24-Oct-2019: India, Pakistan sign agreement to operationalise Kartarpur Corridor

India and Pakistan signed a landmark agreement to operationalise the historic Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just about four kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province where the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev spent last 18 years of his life.

The agreement signing ceremony took place at the Kartarpur Zero Point at the International Border, removing a key legal hurdle for the opening of the corridor, a long-pending demand of the Sikh community.

S C L Das, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry signed the pact on India's behalf while Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal singed the agreement from Pakistan's side.

Under the agreement, the corridor will remain open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. A total of 5,000 or so Indian Sikhs will arrive every day and leave the same day. They (pilgrims) will have to only bring their passport for their identity and it will not be stamped. India will share the list of those visiting the Gurdwara (Darbar Sahib Kartarpur) 10 days before their travel plan.

Each visitor would be required to pay USD 20 as fee, though India has requested Pakistan not to charge the Indian pilgrims. Indian Sikhs will not be allowed to visit other gurdwaras of the Punjab province. For visiting other gurdwaras or parts of the country they will have to take a visa.

Online registration of devotees began soon after the signing of the agreement.

Pakistan Prime Minister Khan would formally inaugurate the corridor on November 9, ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 12.

The foundation stone for the Kartarpur Corridor on the Indian side was laid in Punjab's Gurdaspur district by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu last November. Two days later, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the corridor in Narowal.

Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. The four-lane highway connecting the Zero Point of the Kartarpur Corridor up to National Highway-354 on the Indian side is being constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

14-Jul-2019: 2nd round of discussions on Kartarpur Sahib Corridor 

The second round of talks with Pakistan on the modalities for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor was held at Wagah, Pakistan. The Indian delegation was led by Shri S.C.L. Das, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Government of Punjab and the National Highway Authorities of India.

The meeting discussed the modalities and draft Agreement for facilitation of Pilgrims on the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, as also the infrastructure being developed for the corridor. The meeting reviewed the progress reached in the three rounds of technical meeting that were held in March, April and May 2019. They endorsed the crossing point /‘zero point’ coordinates that were agreed to at the technical level.

The Indian side conveyed concerns regarding the possible flooding of the Dera Baba Nanak and adjoining areas on the Indian side as a result of earth filled embankment road or a causeway that is proposed to be built by Pakistan on their side. The Indian delegation shared detailed flood analysis with Pakistan to underscore these concerns. It was clearly conveyed that an earth filled embankment or a causeway will create problems for our people and should not be built even in the interim. Details of the bridge that India is building on its side were shared, and Pakistan side was urged to also build a bridge on their side. This would not only address the flooding related concerns, but also ensure smooth, hassle free, all-weather pilgrimage to the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, throughout the year. Pakistan side agreed, in principle, to build a bridge at the earliest. Pending the construction of a bridge over the old Ravi creek by Pakistan on their territory, India offered to make interim arrangements for making the corridor operational in November 2019, given the historic importance of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

India urged Pakistan to take into consideration the sentiments of the pilgrims to have smooth, easy, unrestricted access throughout the year to be able to visit the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib. In this context, the following requests were reiterated:

•  5,000 pilgrims be allowed to visit Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor everyday given the expected high demand on our side;
• 10,000 additional pilgrims be allowed to visit on special occasions;
• there should be no restrictions on the pilgrims in terms of their faith;
• not only Indian nationals, but also the Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) holding OCI cards be allowed to use the Kartarpur Corridor facility;
• the movement should be visa free and Pakistan should reconsider charging any fee or introducing any permit system;
• pilgrims should be allowed to visit throughout the year, seven days a week;
• pilgrims should have the choice to visit as individuals or in a group;
• pilgrims should have the choice to visit on-foot on pilgrimage to the holy shrine;
• provisions should be made for preparation and distribution of langar and prasad for the pilgrims.

