Visa-Free Travel to Sri Kartarpur Sahib: Historic Pilgrimage and Religious Tourism from Indian Punjab to Pakistan Punjab

Taranjeet Kaur Chawla,¹ Rayaz Hassan,² & Daljeet Kaur³

¹PhD Research Scholar, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan-India. ORCID id: 0000-0002-5336-1964. Email id: ms.kaur011@gmail.com

² Associate Professor & Head of the Department, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Manipal Universirty Jaipur, Rajasthan-India. Email id: rayaz.hassan@jaipur.manipal.edu                                                                                          

 ³Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Pali, Rajasthan- India. Email id: drkaur247@gmail.com  

 Volume 12, Number 3, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n3.09

Abstract

Kartarpur, the holiest shrine in Sikhism located across River Ravi in Pakistan, was founded in 1504 CE by Guru Nanak, the first guru of Sikhism, who also established the first Sikh commune there. This time, the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak was celebrated as the road to prosperity of the region. In November 2019, the government of India and Pakistan opened a Kartarpur corridor linking two significant Sikh shrines, namely Sri Dera Baba Nanak Sahib located in Indian Punjab and Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, located in Kartarpur, Pakistan. The visa-free travel of Sikh pilgrims through the Kartarpur corridor became a historic pilgrimage for both countries. Earlier scholarly research focused on symbolism, politics and impact on India-Pakistan relations with the construction of the Kartarpur corridor. The present study aims to examine the significance of the Kartarpur corridor among Sikh devotees and explores how Kartarpur as a site for religious tourism develops the region’s economic growth and boosts the tourism industry on both sides. Adopting a mixed methodology, the study collected data through quantitative and qualitative research methods with primary and secondary sources followed by data analysis. It tries to establish symbolic importance of the Kartarpur as historic pilgrimage and religious tourism to generate economic connectivity between both countries and offers overarching importance at both national and international levels.

Keywords:  Economic connectivity, Historic pilgrimage, Kartarpur corridor, Religious tourism.