Kartarpur Corridor

Kartarpur Corridor
Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, India
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan
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5km
3miles
Ravi river
Ravi river
Dera Baba Nank
Kartarpur
Kartarpur
Start and end points of the Kartarpur Corridor
Type of projectReligious
LocationKatarpur, Pakistan
Dera Baba Nanak, India
FounderAtal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif
Country
Established9 November 2019; 5 years ago (2019-11-09)
BudgetState Funded $88 million[1]
StatusOpen
Website
Kartarpur Corridor
Punjabi language
Gurmukhiਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਲਾਂਘਾ
Transliteration
kartārpur lāṅghā
Shahmukhiکَرْتار پُور لان٘گھا
Transliteration
kartār pūr lāṉghā
IPA/kəɾə̆.t̪äːɾə̆.puɾə̆ läː˦ŋɡ.ä/

The Kartarpur Corridor (Punjabi: ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਲਾਂਘਾ (Gurmukhi), کرتارپور لانگھا (Shahmukhi), romanized: kartārpur lāṅghā; Urdu: کرتارپور راہداری, romanized: kartār pūr rāhdārī) is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor,[2][3] connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, near Narowal in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, India.[4][5][6][7] The crossing allows devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border on the Pakistani side without a visa.[8] However, Pakistani Sikhs are unable to use the border crossing, and cannot access Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side without first obtaining an Indian visa or unless they work there.[9]

The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan respectively at that time, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.[10][11]

On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; two days later, then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did the same for the Pakistani side. The corridor was completed for the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, on 12 November 2019.[12] Khan said "Pakistan believes that the road to prosperity of region [sic] and bright future of our coming generation lies in peace", adding that "Pakistan is not only opening the border but also their hearts for the Sikh community".[13][14] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the decision by the two countries to go ahead with the corridor to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, saying that the project could help in easing tensions between the two countries.[15][16]

Previously, Sikh pilgrims from India had to travel to Lahore to get to Kartarpur, a 125 kilometres (78 miles) journey, even though people on the Indian side of the border could see Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from the Indian side, where an elevated observation platform was constructed.[17][18][19]

On 17 November 2021, the Kartarpur Corridor re-opened after over a year and a half of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both India and Pakistan have allowed citizens to visit the Gurdwara on the condition that they carry both a negative COVID-19 test and are fully vaccinated.[20][21]

  1. ^ a b "Rs13.2 bn to be spent on Gurdwara Kartarpur uplift". Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Pakistan opens visa-free border crossing for India Sikhs". gulfnews.com. 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2022. Kartarpur, Pakistan: The prime ministers of India and Pakistan inaugurated on Saturday a visa-free border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India, allowing thousands of pilgrims to easily visit a Sikh shrine just inside Pakistan each day.
  3. ^ Sevea, Iqbal. "The Kartarpur Corridor: Symbolism, Politics and Impact on India-Pakistan Relations" (PDF). Institute of South Asia Studies – National University of Singapore. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019. The corridor is a border crossing that will connect two important Sikh shrines – Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in India and Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan – and provide access for Sikh pilgrims from Indian Punjab to Pakistani Punjab.
  4. ^ "India pilgrims in historic trip to Pakistan temple". 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2022. The Kartarpur corridor leads from the border straight to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, 4km (2.5 miles) away.
  5. ^ "Pakistan opens corridor to one Sikhism's holiest shrines". Catholic News in Asia | LiCAS.news | Licas News. 11 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022. It leads from the Pakistan-Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur the site where Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak settled after his missionary work and where he spent the last 18 years of his life.
  6. ^ "Kartarpur Corridor agreement signed between Pakistan, India". Dunya News. 14 February 2008. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019. The objective of this Agreement is to facilitate visa-free travel of Pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and back to India, through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
  7. ^ "Pakistan, India sign deal on visa-free corridor for Sikh pilgrims". France 24. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019. The deal allows for a secure corridor and bridge between the two countries, leading directly to the grave of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak, just four kilometres (two miles) from the Indian border.
  8. ^ "Kartarpur Corridor: Visa-free pilgrimage route a good confidence-building measure, but thaw in India-Pakistan ties still a mirage". Firstpost. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Allow Pak Sikhs to visit Dera Baba Nanak: Takht jathedar". Hindustan Times. 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  10. ^ Rana, Yudhvir (3 July 2012). SGPC demands government to take up Dera Baba Nanak-Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib corridor issue with Pakistan Archived 2 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. The Times of India.
  11. ^ Roy, Shubhajit (2 December 2018). "The long road from Kartarpur to peace". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Imran Khan to open Kartarpur Corridor to India on November 9" Archived 9 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine gulfnews.com Retrieved 20 October 2019
  13. ^ "Kartarpur Corridor inauguration testimony of Pakistan's commitment to regional peace: PM". Business Recorder. 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  14. ^ "PM Imran says Kartarpur Corridor testimony of Pakistan's commitment to regional peace". The News International. 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Pakistan prime minister to lay foundation stone for Kartarpur corridor on Wednesday". The Times of India. PTI. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Pakistan PM Imran Khan to lay foundation stone of Kartarpur corridor today". Hindustan Times. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  17. ^ Brar, Kamaldeep Singh (15 August 2017). "A shrine so near, yet so far: Their prayers travel across border, they can't". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019.
  18. ^ Parashar, Sachin (23 November 2018). "Cabinet clears corridor for Kartarpur up to Pakistan border". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  19. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (25 November 2018). "Kartarpur marks a fresh start". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  20. ^ Kaur Sandhu, Kamaljit (16 November 2021). "Kartarpur Sahib Corridor: Covid report, vaccine certificates must as pilgrimage set to reopen after 20 months". India Today. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Kartarpur corridor: आज से खुल रहा है करतारपुर कॉरिडोर, श्रद्धालुओं को इन नियमों का करना होगा पालन". Aaj Tak (in Hindi). 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.