The Kartarpur Corridor stands as a rare beacon of hope between India and Pakistan—a 4.1 km visa-free passage linking two holy shrines:
- Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur, India)
- Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur (Narowal, Pakistan)
This spiritual highway allows Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s final resting place in Pakistan without visas, though Pakistani Sikhs still require Indian visas for the reverse journey.
A Dream Decades in the Making
- 1999: First proposed during Vajpayee-Sharif talks via Delhi-Lahore Bus Diplomacy.
- 2018: Foundation stones laid by PM Modi (India, Nov 26) and PM Imran Khan (Pakistan, Nov 28).
- 2019: Opened on Guru Nanak’s 550th Prakash Purb, with Khan calling it “opening our hearts to Sikhs” and Modi likening it to “the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Journey of Faith, Simplified
- Before: Pilgrims took a 125 km detour via Lahore. Some could only glimpse the gurdwara from a viewing tower in India.
- Now: A direct 30-minute drive to Kartarpur Sahib—where Guru Nanak spent his last 18 years.
Post-Pandemic Revival
Closed during COVID, the corridor reopened on November 17, 2021, with protocols:
- Mandatory vaccination + negative test
- Passport/OCI card scans for registration
More Than Bricks and Roads
The corridor is a testament to Guru Nanak’s message of unity, proving that even amid tensions:
- Faith can build bridges where politics builds walls.
- Devotion transcends borders.
Dhan Dhan Baba Nanak! 🌍🙏
