Sri Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara is located in the district of Narowal in Punjab. Guru Nanak, who founded Sikhism, used to live in this area. He died in 1539 and a shrine was built in his memory. For around 25 million Sikhs, this shrine is their holiest site, and visiting it is considered a religious obligation.
Every day the followers of the Sikh religion gather a few kilometers from the shrine to view it. They cannot get any closer because the border between Pakistan and India blocks their path.
However, that will soon change. Pakistan has decided to open the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims, allowing them to visit the holy site without a visa. This is s a big development. When the Kartarpur Corridor becomes operational next year, in time for the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, Sikhs will have access to perform their religious rituals for the first time since the partitioning of the two countries in 1947.
The project, which involves the construction of a road and a bridge, is a diplomatic masterstroke by the state of Pakistan. However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on the cusp of general elections in India, has not responded warmly to this gesture.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has sent a clear message that Islamabad is interested in initiating a dialogue for the resolution of conflicts. On the occasion of the corridor’s inaugural ceremony, Khan said, “There have been mistakes on both sides in the past, but we will not be able to move forward until we break the chains of the past.”
Peace overture
This can be construed as a peace overture from the Pakistani military establishment: it is no longer interested in fighting direct or proxy battles with India and seeks normalization of relations. A civilian leader in Pakistan cannot take such a diplomatic step without being told do so by the military establishment.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to reach out to India and was branded a traitor. The Modi government was more comfortable dealing with Sharif, as he somehow managed to get rid of the influence of the establishment in Pakistan. Sharif was trusted by the late Atal Bharee Vajpayee, and his friendly ties with Modi also kept him in New Dehli’s good books.
Sharif’s popularity with New Dehli was not welcomed by the establishment in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s and then Sharif in his tenure tried their best to engage New Dehli in dialogue, but both faced stern criticism within the country and they were declared traitors and infidels.
Bhutto was accused of favoring Rajiv Gandhi by giving him a list of the Sikh militants who started an insurgency in India to secure independence from New Dehli. Sharif was declared a traitor and a slogan was coined – “Modi ka jo yar who Ghaddar hay” (a friend of Modi is a traitor) – to portray him as an agent of foreign powers who was compromising national security. Khan used this slogan throughout his electoral campaign and vowed that he would never beg Modi and New Dehli to sit and talk. He was at that time of the view that he would only talk to New Dehli on his own terms.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to reach out to India and was branded a traitor
Perhaps General Qamar Javaid Bajwa, the Pakistani army chief of staff, is responsible for this initiative, and Khan is merely the symbolic political face. Navjote Singh Sidhu, a Punjab minister, already said that Bajwa told him during his visit to Pakistan to attend Khan’s oath-taking ceremony that Islamabad may open the corridor to Kartarpur Sahib.
In any case, it does not matter who proposed the idea as any step taken towards reviving the bilateral dialogue should be appreciated. It is also a good sign that the Pakistani establishment has realized that direct battles or proxy wars will never yield any fruitful result, and it will only cause further deterioration of the economy of Pakistan.
While the Pakistani establishment seems to have learned its lesson, New Dehli is still reluctant to extend the hand of friendship to Pakistan. It is still unclear whether or not New Delhi is interested in starting a new chapter with Pakistan and ending its support for the insurgency in Balochistan and in the Pashtun belt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan. New Delhi also seems to be a hostage to India’s hyper-nationalist media outlets, which never miss an opportunity to sabotage the peace dialogue and blame Pakistan for all the miseries afflicting India.
The Indian media showed its bias by selectively showing Gopal Chawla a member of Khalistan movement, meeting General Bajwa, and made it look like he was deliberately meeting Chawla to assure him of Pakistani support.
One wonders when the Indian media will learn to report factually, as it only takes a bit of common sense to understand that he was a guest at the venue and that it was not possible for him to refuse to shake hands or hug anyone present. India’s hyper-nationalist media outlets need to learn about the protocols of diplomacy.
Good diplomatic move
As far as the opening of the Kartarpur border is concerned, it can be described as a good diplomatic move by General Bajwa and his men, but chances are very slim that it will result in the resumption of a bilateral dialogue between the two countries. Even if both Pakistan and India are willing to make peace with each other, the global powers involved in the great game in Afghanistan and the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to South Asian countries will never let peace prevail.
However, for the Sikh pilgrims, this move to provide access to Kartarpur is a dream come true and New Dehli will eventually hopefully reciprocate by opening the border on the Kashmir side so people who are separated from their loved ones can reunite.
India-Pakistan relations are complex and influenced by global players and developments. Therefore, the Kartarpur Corridor will not resolve the conflict between the two countries. However, one hopes that one day both countries will burn the bitterness of the past and become friendly neighbors.
Ish Dogra Qadiani’s comprise less than 1% of Pak population, I wonder why you would raise their issue here on a Sikh topic? The holiest Sikh sites of Kartarpur, Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, Sucha Soda and a number of others are located in Pak. All you got is the Golden temple. In case you didn’t know.
