India stops Sikh pilgrims – A hurdle in interfaith harmony?

India has barred Sikh pilgrims from visiting their holy site in Pakistan and has stopped them from crossing over from the Wagah border. These pilgrims were scheduled to take part in their religious Saka Festival at Gurdwara Janamasthan at Nankana Sahib on Sunday.

Ties between India and Pakistan are at an ebb — their lowest in two decades. Since 2015 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lahore visit in the same year, the leaders of both countries have not met for talks.

Meanwhile, the PTI government has been recognized as a key promoter of inter-faith harmony in the global south. Let’s take an in-depth review of the India’s move to stop Sikh pilgrims from visiting Pakistan.

India barred pilgrims

India’s Union Home Ministry denied permission to 600 Sikh pilgrims intending to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan citing the security and COVID-19 situation in the neighboring country.

The ministry decision was conveyed to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the highest temporal body of Sikhs, which had organised the visit to attend the 100th anniversary of Saka Nankana Sahib.

“Recent inputs indicate a threat to the safety and security of Indian citizens visiting Pakistan. As the Jatha (caravan of pilgrims), which may have nearly 600 members, is scheduled to visit five Gurudwaras across Pakistan over a period of a week, we apprehend considerable threat to the safety of a large number of our citizens during this visit,” the ministry’s letter added.

The ‘Unusual’ decision

A person familiar with the development acknowledged said the home ministry decision was ‘unusual’. Sikh Jathas have never been stopped from going to Pakistan in the past even when bilateral relations between two countries were at their worst, during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks or Pulwama attack.

It is a blatant violation of human rights as it is the fundamental right of everyone to freely participate in religious festivals and events. It is not the first time India has taken such a step. Last year in June, India prevented Sikh pilgrims from attending Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Khalistan movement and Pak-India ties

The farmers, many of whom come from the Punjab region of northern India, which has a large Sikh population, have stage a protest against Indian government over new laws, which they say will deregulate the agricultural sector and deregulate the agricultural sector

Since the protests began last year, Narendra Modi’s far-right government has tried to violently suppress them, lashing out at critics in a way that exposes just how close “the world’s largest democracy” is to becoming an authoritarian state. Many Indian politicians have linked it with Khalistan movement. The Khalistan Movement is a major reason to stop Sikh pilgrims from visiting Pakistan.  

Indeed, throughout Narendra Modi’s time in power, Pakistan-India relations have been in a deep freeze, with bilateral dialogue suspended as India continues to harp on about ‘terrorism’ yet refuses to talk to Pakistan.

Kartarpur Corridor and Interfaith Harmony

Earlier in 2020, the Indian authorities stopped Sikh pilgrims from visiting Pakistan, citing COVID-91 concerns. The PTI government has been recognized as a key promoter of inter-faith harmony in the global south with the recent success of the Katarpur Corridor inaugurated in 2019. The project allowed Sikh pilgrims to visit their revered site in Pakistan while scores of others arrived to celebrate their festive occasions.

The Kartarpur initiative highlighted Pakistan’s positive image. It holds the potential to foster religious tourism, promote people-to-people contact to reduce the trust deficit on both sides, and in turn perhaps aid dispute resolution by keeping avenues of dialogue open.

Both sides should avoid playing politics over religious places; India should respond positively to Pakistan’s invitation. If this experiment succeeds, the process can be taken further; hopefully, similar arrangements can be made for Pakistani pilgrims wishing to visit the revered Sufi dargahs in India, such as Khawaja Moinuddin Chishty’s tomb in Ajmer and Nizamuddin Auliya’s dargah in Delhi, among others.