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SIKH LEADER'S VISA REVOKED
The State Department has revoked the visa of Bhai Ranjit Singh, the leader of the Sikh religion. He had been scheduled to visit Silver Springs, MD in January. 
According to a Sikh leader in the area, Rajwant Singh, the government revoked Bhai Singh's visa because of his conviction in 1980, in India, of the murder of the head of a rival sect. The Indian government granted him a full pardon in 1997. According to the United News of India news agency, the visa was revoked because U.S. security feared the visit would cause trouble between moderate and conservative branches of the Sikh religion.
Bhai Singh released an edict in 1998 requiring members to sit on the temple floor during meals, rather than on chairs at tables. According to Rajwant Singh, the practice of sitting at tables, rather than on the floor as is traditional in India, is common in older Sikh congregations in the U.S. and Canada. Violent reaction to the edict occurred in Florida, California and British Columbia, in which at least two people died.
Part of the reason for Bhai Singh's planned visit was to help resolve the tensions created by the edict. It was scheduled for the Washington, D.C. area, said local Sikh leaders, because all the temples in that area practice the traditional custom of sitting on the floor.