Kartarpur Corridor: Pathway to Reconciliation

India & Pakistan will build the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh Pilgrims to visit  Holy Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara where the founder of Sikhism, spent his last few years. It is seen as symbol of peace between India and Pakistan.

Background

The Kartarpur Corridor is a proposed border corridor between India and Pakistan. It will connect the Sikh holy shrine of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib (located in Punjab, India) and the holy shrine of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan. The main goal of this proposed corridor is to facilitate the crossing of religious devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, located in Narowal District, Pakistan, only 4.7 kilometres from the Pakistan-India border.

The Kartarpur Sahib corridor was first proposed in 1999 when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a bus ride to Lahore. He demanded for a visa free access. In 2004, this was pressed further by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who suggested a corridor. 

Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is situated across the river Ravi. It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev spent his last few days. 

Sikhism originated  in Punjab, a region that was divided between the two countries during partition in 1947. The Sikhs have been demanding that the two countries should revoke restrictions on movement of pilgrims to the holy shrine.

Analysis

On November 23rd, Indian government approved the development of a visa free Kartarpur corridor months after Pakistan government offered to build a passage to facilitate the visit to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib by the Sikh pilgrims. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Cabinet approved for the building and development of Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, Punjab to International Border (ie India – Pakistan border). The length of the corridor is about 4 km, 2 km on either side of the international border.

The foundation stone of Kartarpur Corridor was laid down by both India and Pakistan. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak on November 26th at Mann village of Gurdaspur district of Punjab. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone on November 28th.

Government of India minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who represented the Indian government at the ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan, said the corridor was anchored in hope and goodwill but there is need to be conscious of ground realities. 

Punjab Minister and former Indian test cricketer, Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Pakistan on the Pakistan Prime Minister, the former Pakistan cricket icon Imran Khan's invitation for the ceremony. He said "The seed Imran Khan had sown three months ago has become a plant. It is a happy moment for the Sikh community that the corridor to reach Kartarpur to get Baba Guru Nanak's blessing without any hassle.” The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has credited Minister Sidhu for “initiating the dialogue” between two countries that finally led to “opening of Kartarpur corridor.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Kartarpur Corridor would act as a bridge between the people of India and Pakistan as he referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall to underline the importance of people-to-people contact.

PM Imran Khan said he wanted a strong relationship with India and was ready to take two steps if New Delhi took one. "We want to move forward in our relations with India," Khan said while addressing the ceremony, “If France and Germany who fought several wars can live in peace, why can’t India and Pakistan?”

The Pakistan government unveiled an elaborate plan for the corridor, with timelines for its completion. While the survey for the corridor is complete, the design and land acquisition will be completed in December. Work on the roads and facilities along the way will be completed by November 1stof 2019.

Security will be a major priority said Pakistani officials involved in the planning, and apart from fencing along the corridor, there will be biometric checks for the pilgrims, with specially allotted times for worship. However, much will depend on the model for pilgrim transfer that the two sides agree to. 

The Pakistan government has said it would provide land for a railway station in Kartarpur and the construction of lodging and boarding facilities near all Sikh pilgrimage sites in the country. It would also provide land to Sikh organisations for the construction of hotels in Kartarpur, Nankana Sahib and Narowal.

Assessment

Our assessment is the building of Kartarpur corridor can potentially be the beginning of many steps needed for the reconciliation between  India and Pakistan. 

The South Asian neighbours have fought wars and spent billions of dollars on purchase of arms. We feel that building Kartarpur corridor will open the door to investments and improve trade between India and Pakistan. It will open borders in South Asia and help in dealing with the fundamental issue  of poverty in the region.