KARTARPUR – In what may be called the world’s ‘longest’ ever pilgrimage, ittook almost 72 years to the Indian Sikhs to make it to one of their holiestshrines located just 4.1 kilometers from the border in Pakistan.Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday inaugurated the much-anticipatedKartarpur Corridor project that would give visa-free access to the IndianSikhs to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.
He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, InteriorMinister Brig (retd) Ijaz Shah, Religious Affairs Minister Pir Nurul HaqQadri, special assistants Dr Firdous Ashiq and Zulfiqar Bukhari, PunjabGovernor Chaudhry Sarwar and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, and diplomats.As the gate built on Pak-India border was opened, the smiling Sikh pilgrimswalked into Pakistan with traditional turbans and holding kirpan (smallsword) in their hands.
The prime minister reached the venue of the inauguration ceremony throughthe shuttle service carrying the Sikh pilgrims.Buses were awaiting the pilgrims with welcoming banners and wheelchairswere placed there for the elderly or ill persons.
The pilgrims were later driven to the venue of the inauguration ceremonyafter going through immigration and security checks. At the terminal, thestaffers were alert to swiftly accomplish the screening process.
All around, there was an ambiance of celebration both Indian and PakistaniPunjab, though the celebration was to some extent spoiled by Indian SupremeCourt’s decision in Babri Masjid case ordering the formation of a trust toconstruct a temple for Lord Ram and allocate alternative land to Muslims.
Former Indian Prime Minister Sardar Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister ofIndian Punjab Amrinder Singh, Congress leaders, renowned cricketer andPrime Minister Imran Khan’s friend Navjot Singh Sidhu and Bollywood actorSunny Deol were also part of the group.
The Sikh pilgrims were all appreciative of the vision of Prime MinisterImran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa which madethis longstanding demand of the Sikh community fulfilled.
The Yatrees, who so far had been content of viewing their holiest shrinefrom binocular towers built in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab, wouldnow be able to quench their thirst of the holiest pilgrimage.
The corridor would lead the pilgrims straight to the Gurdwara built tocommemorate the site where Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his lifebefore he died there in 1539.
The opening of the Corridor coincides with the birth anniversary of BabaGuru Nanak’s 550th birthday to be celebrated on November 12 when thearrival of Sikh pilgrims from across the world is expected.
In another co-incidence, Pakistan was also celebrating on Saturday thebirth anniversary of its national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal, also thegreat admirer of Baba Guru Nanak.
In his philosophical poetry, ‘Bang-e-Dara’ Allama Iqba had spoken high ofGuru Nanak’s broader outlook of religion. “Phir uthi aakhir sada Tauheed kiPunjab say, Hind ko ab ek mard-e-kaamil ne jagaya khuwab se,” whichtranslates “Again, the voice of Tawheed has arisen from the Panjab; Andthus, a perfect man has awaken India from her dogmatic slumber.”
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In the same book, the great poet said, “Chishti ne jis zameen menpaigham-e-haq sunaya; Nanak nay jis chaman men wahdat ka geet gaya” means“The place where Chishti gave his message of truth to the people; The placewhere Nanak sung a song of oneness of God.”
The construction of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and renovation of GurdwaraDarbar Sahib Kartarpur, which has now become the world’s largest SikhGurdwara, has been completed in record time. The ground-breaking ceremonyof the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor was held on November 28, 2018.
Spread over around 400 acres, the Kartarpur Complex currently consists of anew courtyard, langar khanas, museum, library, dormitories, locker rooms,an immigration centre and an embankment to protect the temple from thefloods.
Pakistan has announced to allow visit of 5,000 pilgrims to the shrineeveryday with additional numbers on special occasions, subject to capacityexpansion of facilities.
As a special gesture, the government also waived off the requirement ofpassport for Sikh pilgrims and 10-day advance intimation for whole year.
The opening of the Corridor is also realization of the dream ofQuaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who had been the strong advocate of theminorities’ rights in Pakistan and had said, “You are free; you are free togo to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any otherplaces of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to anyreligion, caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of thestate.”
The Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the immigration counters and reviewedthe arrangements where he warmly received Manmohan Singh and Navjot SinghSidhu.
The stunning white-coloured edifice of Gurdwara Baba Nanak stands tall as asymbol of peace and harmony despite a relation full of discords between thetwo neighboring countries.
The Government of Pakistan had acquired around 800-acre land and handedover the same to the Gurdwara management as a gift. Out of which, 42 acreswere allocated for the construction of Gurdwara Complex and 62 acres forthe agriculture purpose to meet the needs of the Langar Khana.The Gurdwara has been built in record time of 10 months, with high qualityconstruction along with white marble and imported tiles.The visitors will have a glance of Sikhs history at the museum setup in thevicinity where the photographs of Sikh religious leaders have been put ondisplay.A 12-bed hospital has also been established for any health emergency.
