Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the Kartapur Sahib corridor to the Berlin Wall that formed a division between East and West Germany, a day after the union cabinet announced its formation.
He added that this could also act as a bridge between India and Pakistan.
“Had anyone ever thought that the Berlin Wall would fall. Maybe with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, this Kartarpur corridor will not just remain a corridor, but act as a bridge between the peoples of the two countries,” Modi said, as quoted by NDTV at a Gurupurab function in Delhi.
Kartapur Sahib is a place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs as Guru Nanak is said to have lived for 18 years, towards the end of his life. This is located in the Narowal district in Pakistan’s Punjab. However, there have been demands that a corridor be built which would connect with Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.
On Thursday, the union cabinet gave a green signal to the development of the corridor which would connect the international border to Dera Baba Nanak. The Pakistan government received a communication from the Ministry of External Affairs which stated that a corridor be built with proper facilities from the border to the Gurudwara Kartapur Sahib.
The Pakistan government consented to open the Kartapur Corridor for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary in 2019.
“When I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I ordered to re-construct the sacred place where Guru Nanak’s “padukaon” had been kept. The place had got damaged due to earthquake. Today, it has become a site of “World Heritage”. With the blessing of Guru Nanak Dev-ji, Kartarpur Corridor is not only a corridor, it also could be a reason to connect people,” Modi added.
The Berlin Wall which was built in 1961 was brought down on November 9, 1989 as it marked the unification of Germany.