Nikki Haley arrives in Amritsar

Nikki Haley, the first Indian-American governor of a state in the US, arrived in this Sikh holy city Friday evening.

Haley, whose father Ajit Singh Randhawa is a Sikh, will pray Saturday at the Harmandar Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, the holiest of all Sikh shrines.

Haley, whose father's family used to live in Amritsar's Verka suburb till the early 60s before migrating to the US, is visiting her family's home state in nearly four decades.

Born in 1972, Nikki last came to Amritsar, 250 km from Chandigarh, as a two-year-old.

Relatives of Nikki Haley, who was Nimrata Randhawa before her marriage, celebrated in Verka when she became the South Carolina governor for the first time in November 2010.

Haley was re-elected governor of South Carolina recently.

Expressing her delight over her trip to Punjab, Haley said: "The last time I came here was when I was two years old. I am looking forward to the visit to the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple)."

Haley is on a 10-day trip to India during which she will visit New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Amritsar to seek investment in her state.

In Amritsar, she will visit the Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh ground Saturday. She will go to Guru Nanak Dev University and call on her relatives also.