KARTARPOOR

The C (Punjabi (Gurmukhi): (Shahmukhi)/Urdu: کرتارپور راہداری‎) is a visa-KAfree border crossing and secure corridor,[1][2] connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India.[3][4][5][6] The crossing allows Sikh devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border without a visa, creating a link which allows pilgrims holding Indian passports to easily visit both the Kartarpur shrine and Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side of the border.[7] Pakistani Sikhs are unable to use the border crossing, and cannot access the Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak without first obtaining an Indian visa.[8]

The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan respectively, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.[

On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side; two days later, on 28 November 2018, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did the same for the Pakistani side. The corridor was completed for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on 12 November 2019.[11] Khan said "Pakistan believes that the road to prosperity of region [sic] and bright future of our coming generation lies in peace", adding that "Pakistan is not only opening the border but also their hearts for the Sikh community".[12][13] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the decision by the two countries to go ahead with the corridor to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, saying that the project could help in easing tensions between the two countries.[14][15

Previously, Sikh pilgrims from India had to take a bus to Lahore to get to Kartarpur, which is a 125 kilometres (78 miles) journey, even though people on the Indian side of the border could also physically see Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from the Indian side, where an elevated observation platform was construc

BACK GROUND

The first urug of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 CE on the right bank of the Ravi River and established the first Sikh commune there. Following his death in 1539, Hindus and Muslims both claimed him as their own and raised mausoleums in his memory with a common wall between them. The changing course of the Ravi River eventually washed away the mausoleums. A new habitation was formed, representing the present-day Dera Baba Nanak on the left bank of the Ravi river.

During the 1947 partition of India, the region was divided between India and Pakistan. The Radcliffe Line awarded the Shakargarh tehsil on the right bank of the Ravi River, including Kartarpur, to Pakistan, and the Gurdaspur tehsil on the left bank of Ravi to India.[23][24] In 1948, the Akali Dal demanded that India should acquire the land of the gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur. The demands persisted till 1959, but the Punjab state government controlled by the Indian National Congress advised against any modification of the boundary fixed by the Radcliffe Award.[25]

For many years following partition, Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur informally by crossing a bridge on the Ravi river which joined Dera Baba Nanak with Kartarpur Sahib, as border controls between the two countries were not strictly enforced until 1965.[26] This bridge was eventually destroyed in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965,[27] and border controls became more tightly regulated.

In 1969, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promised to approach the Pakistani government for a land-swap so that Kartarpur Sahib could become part of India.[25] None of this materialised. However in September 1974, a protocol was agreed between India and Pakistan for visits to religious shrines.[28] Around 2005, the protocol was updated by increasing the number of visits and the number of sites.[29] However, Kartarpur was never included among the sites included in the 1974 protocol. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, India had requested its inclusion but this was not agreed to by Pakistan.[30][31]

Gobind Singh, the caretaker of the gurdwara at Kartarpur, said the gurdwara had "remained shut from 1947 to 2000".[32] The gurdwara had no staff, despite receiving pilgrims, and entrance was restricted. The Pakistani government started repairing the shrine in September 2000 ahead of the anniversary of Guru Nanak's death and formally reopened it in September 2004.[33] The Kartarpur Corridor mission was initially started by Bhabishan Singh Goraya, who pursued the cause for 24 years.[34]

According to Akali leader Kuldeep Singh Wadala, the gurdwara had been abandoned till 2003. It served as a cattle shed for the villagers and its lands were taken over by share-croppers.[25] Since 2003, however, the Pakistani government has reportedly taken initiatives for the upkeep of Sikh religious shrines.[35




The first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 CE on the right bank of the Ravi River and established the first Sikh commune there. Following his death in 1539, Hindus and Muslims both claimed him as their own and raised mausoleums in his memory with a common wall between them. The changing course of the Ravi River eventually washed away the mausoleums. A new habitation was formed, representing the present-day Dera Baba Nanak on the left bank of the Ravi river.[19][20][21][22]

During the 1947 partition of India, the region was divided between India and Pakistan. The Radcliffe Line awarded the Shakargarh tehsil on the right bank of the Ravi River, including Kartarpur, to Pakistan, and the Gurdaspur tehsil on the left bank of Ravi to India.[23][24] In 1948, the Akali Dal demanded that India should acquire the land of the gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur. The demands persisted till 1959, but the Punjab state government controlled by the Indian National Congress advised against any modification of the boundary fixed by the Radcliffe Award.[25]

For many years following partition, Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur informally by crossing a bridge on the Ravi river which joined Dera Baba Nanak with Kartarpur Sahib, as border controls between the two countries were not strictly enforced until 1965.[26] This bridge was eventually destroyed in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965,[27] and border controls became more tightly regulated.

In 1969, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promised to approach the Pakistani government for a land-swap so that Kartarpur Sahib could become part of India.[25] None of this materialised. However in September 1974, a protocol was agreed between India and Pakistan for visits to religious shrines.[28] Around 2005, the protocol was updated by increasing the number of visits and the number of sites.[29] However, Kartarpur was never included among the sites included in the 1974 protocol. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, India had requested its inclusion but this was not agreed to by Pakistan.[30][3