Innovations

Abstract

On 4 November 1979 an odd procession moved off from one of the outer buildings of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar towards the temple itself. A black-bearded Sikh in his thirties, having had garlands of flowers placed round his neck by his two daughters, carried a large radio on his head. Behind him came an older, grey-bearded Sikh, a small black box clutched to his stomach like a hot-water bottle. Together they represented ‘Radio Golden Temple’, an illegal transmitter which began its first broadcast a week later with greetings to ‘our listeners all over the world’.¹ Its 25-watt signal could be picked up as far away as 250 metres.