‘Re-open Kartarpur Corridor’; SGPC Rebuts Army Claims

On May 7, amid escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan, the Indian Union Ministry of Home Affairs closed down Kartarpur Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur for pilgrims ‘till further orders.’ Given there is a ceasefire, on 16 May, the Akal Takht (Eternal Throne, AT) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to reopen the Corridor. The Pakistan authorities maintain that the Corridor would remain open on their end as a ‘goodwill gesture’. The corridor was opened on 9 Nov 2019, on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. It was closed during the COVID-19 years but reopened after that. In 2024, both countries extended the term of the Corridor by another five years. On 19 May, India media quoted Major General Kartik Seshadri, General Officer Commanding, 15 Infantry Division, that during recent hostilities, Pakistan wanted to bomb Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple). However, India’s Akash missiles and L-70 air defence guns prevented the repeated attacks. Lieutenant General Sumer Ivan D'Cunha, the Army's in-charge of air defence said, 'It was very nice that the Head Granthi (hymns’ reciter) of the Golden Temple allowed us to deploy our guns. It is possibly for the first time in many years that they switched off the Golden Temple lights so that we could see the drones coming.' The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) disapproved of the statements. Darbar Sahib Head Granthi Giani Raghbir Singh said he was on leave and abroad in those days but has called the statements false and a matter of investigation. India Army later denied deploying guns at Darbar Sahib. Meanwhile, on 12 May, the SGPC removed the ghumatis (cupola) that the Damdami Taksal (a Sikh seminary) had erected at the martyrdom site of Baba Deep Singh on the Darbar Sahib premises amid ongoing renovation works. Darbar Sahib manager Bhagwant Singh Dhangera said the cupolas were not aligned with 'the Sikh psyche.' He likely meant Sikh architecture (earlier coverage).