Desi Tamasha

Canadian immigration officials have dusted out a 10-year-old, little-known rule that asks Sikh visa applicants with last names Singh or Kaur to change them. There are too many of them, officials say, pointing to difficulties in maintaining a database with similar names.

After 18 months of construction and millions in fundraising efforts, a one-of-a-kind Hindu temple opened Sunday in Toronto.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was on-hand to celebrate the official unveiling of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. Harper said the $40 million architectural marvel represents India’s and Canada’s embracement of spiritual and ethnic pluralism.

“Canada’s accommodation of diversity is not without precedent,” Harper said, addressing a large crowd. “There have been forerunners — and of these perhaps none is as note-worthy as India.”