KARTARPUR CORRIDOR || Everything You Need To Know!

Posted by on
The Kartarpur Corridor is a proposed border corridor between the neighbouring nations of India and Pakistan, connecting the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about it.

About Project:

  • Government of India has decided to commemorate 550 th birthday of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji from
  • November 2018 at national and international level by building Kartarpur Corridor.
  • Connect Dera Baba Nanak Sahib Gurdwara in India’s Punjab to the Gurdwara Darbar
  • Sahib Kartarpur shrine in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
  • Will be completed by Nov 2019 (550 th birthday of Guru Nanak dev).
  • Length: Inside India = 2 km
  • Inside Pakistan = 4 km (runs across River Ravi)

About Gurdwara:

  • Maharaja of Patiala donated money to construct the gurdwara in 1920`s.
  • It is believed that Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent final 18 years of his life there.
    By Xubayr Mayo - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22857623Protocol on visit to Religious shrines:
  • Pilgrimages between India and Pakistan are governed by the 1974 Protocol on visit to religious shrines, which includes a list of shrines in India and Pakistan, and for which visas are required.
  • The Kartarpur corridor provides visa-free access may need a separate treaty.

Importance of corridor:

  • Every year Sikh pilgrims travel to Pakistan to offer prayers at the Gurdwara. 
  • Katarpur corridor will facilitate their pilgrimage throughout the year.
  • It would act as a bridge between people of both countries. Thus, acting as a peaceful step in the otherwise strained relations between two countries.
  • The corridor will drastically cut down the journey pilgrims have to make from more than 200 km to just 6 km.

Concerns regarding corridor:

  • The “corridor” would bring Pak infrastructure right up to the Indian border.
  • Over the past year, gurdwaras in Pakistan have been used for a pro-Khalistan campaign.
  • Earlier this year, a gurdwara displayed posters and distributed pamphlets for the so-called “Sikh Referendum 2020”, and Pakistan denied permission to the Indian envoy and diplomats to visit it. 
  • Pakistan’s intent also remains suspect, and Indian officials are wary of the corridor being misused by both state and non-state actors in that country.
Mohd. Kamran Ali (intern@thradical.in)

Comments

Post a Comment