1705 when Sikhs were locked in combat with the Mughals.-AFP