KARTARPUR SAHIB VISIT.

I begin with a quote from Bhakt KabirJi in Guru Granth Sahib :-

On 12 Jan along with three other veterans I went to Kartarpur Sahib. Lt Col H S Kahlon, Vr C Arty 26 NDA, Col S S Bhullar, 18 Cav and self travelled together. Col Mukhtiar Singh, Arty 1979 travelled separately with his wife.

Application:  Application has to be made minimum 15 days ahead of travel, on line, at prakashpurb550@mha.gov.in. Scanned copy of Indian Passport, first and last page and a photo along with some details are sent. Foreign passport holders only with OCI card can travel. Rest through Pak visa. Arrange for police verification same day as you get a notice from the local police station the next day. In 4 to 5 days you get acknowledgement of your application. Final permission comes 4 days before day of visit.

Issue is why fresh police verification required? It is a formality completed by two neighbours of your area.

The final confirmation says “You MAY download the ETA…”. It is MUST. It should say ETD. You need to carry the printed letter. If not, an enterprising guy from a close by village has pasted his mobile number at the first check post and he gets you a copy in about 30 minutes for Rs 20.

Checks At ICP. After two checks on the road leading to the ICP, one by Punjab Police and another by BSF you enter the car park.

At the ICP you have to show your passport and the travel permit more times than to enter an aircraft for a flight to USA or Europe. Finger prints at the immigration counter, mine seldom work and a photograph are part of the check. Customs check. You declare the currency being  carried. Do carry USD 20. Out of the ICP in about 30 mins you are taken in an electric cart about 150 metres to the Zero line. Checked once again you walk across the Radcliffe Line.

Pak ICP. From the Zero line you are taken in electric carts to the Pak ICP about 200 metres away. You get entry permit by paying USD 20. You can also pay in Indian currency. Enter the ICP. Thankfully less checks on Pakistan side. Passport and photo done, you get to the Customs check and out of ICP. You board a bus for the 3 km ride to the shrine. 

Our First Impression.  Entering Pakistan we wished all of them, the cart driver, Rangers, FIA, currency deposit counter, immigration officials and the customs staff Sat Sri Akal and As- Salam-u-Alaykum. All conversation in Punjabi. What a feeling. When told we are ex faujis we got more respect than other visitors. The Customs Officer made us sit and get the check done separately whilst others were in the queue. Where is this animosity towards Indians and that too ex faujis? Not me. Ask anyone who has visited the place their experience. You are given a card to be worn at all times during the visit.

The Gurudwara. A few minutes’ drive across the Ravi takes you to the Gurudwara. A young Sikh lady, Andleeb Kaur briefs you about the layout. Asked her about the non Sikh sounding name she said it’s a Persian word. Its Nightingale. I asked her any problems she and others faced. Coming from Narowal, 16 km away,  she said no problems at all.

It is amazing to see the works done by the Pakistan govt and the Pakistan Gurudwara Committee. Our SGPC and the Kar Sewa Babas must learn from them. The original Gurudwara building, made by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh is not touched except for painting. It’s still a brick structure. The massive area around it, Baradari I should say, on three sides and the huge area in between is beautifully constructed.

The Sarovars are like a pool in a 5 Star resort. Pilgrims not aware plus may be the winter cold saw it unused. As the story goes Guru Nanak’s mortal remains were not found as Muslims and Sikhs argued over the last rites. The Gurudwara has a mazar just a few feet outside where the Muslims  buried one half of the Baba’s robe in accordance with their faith and a small enclosure inside the building where the Sikhs performed the last rites with the other half.Both communities had claimed Babaji as their own Peer/Guru.

The Granth Sahib is on the first floor. The space inside is slightly smaller than the Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar.

There is a well a few feet away which was used by  Guru Nanak to  water the fields. A small tail of an exploded bomb is displayed there. The writing says an IAF attack missed the Gurudwara building and landed in the well. I leave it at that.

The Baradari on two sides have long halls

with thick mattresses, clean white sheets and pillows for pilgrims to spend the night. More for locals and those on visitor Visa. We have to return by 4 PM.

The Langar. A large hall, spic and span with a modern kitchen. The Aloo Vadi, Rajma, rice, chappatis, pickle and sewian langar followed by tea was memorable. All sewadars serving food and cooks are Pakistani muslims. The langar is practically Muslim run. Indian pilgrims do take part in cleaning the plates etc.

Experience from Meeting Pakistanis. Greetings are very well

reciprocated. It will pleasantly shock readers of this post that more Pakistani Muslims visit the place than Indians. And they too have to show their ID and get a card to display around their necks. They are not from close by areas alone. Lahore, Multan, Gujrat, Sindh, Bahawalnagar and many more places. Met one Hindu Sindhi family from Sukkur. Asked them how was life. We hear lot of problems they face. NONE they said. Met a group of ladies from Lahore. The eldest, close to 80 said she was born in Delhi. All came from USA and Canada. We branded the Bajwa – Sidhu hug as anti national. What would you say when the elderly Pakistani lady was emotional and repeatedly held us in a hug.

The visit is special for Punjabis. You realise how strong this bond is vis a vis the hatred spread by the politicians. They wanted to know where we came from. One group which had migrated from Ludhiana was thrilled we were all from Ludhiana. They belonged to two villages, one Sherpur near Jagraon and the other Mundian near Ludhiana. Others wanted to know if anyone was from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and other parts of Punjab. Some wanted to know the surnames. One was a Waraich. So many common names. The immigration guy asked me are there Dhaiyas in Punjab. I said yes, few Sikhs, more Haryana Jats. He was one himself. There was a Bajwa policeman. We spoke to scores of groups. Teachers, bankers, students, young and old, men and women. Not one showed any ill will towards India and Indians. One of them left a lasting memory. Is the water in Ravi different on both sides he asked? They only said they wished greater friendship, meetings, travels etc.

I remember what late Kuldip Nayyar said many times. Leave the Indo Pak problems to Punjabis. The politicians, bureaucrats and foreign ministry guys from other states will not resolve any problem. This is confirmed after my visit.

The Return. There are about 15 shops outside the gurudwara complex selling handicrafts, dry fruits, desi juttis, women’s dresses etc. Some accept Indian currency, some ask for it to be exchanged at a exchange counter. The passport is again checked by the Pakistan side before leaving the Gurudwara complex. You board the bus back. Same customs and immigration check. Board electric carts. Repeat  checks on Indian side. Since most of the visitors are of higher age group, one wheel chair bound old lady was helped in getting into the cart and another elderly also lifted made a Pakistani Ranger remark in Punjabi, ” ki gal a,saare budhe aa rahe ne”. My prompt reply: The young are lining up in the queue for Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Brought laughter all  around.

We profusely thanked the BSF personnel on return.

This is what Guru Gobind Singh ji said :

What an experience. Pray this initiative brings the countries and communities together once again. Looks it will happen some day.

For all those who harbor animosity towards Pakistanis please visit Kartarpur Sahib and meet even one person with hatred towards India and Indians.

My heartfelt thanks to PMs Modi and Imran, Gen Bajwa and a Japhi to Navjot Sidhu who made it happen.

Inder Mohan