Indian Dignitaries Tour Temple, Meet with Sikh Temple Shooting Survivors

Dignitaries from India brought sympathy and support for survivors of the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on a visit here on Thursday.

S.M Krishna, India's external affairs minister, Nirupama Rao, the country's ambassador to the United States. and Dutta Toma, counsel general of India in Chicago, toured the temple in Oak Creek for about an hour and half, according to an Associated Press report on Huffington Post.

Krishna addressed about 150 Sikhs in the temple's hall, reassuring them that the Indian government and its people were behind them, according to the report.

The temple is where shooter Wade Michael Page opened fire in early August, killing several temple members, including some who acted to try to save others, before shooting a police officer and then killing himself.

The majority of the Sikh faith, which has about 27 million followers worldwide, live in India.

The reaction of relatives of the victims was mixed, according to the report: 

Rahul Dubey, the 26-year-old godson of temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, whom Page killed after Kaleka attacked him a butter knife, said he appreciated the visit, calling it a "good thought for the Indian government."

He said the congregation has been living a nightmare since the shootings. He called Page a psychopath but insisted the Sikhs don't hate him.

"Forgiveness, that's what we do," Dubey said. "We practice peace."

Kaleka's brother, Jagjit Singh Kaleka, said his brother died a martyr and met his death with courage. He wasn't impressed with all the pomp and circumstance, calling the visit a token political gesture.

"I really don't expect anything from them," he said.