From: J.S.Tiwana <tiwana@...>
Subject: [learning-zone] The case for Kartarpur - Trividesh Singh
To:
Date: Thursday, 9 July, 2009, 1:40 PM

http://www.dailytim es.com.pk/ default.asp? page=2009\07\09\story_ 9-7-2009_ pg3_4

Thursday, July 09, 2009
<http://www.dailytim es.com.pk/ send.asp? page=2009% 5C07%5C09% 5Cstory_9- 7-2009_pg3_ 4>

opinion: The case for Kartarpur ­Trividesh Singh

[]
As a peace-loving individual and follower of
Baba Nanak’s philosophy, all I can say is that
supporting a cause related to Baba Nanak will
only pave the way for peace in the sub-continent.
Stopping a religious pilgrimage will not enhance
national security on either side

The Mumbai attacks on November 26, 2008 proved a
great setback to the Indo-Pak relationship, which
seemed better than ever before. In the present
scenario, a detente between the two nuclear
powers does not seem on the anvil just yet.

It is interesting to note that the ‘Kartarpur
religious corridor’, an issue related to the Sikh
faith, is acting as a sort of bridge between both the nuclear states.

For those not familiar with the term, Kartarpur
(now in Pakistan) is the place where the founder
of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, spent the last 18
years of his life and had both Hindu and Muslim
followers. Kartarpur, which falls in district
Narowal, is home to the Sikh shrine Darbar Sahib,
and this shrine is barely 3 kilometres from the
Indian border. Before 1965, it is said that there
was a bridge on the Ravi that Sikh pilgrims could
cross over and visit Darbar Sahib. During the
aggression of 1965, however, this bridge was
destroyed; even otherwise the relationship
between the two countries became more tense and
visa regimes became stricter with the passage of time.

For a long time ­ nearly a decade ­ Sikhs,
predominantly settled in Indian Punjab, have been
demanding visa-free access to Darbar Sahib. Two
individuals who have rallied hard for this cause
are Kuldeep Singh Wadala, a well respected leader
of Indian Punjab, and BS Goraya, who runs the
website www.kartarpur. com and publishes the
Punjab Monitor magazine which apprises people
about progress made with regard to the Kartarpur Corridor.

Interestingly, the Pakistani side has been quite
upbeat about this demand and the Minister for
Religious Affairs and Minorities in the previous
Musharraf government, Ijaz-ul Haq, announced that
the Pakistani government would have no objection
to Sikh pilgrims crossing over to the Pakistani
side to pay obeisance without a visa, provided
they return the same day. Even the present
government has been quite encouraging in its
response and has in fact started constructing a
road that would make the pilgrimage smoother.
This is a significant development, given that it
has taken place in the aftermath of the Mumbai
attacks and when tension between both governments have been on the rise.

The Indian government has been promising that it
will look into the issue but there has not been
much progress. The earlier Indian External
Affairs Minister and present Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee visited the Indian side of the
border ­ Dera Baba Nanak ­ in June 2008, which is
also home to a Sikh shrine and assured the Sikh
community that the government is looking into
various ways of going ahead with the visa-free
pilgrimage from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur. In
the meanwhile, the Mumbai attacks happened and things slowed down even further.

In the last few days however, there has been
movement on the Indian side and Sports Minister
Dr MS Gill has been lobbying with the government
in New Delhi to go ahead with the religious corridor.

Interestingly, a former US diplomat, Ambassador
John McDonald, who runs an NGO called the
Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, has also
been lobbying for the cause ever since he visited
the site last year in June, and has made the
recommendation that this site be declared a peace
zone. McDonald was shocked to see the barbed wire
that separated Dera Baba Nanak from Kartarpur.

Both politicians and NGOs are in no mood to
relent this time and are mounting pressure on
their respective governments. It is important to
note that Kuldeep Singh Wadala performed the
100th Ardaas (Sikh supplication) for this cause
on Monday, June 22, 2009. Despite political
tensions, Wadala shall also be visiting Kartarpur
on September 22, 2009 (the day Guru Nanak passed away).

Already, politicians and peace activists from
Pakistan have offered full cooperation to him. On
November 7, 2009, Sikhs and Non-Sikhs from
different parts of the world shall congregate for
the ‘Bridge of Harmony Event’. This event has
been initiated by Sikhs based in the US, under
the aegis of an organisation called ‘Teri Sikhi’.

As a peace-loving individual and follower of Baba
Nanak’s philosophy, all I can say is that
supporting a cause related to Baba Nanak will
only pave the way for peace in the sub-continent.
Stopping a religious pilgrimage will not enhance
national security on either side; there are
numerous other means of doing so. Sikhs,
Non-Sikhs, Indians, Pakistanis and all peace
loving individuals and lovers of humanity have an
obligation to support and push for this noble cause.

The writer is an activist for the Kartarpur Corridor

Jagpal Singh Tiwana
Dartmouth, Canada