India and Pakistan have a bilateral protocol on visits to religious sites that was signed between the two countries in 1974. This protocol governs the visit to religious shrines between the two countries. In accordance with the agreement, three Hindu pilgrimages and four Sikh pilgrimages are allowed to visit 15 shrines in Pakistan every year, whereas five Pakistani pilgrims are allowed to visit 7 shrines in India. The Kartarpur Corridor project, which connects India and Pakistan, became operational in November 2019.

What is Kartarpur Corridor? 

• Guru Nanak is the founder of Sikhism. Following his death in 1539, both Hindus and Muslims claimed him as their own and built mausoleums in his honour, which were connected by a single wall
• The Kartarpur corridor connects the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan’s Narowal district with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab region, via the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district
• Kartarpur is a Sanskrit word that means “Place of God”
• Guru Nanak, the first guru of Sikhism, constructed Kartarpur in 1504 AD on the right bank of the Ravi River, which is now known as the Golden Temple
• The mausoleums were eventually washed away due to the changing flow of the Ravi River
• The Dera Baba Nanak Gurudwara in Gurdaspur district (Indian Punjab) is connected to the Darbar Sahib Gurudwara, also known as the Kartarpur Gurudwara, via a 4.2-kilometer-long corridor
• This is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan, in the Narowal district. Pilgrims from Pakistan can visit the Gurudwara at Kartarpur without the need for a visa

Background of Kartarpur Corridor

• The current shrine was constructed in 1925 after the former site was completely devastated by floodwaters. Later, in 2004, the Pakistani government was able to bring this back into effect
• Originally constructed to memorialize the location where Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life, this shrine now serves as a tourist attraction
• In this way, it is regarded as the second holiest location for Sikhs, behind Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Pakistan, which was erected on the ground where Guru Nanak’s birthplace is believed to have been
• The Kartarpur Corridor Project was officially launched in November of this year
• The Sharda Peeth corridor project, which is a religious corridor project, is another option being considered. Located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva (POK)

Inception of Kartarpur Project

• It was then-Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif who first proposed the Kartarpur Corridor in early 1999 as part of their Delhi–Lahore Bus Diplomacy initiative
• Because it has the potential to ease tensions between the two countries, the project is currently being likened to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which occurred in 1989

Indian Criteria for Pilgrimage

• Pakistanis are unable to travel across the corridor because they are either Indian residents or citizens of other countries
• Children and elderly people of all ages are welcome to register to apply
• After 15 days of traveling by corridor, a second registration can be completed for a subsequent visit
• Registration can only be completed online through the Indian Government’s website, which has been specified

Agreement between India and Pakistan

• The Kartarpur corridor has been operationalized as a result of an agreement between India and Pakistan. The agreement came into effect for the first time in 2019 and will be effective for five years
• Either party can rescind this agreement at any time by giving the other party written notice of their intent to do so within one month of the date of this agreement’s inception
• Additionally, the contract could be suspended in the event of an emergency or a pattern of repeated violations of its conditions
• The Pakistani government has agreed to establish adequate provisions for langar and prasad distribution on the Gurdwara’s grounds
• On the Indian side, all of the necessary infrastructure, including the roadway and the passenger terminal building, is nearing completion in order to ensure that the corridor is operational in time

Significance of the Kartarpur Corridor in Indo-Pak Relations 

• Following India’s withdrawal of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, Indo-Pak ties have been extremely strained
• A diplomatic downgrade and suspension of bus and train services followed
• In February, the two nuclear-armed neighbours had an aerial combat
• Faced with these tensions, the building and opening of the Kartarpur Corridor should be considered as a positive development and a beacon of hope
• The Kartarpur Corridor could be a confidence-building tool in the politically fragile and historically fraught relationship between India and Pakistan
• The Kartarpur Corridor has the ability to boost religious tourism, people-to-people contact, and maybe aid in problem settlement by keeping conversation open
• National security considerations dominate policy elites’ discussions on both sides, and Kartarpur is not the magical solution to extremely sensitive topics like Kashmir
• According to India, operationalizing Kartarpur does not mean “bilateral dialogue” will begin
• Nonetheless, it shows that both sides can put aside their differences to serve their people’s interests, which is a commendable achievement for the two South Asian neighbours

Conclusion

On October 24, Indian and Pakistani authorities convened at the International Border to officially launch the Kartarpur Corridor. The deal offers Indian pilgrims visa-free access to this corridor to go to the holy site in Pakistan. Both sides had laid the foundation stone for the corridor last November, but the Pulwama assault and the Balakot airstrikes left many worried about its fate. Despite the difficulties, the corridor is set to be launched by both countries’ prime ministers later this week, just in time for the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak.