- Visa-free Kartarpur access a boon for Indian Sikhs
One of the quirks of fate in the great divide of 1947 was that some of the most revered shrines of Sikhism fell in the territories constituting Pakistan, and today the daily morning prayers of Sikhs include a plea for restoration of their holy places. Indian prejudice against Pakistan, three major and two limited conflicts, emotive Kashmir dispute and a state of perpetual political-verbal warfare ensured that cross-border pilgrimages were limited to a lucky few after rigorous visa process. The case of Kartarpur Gurdwara, built by Guru Nanak in 1522, was particularly moving, as this last resting place of the Sikh faith’s founder was teasingly located within two kilometres of the international border, and pining Sikhs could only watch their holiest of holies through a telescope from their side. Now Islamabad and Delhi have put chilly relations aside and agreed to open a corridor bridging the four kilometres from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Narowal district. Hopefully, but with fingers crossed, it might turn out to be a bridge of harmony on a wider canvas. People-to-people contact is always welcome as it facilitates mutual understanding, and that in turn dispells hatred and suspicion.
It is needless to dwell on which country took the first step, but Navjot Singh Sidhu’s hug of the COAS at Imran Khan’s swearing in ceremony in August, where he was told of a possible opening of Kartarpur corridor for Guru Nanak’ 550th birth anniversary falling next year, was the event that set the ball rolling. The former Test cricketer turned politician (Sidhu, not Imran!) was demonised on his return to India, but with the visa-free pilgrimage dream of Sikhs coming to fruition, critics of all hues stand silenced and isolated. PM Imran Khan will now lay the foundation stone of the corridor on November 28. The development has been widely welcomed in Pakistan, and the COAS has also called on India to resume dialogue for regional peace and progress. Incidentally, 3,800 Sikh pilgrims from India are currently in Pakistan, a record number, and they will surely return reinforced with Guru Nanak’s message of universal brotherhood and peace.
