KARTARPUR

CORRIDOR
ABDUL RAFAY AWAN

IX-A

BACKGROUND:
The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and secure corridor,
connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India. The
first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 CE on the right
bank of the Ravi River and established the first Sikh commune there. Following
his death in 1539, Hindus and Muslims both claimed him as their own and raised
mausoleums in his memory with a common wall between them. The exact
location of the border is Location: Narowal District, Punjab, Pakistan; Gurdaspur
district, Punjab. For many years following partition, Indian Sikhs could visit
Kartarpur

IMPORTANCE:
The Kartarpur Corridor was opened by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on 9
November 2019, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This historic
moment officially allowed Indian Sikh pilgrims rare visa-free access to the site in
Pakistan. It is also claimed to be the largest gurdwara in the world. It is the same
place where the Sikh religious leader Guru Nanak spent days leading up to his
death. The gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between
Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border. Indian
Sikhs gather in large numbers on bluffs to perform darshan, or sacred viewing of
the site, from the Indian side of the border. The Complex will have an
international standard hotel, hundreds of apartments, two commercial areas and
two car parking lots

WHY IS IT OPEN:
The crossing allows Sikh devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur,
4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border without a visa, creating
a link which allows pilgrims holding Indian passports to easily visit both
the Kartarpur shrine and Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side of the .
Previously, Sikh pilgrims from India had to take a bus to Lahore to get to
Kartarpur, which is a 125 kilometres (78 miles) journey, even though people on
the Indian side of the border could also physically see Gurdwara Darbar Sahib
Kartarpur from the Indian side, where an elevated observation platform was
constructed. It is a visa free travel corridor but an Electronic Travel
Authority document known as ETA is required, which can be obtained by
registering an application at online website of Indian Government.