DIVIDED BY FATE, CONNECTED BY FAITH – THE KARTARPUR CORRIDOR

Bridging 72 years is the iconic Kartarpur Sahib Corridor which opened new doors and built ties across old chasms for two sets of people – separated by barriers, albeit bound by a common faith.A visa-free border crossing and secure corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India, the Kartarpur corridor allows Sikh devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur, only 4 kilometres from the India–Pakistan border also called the Radcliffe Line, on the Pakistani side without a visa.

Thanks to a cruel twist to history written by Radcliffe, a British Barrister, this holy shrine has been out of bounds for the Sikh community in India since the 1947 partition. When the international border was being discussed at the time of independence in 1947, and the Punjab province was divided, the Gurdaspur district was assigned to Pakistan. However, the plan was reworked upon, on the behest of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Sikh leadership and consequently, the district was divided into two parts – the half with Dera Baba Nanak stayed with India and the half with Kartarpur went to Pakistan. Torn into two halves, the Sikh faith remained steadfast and optimistic throughout. It was after 72 long years that history was rewritten and the corridor was opened by India and Pakistan. The historic event was timed to coincide with Guru Nanak Dev ji’s 550th birth anniversary on 9th November, 2019.Located on the right back of the Ravi river, Kartarpur was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the 16th century. After his travels for about 20 years, Guru Nanak settled in Kartarpur along with his family. 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. According to the legend, Guru Nanak Dev ji’s son saved the urn containing his ashes and reburied it on the left bank of the river, where a new habitation was formed, representing the present day Dera Baba Nanak. At the location Guru Nanak is believed to have died, the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib was built. It is considered to be the second holiest site for the Sikh religion after Gurudwara Janam Asthan – the birthplace of Guru Nanak located in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan.

The Gurudwara Darbar Sahib that we see now is a later version of the original shrine built. The Gurudwara in its current avatar was built by a Hindu devotee, Lala Shyam Das in 1911. It underwent major renovation and sprucing under Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. The Gurudwara Sahib has been expanded and restored several times since then with undeniably painstaking efforts of the Government of Pakistan.Since 1947, the Sikh community has been repeatedly seeking permission to visit their holy shrines on the other side of the border. Thousands of Sikh pilgrims have already visited the Gurudwara Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab ever since the corridor opened in November 2019. The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor may be a miniscule step in the warming of relations between India and Pakistan, but for the Sikhs it’s a HUGE prayer answered. It is certainly a story of determination and diplomacy, grit and resolve but most of all, undivided faith of a community divided by fate!

Written by: Adarsh Gill Brar