Sacred spaces

Kartarpur is in Pakistan while Dera Baba Nanak is in India. And the Kartarpur corridor shall connect these two most sacred places of the Sikhs. Baba Guru Nanak settled near village Pakhoke Mehmaran near Kartarpur where he meditated. As he held his communes there, the world largest Gurdwara – Darbar Sahib – was constructed at Kartarpur. Now this corridor will enable religious devotees from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib by traversing only 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the Pakistan-India border whereas currently the pilgrims from India have to cross the border at Wagah, Lahore to get to Kartarpur – entailing a road journey of 125 km.

Another most sacred place for the Sikhs is Nankana Sahib in Sheikhupura, the birth location of Baba Guru Nanak. The city is home to numerous gurdwaras including the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, meaning ‘Place of Birth’ and childhood home of Guru Nanak. The Panja Sahib, Hasanabdal, Pakistan is yet another sacred place for the Sikhs to visit and pay homage to Guru Nanak, who stopped a huge falling rock there with his hand and an imprint of his palm and fingers can be seen carved on the rock in Gurdwara Panja Sahib. Needless to say, the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, apart from winning over the hearts of millions of Sikhs all over the world would also go a long way in promoting the soft image of Pakistan as a true tolerant Islamic state caring for its minorities who are entirely free to practise their faith, religion and rituals in every way and anywhere in Pakistan.

Col (r) Syed Riaz Jafri

Rawalpindi