Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has urged the Centre to facilitate the reopening of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as soon as possible.
Raising the issue in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mann offered a prayer for the corridor to reopen, highlighting its emotional and religious significance for the people of Punjab.
During his address, Mann spoke about the lasting impact of the 1947 India-Pakistan Partition on Punjabis and he referred to the emotional connection people continue to share with places of religious and historical importance that became part of Pakistan following the Partition.
The Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan and the gurdwara is associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, who spent the final years of his life in Kartarpur.
The corridor was inaugurated in November 2019, allowing Indian pilgrims to visit the historic gurdwara without requiring a visa, subject to the prescribed travel conditions and permissions and its opening was a significant development for Sikh devotees, as it provided direct access to one of the most important religious sites associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
The corridor has particular significance for Punjab, where many families continue to remember the separation caused by Partition. For Sikh devotees, access to the gurdwara is closely linked to their religious beliefs and the history of the Sikh faith.
Mann also expressed displeasure with the Centre during his address, stating that politics had come to overshadow even sports and his remarks came in the context of broader concerns over political considerations affecting relations between India and Pakistan.
The reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor remains an important issue for devotees who wish to visit the shrine. Mann's appeal in the Assembly once again brought attention to the demand for easier access to the historic religious site.
Any reopening will depend on the decisions of the authorities concerned in India and Pakistan.