A war of one-upmanship have broken out between India and Pakistan on Twitter as both the countries have rushed to stake claim to being the first one to initiate steps to build a corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district to the International Border to facilitate the visit of Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi river in Pakistan on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that the Indian government has taken a “landmark decision'' to approve building and development of Kartarpur corridor with all the modern facilities. Singh said India had approached Pakistan to ensure smooth and easy passage to pilgrims. "In a landmark decision, the Cabinet approves building and development of Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to International Border. Kartarpur corridor project with all modern amenities and facilities to be implemented with Central Government funding," the home minister said in a series of tweets.
Less than two hours later, Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry tweeted: “Indian Cabinet endorsement of Pakistan’s proposition on #KartarPurBorderOpening is victory of peace lobby in both countries, its a step towards right direction and we hope such steps ll encourage voice of reasons and tranquility on both sides of the border.”
As if to further affirm their claim, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi tweeted: “Pakistan has already conveyed to India it's decision to open Kartarpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28th November. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion.”
This desperate race to woo Sikh pilgrims is not new. In the past year, Kartarpur Sahib, a place where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent his last few years, has become a political tool between the two governments. The timing of India's announcement of the corridor decision is interesting. There were rampant rumours that Pakistan may announce the building of the corridor. The National Implementation Committee formed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi two days ago and headed by Home Minister Singh had not mentioned anything about building the corridor. In the press release issued, detailing the plans for the year-long celebration of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, there was a proposal for the installation of a high-powered telescope at the border for devotees to see the gurdwara, but there is no mention of the actual 'visit'.
The question, then, is what changed in the past two days to prompt the government from merely offering the devotees a view of the gurudwara to offer an actual darshan? The answer is a clear: vote. With elections round the corner, the government wants to woo the Sikhs.
The Sikh constituency matters on both the sides of the border. Despite the cooling off of ties between both the countries, Sikh pilgrimage continued in the past two years. For Baisakhi this year, as many as 2,000 visas were issued to Sikhs, and this month, as a “special gesture'', Pakistan High Commission has issued a record 3,800 visas. According to news reports, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) decided on granting 10,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims for the birth anniversary celebrations. The usual number is capped at 3,000.
India, on its part, has granted long-term visas to minorities in Pakistan, allowing them to buy a house in India and letting them avail of Aadhaar facilities. The Modi government made this facility online, and according to figures released by the home ministry, 2,142 Pakistani nationals were given long-term visas in 2015, as many as 2,298 in 2016 and 4,712 in 2017.
Following Congress MP Navjot Singh Sidhu's hug with Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and the former's claim that the Bajwa had told him that Pakistan may open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib, there have been attempts to wrest this initiative to make it appear like a BJP-led move. In the proposed meeting at the UN between the foreign ministers of both the countries, which got cancelled, the only agenda the MEA was willing to disclose was building a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib. Sushma Swaraj was going to make a passionate plea to Pakistan to let this corridor, which had been pending since former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Lahore Bus visit, be opened.
The mood seemed to be just right. The new government in Pakistan had promised the possibility of opening up the corridor from the moment it was sworn in. It was one of the first few statements that Chaudhry made after Imran Khan became the prime minister, realising it is an emotive issue. Delegations of Sikh leaders, including the SAD, had made representations to the Pakistan High Commissioner, seeking opening of the corridor.
With the elections just around the corner, the 550th birth anniversary of the Nanak may acquire a different colour.
