A Corridor of Faith, Closed by Conflict: The Kartarpur Link Suspended

NEWS DROP — PETAL 006

🗓️ Date: May 8, 2025
🌐 Thematic Focus: International Relations | Religious Diplomacy | Indo-Pak Tensions
🌿 Intro Whisper:
In a land divided by borders but united by belief, a quiet corridor once carried prayers across barbed wires—until the echoes fell silent.

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🔍 Key Highlights:

• What’s in News:
  Following Operation Sindoor, India has suspended use of the Kartarpur Corridor, the only operational surface route between India and Pakistan.

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🛕 What is the Kartarpur Corridor?

• A visa-free religious corridor linking:
  🕌 Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur (Pakistan)
  🛕 Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab (India)
• Built for daily pilgrim access to one of Sikhism’s holiest sites—where Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, spent his final years.
• India’s Section:
  ➤ A 4.1 km-long, four-lane highway from Dera Baba Nanak to the Indo-Pak border.
  ➤ Pilgrims must return the same day (no overnight stay allowed).
• Pakistan’s Access Restrictions:
  Pakistani Sikhs still need Indian visas to visit Dera Baba Nanak.

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📜 The Agreement (2019)

• Signed to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
• Allows visa-free access to Indian nationals and OCI cardholders, but with strict protocols.

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⚠️ Why Is It Suspended Now?

• Operation Sindoor triggered the closure, indicating rising India-Pakistan tensions.
• Reflects how even humanitarian and religious initiatives are vulnerable to geopolitical instability.

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📘 GS Paper Mapping:

• GS Paper 2: Bilateral Relations – India and Pakistan
• GS Paper 1 (Society): Role of religion and culture in diplomacy
• Essay: “Borders Divided Us, Faith Kept Us Walking: Kartarpur and the Idea of Peace Corridors”

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🌠 Closing Thought:

When a corridor of faith closes, it isn’t just distance that grows—it’s the silence where song and spirit once flowed.

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Target IAS-26: Daily MCQs :

📌 Prelims Practice MCQs

Topic:

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MCQ 1: Type-1 — “How many of the above statements are correct?”
Consider the following statements regarding the Kartarpur Corridor:
1. The Kartarpur Corridor is the only operational land link between India and Pakistan.
2. It allows visa-free, year-round access to Pakistani Sikh pilgrims to visit Indian shrines.
3. The agreement to open the corridor was signed in 2019 to mark Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.
4. The Indian stretch of the corridor extends from Dera Baba Nanak to the international border.
How many of the above statements are correct?
A) Only two
B) Only three
C) All four
D) Only one

🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation

✅ Correct Answer: B) Only three

🧠 Explanation:
1) Correct – It is the only open surface link between India and Pakistan.

2) Incorrect – Pakistani citizens, including Sikhs, need Indian visas to cross into India.

3) Correct – The corridor was inaugurated in 2019 for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.

4) Correct – The 4.1 km Indian stretch runs from Dera Baba Nanak to the border.

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MCQ 2: Type-2 — Two-Statement Assertion
Consider the following statements:
1. All pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur Gurdwara must return the same day.
3. The Kartarpur Corridor was suspended due to rising tensions after Operation Sindoor.
A) Only 1 is correct
B) Only 2 is correct
C) Both are correct
D) Neither is correct

🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation

✅ Correct Answer: C) Both are correct

🧠 Explanation:
•1) Correct – Same-day return is a condition under the corridor agreement. 2) Correct – Operation Sindoor led to the recent suspension of pilgrim movement.

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MCQ 3: Type-3 — “Which of the above statements is/are correct?”
Consider the following statements about the Kartarpur Corridor:
1. It connects Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.
2. Only Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders are allowed to visit via the corridor.
3. The corridor permits visa-free access from India to Pakistan for religious pilgrims.
4. It was first proposed in the early 2000s but materialized only in 2019.
A) 1, 3 and 4 only
B) 1 and 3 only
C) 2, 3 and 4 only
D) All four

🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation

✅ Correct Answer: A) 1, 3 and 4 only

🧠 Explanation:
1) Correct – It connects two key Gurdwaras across the border.

2) Incorrect – Indian citizens and OCI holders are both allowed to travel from India.

3) Correct – Visa-free access from India is granted under strict guidelines.

4) Correct – The idea had existed for years but became reality in 2019.

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MCQ 4: Type-4 — Direct Factual Question
Which Gurdwara in Pakistan is connected to India through the Kartarpur Corridor?
A) Gurdwara Janam Asthan
B) Gurdwara Panja Sahib
C) Gurdwara Darbar Sahib
D) Gurdwara Nankana Sahib

🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation.

✅ Correct Answer: C) Gurdwara Darbar Sahib

🧠 Explanation:
C) The corridor links to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, where Guru Nanak spent his final years.

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