Kartarpur Corridor – A Welcome Move
True; Kartarpur Corridor
project is aimed at removing the
hurdles and pave the way for the
Sikh pilgrims to visit a historic and
much revered Gurdwara shrine
situated in Pakistan. At the same
time, it also opens up the lid on the
feelings of oneness strong among
the Sikh people in India as well as
Pakistan.
How and where the idea of
corridor had originated was made
a point of debate in India. Yet, it
remains a fact that Sikh people in
India as well as Pakistan had been
demanding for several decades for
this corridor. The building of the
corridor will cut down the distance
between Dera Baba Nanak – 2 km
inside India (Gurudaspur) and
Kartarpur shrine in Pakistan [
where, it is believed, the last Guru
Nanak stayed for 18 years and
ended his life in 1539] from 200 km
to 6 km. Only in August 2018, on the eve of Pakistan new PM Imran
Khan’s oath taking ceremony,
Pakistan’s Army Chief Qamar
Bajwa informed Navjot Sidhu, a
Minister of Punjab (India) the
decision of Pakistan Govt. to build
the Kartarpur corridor. The
Pakistan Govt. proposes to
complete and inaugurate the
corridor on November 23, 2019 –
550th Birth Anniversary of Guru
Nanak. The construction includes
a boarding terminal from where the
shrine buses will run to Kartarpur
shrine, and an 800 meter – long
bridge over the Ravi. There will
also be temporary accommodation
and tents for pilgrims, who will
require special permits, but no
visas.
Every one knows that the
relations between India and
Pakistan are not normal for several
years. Tensions and clashes are
continuous and unending on the
themselves seeking to resolve
J
the disputes amicably through domination in Asia and Asia-Pacific
region, we can see an increased
involvement of India in Afghanistan.
The growing relations of Pakistani-
a traditional US ally- with China – a
US foe – may reflect in the relations
between the US, Pakistan and
India. Yet, we must be clear that the
US relations with Pakistan and
India basically remain in the nature
of relations between an imperialist
big power and subservient powers.
Making use of subservient powers
as well as the contradictions
among the subservient powers in
the interests of their own imperialist
strategy for domination will be a
continuing factor. Common
interests of Pakistani and Indian
people demand that they must
resolve the problems among
themselves must not allow the
imperialist intervention and forge
unity in the struggle against
imperialism and the politics of
domination.
negotiations. The imperialists,
especially the US, made a big
business of weapons with both
countries. They had developed
their own vested interests in the
perpetuation of the conflict and
bad blood between Pakistan and
India. They used their hold on
Pakistan freely in support of their
war against Afghanistan. They
used the so called “security aid” to
reduce the Pakistani leaders into
their mercenaries and commission
agents. The entire world knows that
the imperialists themselves had
created the ghost of Osama Bin
Laden, used it when ever and to
whatever extent they found useful
and dismantled it once the purpose
was over. In the conditions when
an US led alliance of US - Japan –
Australia and India had come up
as part of the US strategy for
December - 2018
borders. The Indian Govt. alleges
that Pakistan shelters prominent
terrorists who had committed
serious crimes in India. Pakistan
equips and sends the Islamic
terrorists to India to strike terror
and create anarchy. The Indian
Govt. led by BJP had closed
various avenues and channels of
interaction and dialogue with
Pakistan and maintains that the
relations cannot improve unless
and until Pakistan stops patronizing
the terrorists.
Pakistan’s approval of
Kartarpur corridor proposal came
as disturbing news for Indian rulers.
The proposal has evoked a lot of
joy and enthusiasm among the Sikh
population because it was their
long cherished dream. The Indian
rulers know that any outright or
crude rejection of the proposal is
sure to invite anger and protest
from the Sikh population in India.
So, they thought it advisable to
accept the proposal. At the same
time, the Indian rulers do not want
to give the impression that
Kartarpur corridor is a move
towards improving the relations
between India and Pakistan as they
are in need of playing the card of
national chauvinism. Keeping the
fire of anti-Pakistaism burning is
very much essential for this. So, the
Indian Govt. has decided to co-
operate with the corridor project
while delinking it with India-Pakistan
relations, so that the tensions and
hostilities between the two
countries can be continued as
usual.
The present Pakistan Govt.
seems to view the Kartarpur
corridor as a part of a compre-
hensive move to improve the
relations between India and
Pakistan and, if possible, attempt
to resolve the problems. It can be
a part of peace offensive
diplomatically on their part.
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