The Kartarpur Corridor pulled off a miracle yet again. Despite the frosty relations between India and Pakistan, the Kartarpur Corridor will be opened from Wednesday.
The move comes at a time when tensions are high after Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency shot and killed a fisherman off the Gujarat coast on November 7.
On Tuesday, Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, "In a major decision, that will benefit large numbers of Sikh pilgrims, PM @Narendramodi govt has decided to re-open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from tomorrow, Nov 17. This decision reflects the immense reverence of Modi govt towards Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and our Sikh community.’’
The decision to let pilgrims cross the border—before the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on Friday—came two days after Pakistan released 20 Indian fishermen. This, along with the 1,500 jathas from November 17 to 26—the first after COVID-19—as part of the 1974 bilateral protocol between India and Pakistan on visits to religious shrines, have been the only softer people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in a long time.
In 2018, PM Modi had said: “Had anyone ever thought that the Berlin Wall would fall? Maybe with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, this Kartarpur Corridor will not just remain a corridor, but act as a bridge between the people of the two countries.” The spirit soon dissipated as Pulwama attack changed the narrative. But the corridor remained intact.
The corridor agreement has been the only piece of business between the two nations since the Pulwama attack, surgical strikes and Pakistan’s increased rhetoric on Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370. The talks on the corridor, oddly, have been insulated in a protective bubble. Even the agreement on the modalities of the pilgrims—which was not easy to work out—was finally completed.
For the BJP government at the Centre, it’s yet another attempt to win over the Sikhs in poll-bound Punjab. Though, in the past year, the Centre has remained firm on the farm laws, there has been attempts to win hearts in Punjab. The rescue of Afghan Sikhs, along with bringing in a Guru Granth Sahib from the war-torn country, was one such instance. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri went to the airport in August to receive the book, barefoot.
On Monday, BJP members from Punjab appealed to the Centre to open the corridor. Former minister and Akali Dal Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal wrote a letter to Modi a week ago requesting him to “intervene personally and urgently to get the necessary diplomatic and other steps initiated to re-open Kartarpur Sahib Corridor”. She has also proposed a land swap—which had been discussed between the two governments—a suggestion that will certainly take a lot of diplomatic skills to negotiate.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, too, had urged the Centre to reopen the corridor before Gurpurab. The corridor was shut due to COVID-19 for more than a year. Even now, a RTPCR negative certificate is required for travel.
From the stone-laying ceremony in November 2018, where Sindhu and Harsimrat Badal went, to the opening of the corridor to more than 500 pilgrims, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, the Kartarpur Corridor has been kept open even when acrimony reigned supreme. While the emotional connection for India and Sikhs is understandable, for Pakistan, the opening of the corridor—believed to be the brainchild of Army Chief Qamar Bajwa—is an attempt to recraft a narrative of being peace-loving. Prime Minister Imran Khan had chosen this project—completed within a record time of 11 months—to demonstrate the image of a new Pakistan.