Now don’t try to bring barelvi/ deobandi/ buddhist/ dalit issues to derail this discussion. It is only your nervous imagination that this Kartarpur corridor will somehow lead to a khalistan……lol…..settle down.
Ish Dogra Qadiani’s comprise less than 1% of Pak population, I wonder why you would raise their issue here on a Sikh topic? The holiest Sikh sites of Kartarpur, Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, Sucha Soda and a number of others are located in Pak. All you got is the Golden temple. In case you didn’t know.
Now don’t try to bring barelvi/ deobandi/ buddhist/ dalit issues to derail this discussion. It is only your nervous imagination that this Kartarpur corridor will somehow lead to a khalistan……lol…..settle down.
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I’ts been a surprise for me to come across so many Sikh’s living abroad being very pro-Khalistan….from the US to Canada to Australia to the UK. Looks like they are realizing their mistake of opting to side with India during partition. All the holiest Sikh religious sites are in Pakistan anyway, with the exception of the Golden temple, and a huge number of them are also migrants from west Punjab. So for Sikh’s, west Punjab is sacred. Whether this Kartarpur leads to a Khalistan is all Indian dalit conjecture.
I’ts been a surprise for me to come across so many Sikh’s living abroad being very pro-Khalistan….from the US to Canada to Australia to the UK. Looks like they are realizing their mistake of opting to side with India during partition. All the holiest Sikh religious sites are in Pakistan anyway, with the exception of the Golden temple, and a huge number of them are also migrants from west Punjab. So for Sikh’s, west Punjab is sacred. Whether this Kartarpur leads to a Khalistan is all Indian dalit conjecture.
Yes, the Indian media is by and large, pro-Modi. Either because they have been bought or threatened by Modi. However, your contention that 95-98% of the Indian public is aware of this is incorrect, imho. Maybe, 30/40% are aware, the majority are illiterates and ignoramuses who are easily conned. Modi uses this fact to his advantage.
Yes, the Indian media is by and large, pro-Modi. Either because they have been bought or threatened by Modi. However, your contention that 95-98% of the Indian public is aware of this is incorrect, imho. Maybe, 30/40% are aware, the majority are illiterates and ignoramuses who are easily conned. Modi uses this fact to his advantage.
Modi is a lying coward who is only interested in furthering his own image. At the expense of the country. Kartapur has happened so that the Pakis can infiltrate terrorists into Punjab after training them in Pakistan.
Modi is a lying coward who is only interested in furthering his own image. At the expense of the country. Kartapur has happened so that the Pakis can infiltrate terrorists into Punjab after training them in Pakistan.
Are you a Pappu piddi? Let someone from your family fall victim of terror, let someone from your family have his throat slit at the boarder, then we will see how genuine you thing this terrorist state of Papistan is.
Are you a Pappu piddi? Let someone from your family fall victim of terror, let someone from your family have his throat slit at the boarder, then we will see how genuine you thing this terrorist state of Papistan is.
India knows well, Pakistani PM is a puppet of Pak military and ISI, they can’t even go to the loo without their permission, let alone do anything positive towards India. CONgress is known to be soft on Pakistan despite them sending terrorists into India and behading of our soldiers. Bajwa is a fraud when he says he wants peace with India, because these terrorists are trained and armed by Pakistan Army.
The Kartarpur Corridor was pending since decades, why was it approved now? Pakistan needs to now show some positive step of peace and stability on its borders so that they can get IMF loan and US doles.
India knows well, Pakistani PM is a puppet of Pak military and ISI, they can’t even go to the loo without their permission, let alone do anything positive towards India. CONgress is known to be soft on Pakistan despite them sending terrorists into India and behading of our soldiers. Bajwa is a fraud when he says he wants peace with India, because these terrorists are trained and armed by Pakistan Army.
The Kartarpur Corridor was pending since decades, why was it approved now? Pakistan needs to now show some positive step of peace and stability on its borders so that they can get IMF loan and US doles.
Your article is a genuine articulation of situations across the border . Let me inform you about the credibility of indian media. 95 to 98 % Indians don’t believe in media outlets. One media house, on behalf of American instruction, started showing false picture of Chinese intrusion in Doklam after Doklam standoff. Thank God indian agency was alert to disregard the news.so ,forget media people are the best medium of reconciliation. In the eyes of Indians steps taken and positive statements from Imran Khan have made him a political star.
Your article is a genuine articulation of situations across the border . Let me inform you about the credibility of indian media. 95 to 98 % Indians don’t believe in media outlets. One media house, on behalf of American instruction, started showing false picture of Chinese intrusion in Doklam after Doklam standoff. Thank God indian agency was alert to disregard the news.so ,forget media people are the best medium of reconciliation. In the eyes of Indians steps taken and positive statements from Imran Khan have made him a political star.