Daily Times

Indeed, it is a corridor of love. The real base of religion is love NOT hate. It is the exploiter who uses religion to create hate among humans. An exploiter can be anyone, politician, a so called religious leader, a greedy business influential, a power seeker in profession, or somebody just ‘sick’.

I am speaking on the basis of personal experiences. In 2005, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer and was to go through a challenging surgery. My eldest son and his American wife thought to pray for me. They visited Churches, Gurdwaras, Temples, and other religious places and requested them to pray for me. They all did. God almighty listened as He does. The surgery was successful and the life of a human was saved.

Before Partition/Independence the relationship between various religions, within good humans, was very common. Those who believed in God, as a symbol of love, loved each other as HIS creation.

As a young boy before partition, I went through some unforgettable experiences. I was 6 or 7 years old. My mother, one of the first female doctors in the subcontinent, was in charge of the only Government hospital in 40 villages around Ali Raza Abad. We were allotted a ‘haveli’ for residence. It needed repairs. Laborers started work. The team was headed by a Sikh mason who was probably from a nearby village, named Bhoptian, entirely populated by Sikhs. As a child I fancied fun in jumping from mound to the planks and back. As I jumped the Sikh mason noticed and in a flash he jumped and caught my hands while the plank caved in, I could have fallen from the roof of the Haveli to the floor which was almost 40 feet down.  My savior, at that time did not think of my religion, it was an act of human love.

In 1947, there was a lot of tension and the residents of Ali Raza Abad or Bhoptian could not remain aloof. The real issues were economic and social, but were being exploited through religion. Bhoptian was Sikh village, headed by Sardar Bahawal Singh. His son was Dilawar Singh. Dilawar,  was my friend and we were almost the same age. With the increase in tensions, the residents set up a system of watch on both sides i.e. Bhoptian and Ali Raza Abad. Ali Raza Abad, and the 40 villages of Qizilbash state, were managed by Darogha Sahib and his family. So the watchmen reported to Darogha Sahib in Ali Raza Abad and to Sardar Bahawal Singh in Bhoptian. Several false alarms were raised, but nothing happened, no body attacked anybody. One day the watchmen reported that Sardar Bhawal Singh is coming to Ali Raza Abad! Darogha was informed, but soon it was reported that there was NOBODY with the Sardar! Sardar Bahawal Singh was riding alone. So it was! Sirdar Bahawal arrived , knocked at the door of Darogha’s haveli. Darogha extended the usual courtesies and asked Sardar Bahawal Singh about the reason for his sudden visit.

Here is the real crux of the situation. Sardar Bahawal said ” Darogha Ji we have lived here for centuries. This is the only place we know. All of you are the ones we meet. The people here are like our family. We have decided NOT TO MIGRATE. We have decided to remove the religious barrier. We all believe in one God Almighty. So there is little difference. From now on, all my residents in Bhoptian have become Muslims.”

Darogha got up and embraced Bahawal.

Everyone lived happily ever after. This is the power of love.

As nations grow they need to prioritise humanity. The Kartarpur Corridor is one such sign of maturity on behalf of Pakistan. This facility for the Sikh Community has been talked about for a long time. The Kartarpur Corridor is a border corridor between India and Pakistan. It will connect holy shrine of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib, located in the Indian part of Punjab to the holy shrine of Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan. This is where Guru Nanak Sahib spent the last ten years of his life. Main goal of this ‘corridor’ is to facilitate the crossing of religious devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. It is located in Narowal District Pakistan, only about 4 kilometers from Pakistan-India border.

In year the 2000, Pakistan agreed to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit the shrine without the need to present a passport or visa by constructing a bridge from the Indian side of the border to the shrine. The present Gurdwara is built on the historic site where Guru Nanak settled and assembled a sikh community after his missionary travels. The present gurdwara is built on the site where Guru Nanak died on 22nd Sept. 1539.

The government of Pakistan in September 2018, unilaterally decided to open the corridor before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak for visa free entry of Indian Sikhs from India to Pakistan. The step was welcomed by the across the world

The call for a visa free Kartarpur corridor is an old, persistent demand of the Sikh Community. The move was first mooted during the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, while Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf approved the idea in 2000. Later, substantial amounts running into crores were spent to restore the gurdwara. However, the Indian Government changed stances several times and once even suggested that long distance telescopes should be installed within Indian border and pilgrims should see the shrine through those only!

The government of Pakistan in September 2018, unilaterally decided to open the corridor before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak for visa free entry of Indian Sikhs from India to Pakistan. The step was welcomed by the Sikh communities across the world.

Government of India had shown reluctance but, finally, it approved the building and development .Navjeet Sidhu, Imran Khan and Gen. Bajwa have played the key role. It has been termed as ‘a corridor of peace’. However, Indian government still wants its goodwill ‘contained’ within its limits and avoids peace in general. Indian Government, presently, is composed of the right wing. Some of the constituents belong to the world’s oldest terror organization ‘ABHINAV BHARAT’ which killed Gandhi.

However, we must ensure that the corridor peace is not exploited for other nefarious purposes.

The writer is Pakistani theatre, film and television actor, scholar, public speaker, columnist, teacher
and dramatist

Published in Daily Times, December 1^st 2018.