Kartarpur Corridor

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa free border crossing and a religious corridor, connecting Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib in Pakistan with Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in India. This crossing allows devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara Sahib in Kartarpur Sahib which is just 4.5 kms from India-Pakistan border on the Pakistan side without visa. The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan respectively as a part of the Delhi-Lahore bus diplomacy.

The foundation stone was laid down by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26th November, 2018 on the Indian side and by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on 28th November, 2018 on the Pakistan side. The corridor was completed on 12th November, 2019 to celebrate and commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib. Earlier, Sikh pilgrims from India had to take a bus to Lahore to pay a visit to Kartarpur Sahib, which is a 125 kms journey. Though, there was also an option for the Indian devotees to see Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib from the Indian side of the border from an elevated observation platform constructed by the government.

Kartarpur Sahib was founded by the first Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib in 1504 CE on the right bank of river Ravi where he established the first Sikh commune. Guru Sahib spent his last 18 years at Kartarpur Sahib where following his death in 1539, Hindus and Muslims both claimed him as their own and constructed a Samadhi and Mazaar (mausoleums) in his memory with a common wall between them. The changing course of river Ravi eventually washed away the mausoleums. A new habitation was formed, representing the present day Dera Baba Nanak on the left bank of river Ravi.

Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak is about 1 km from India-Pakistan border on the east bank of river Ravi. And, the town of Kartarpur Sahib, Pakistan is located on the west side of the river. Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib falls under district Narowal of Pakistan, about 4.5 kms from the international border near the historic town of Dera Baba Nanak which is in district Gurdaspur, Punjab, India. The Indian part of Dera Baba Nanak-Sri Kartarpur Sahib corridor involves a 4.1 km long four lane highway from Dera Baba Nanak to international border and a state of the art Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) at the international border. The followers of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib built the town of Dera Baba Nanak and named it after the Guru Sahib.

After the partition of India in 1947, the region was divided between India and Pakistan. The Radcliffe line awarded the Shakargarh area on the right bank of Ravi including Kartarpur Sahib to Pakistan and the Gurdaspur area on the left bank of Ravi to India. In 1948, the Akali Dal demanded that India should acquire the land of the Gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib. The demands persisted till 1959, but the then Punjab state government led by Indian National Congress was against any kind of modification of the boundary fixed by Radcliffe.

For many years after partition, Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur Sahib informally by crossing bridge Jassar on river Ravi as border controls between the two countries were not strictly enforced until 1965. In 1969, on the occasion of 500th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promised to approach Pakistan government for a land-swap so that Kartarpur Sahib could become a part of India but that did not materialize. However, in September 1974, a protocol was agreed between India and Pakistan for visits to religious shrines. Around 2005, the protocol was updated by increasing the number of visits and the number of sites. However, Kartarpur Sahib was never included or agreed upon among the sites included in the 1974 protocol for some unknown reasons.

Gobind Singh, the caretaker of the Kartarpur Gurdwara Sahib said that the Gurdwara Sahib had remained shut from 1947 to 2000. It had no staff and the entrance was restricted despite receiving pilgrims. The Pakistani government started repairing the shrine in September 2000, ahead of the death anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib and formally reopened it in September 2004. The Kartarpur corridor mission was initially started by Bhai Bishan Singh Goraya, who pursued the cause for 24 years.

Today, Kartarpur Sahib is a center of attraction for thousands of followers of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib visiting to pay homage. The corridor is functioning as per the MOU signed between the governments of India and Pakistan which allows 5000 Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine on a daily basis without a visa. Though, it is a visa free travel corridor but an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) document is required, which can be obtained by registering an online application on Indian government website.