The importance for ensuring safe and secure environment for the pilgrims was underscored. In this context, concerns regarding individuals or organisations based in Pakistan who may try to disrupt the pilgrimage and misuse the opportunity to play with the sentiments of the pilgrims were shared. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side to highlight concerns in the matter. The Indian delegation has also sought consular presence in Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara to be able to provide assistance to the pilgrims, if required. Pakistan side assured our delegation that no anti-India activity would be allowed.

Based on the representations that were received by the Government, the issue of encroachment of the land belonging to the Gurudwara was once again raised and Pakistan authorities were asked to restore this land to the Gurudwara to honor religious sentiments. Pakistan side agreed to look at this issue.

The Government of India has made significant progress to build a state of art infrastructure, including passenger terminal on the Indian side that can handle over 15000 pilgrims in a day. This is targeted to be completed by 31 October 2019. The work on the 4-lane highway to the crossing point at the International Boundary is progressing satisfactorily and is on schedule. It will be completed by end September 2019. The Government is fully confident that India would be ready to commence the pilgrimage through Kartarpur corridor on the auspicious occasion of the 550th birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji.

The Pakistan side has been separately requested to permit and facilitate ‘Nagar Kirtan’ from Delhi to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan in July 2019 and then again in October/ November 2019 that is proposed to be organised by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), the apex bodies involved in organising pilgrims visits to Pakistan under the 1974 Bilateral protocol. It has also been proposed to Pakistan to allow 10,000 Indian pilgrims to visit Pakistan under the 1974 Protocol on the auspicious occasion of 550th Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Progress was made in finalising the draft Agreement with regard to the modalities. It was agreed to allow visa free travel for the Indian passport holders and OCI card holders seven days a week. Throughout the year, 5000 pilgrims will be allowed to visit Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara per day. The pilgrims will be allowed to travel as individuals or in groups and also on foot. Pakistan highlighted the infrastructural constraints on their side and conveyed that they may be able to accommodate many of the Indian proposals in a phased manner. Pakistan was asked to reconsider its position as Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is a long pending demand of the pilgrims and there is expectation that Pakistan would be liberal in allowing more pilgrims and facilities for them through this corridor.

Both sides have agreed to maintain a channel of communication and work towards finalisation of the Agreement on Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. The technical teams would meet again to ensure a seamless connectivity for the Kartarpur corridor is operational in time so that the pilgrimage can begin in November 2019.

16-Apr-2019: Pakistan, Indian Officials Hold Technical Meeting On Kartarpur Corridor

Pakistan and India held a technical meeting to discuss the modalities for the corridor linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab.

The technical experts and foreign office officials from both sides participated in the talks held at Zero Point (Kartarpur). They reportedly discussed installation of a border fence and road design. Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the river Ravi, near Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

Earlier, India postponed the Kartarpur Corridor meeting between the two countries at the Wagah border scheduled for April 2. India and Pakistan on March 19 held a meeting of technical experts on the Kartarpur corridor during which its alignment, coordinates, and other engineering aspects of the proposed crossing points were discussed.

The technical meeting at the level of experts, including engineers and surveyors, was held at "proposed zero points" in the follow up to the decision reached on the March 14 meeting. Later, the Pakistani Cabinet constituted a 10-member Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) to facilitate Sikh pilgrims after opening of the Kartarpur corridor.

India voiced concerns over the presence of several Khalistani separatists in the committee on the Kartarpur corridor and said it will wait for a response from Islamabad on the issue and will not go ahead with a previously agreed meeting on the corridor on April 2 in Wagah on the Pakistani side.

During the previous meeting, both sides jointly surveyed the coordinates of the Zero Point and discussed the technical details, including finished road level, high flood level etc.

Pakistan will build the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab's Gurdaspur district up to the border will be constructed by India.

In Pakistan, the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor was performed on November 28 last year by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Fifty per cent of the four-kilometre stretch being built by Pakistan has been completed while the stretch between the Zero Line to Baba Nanak's shrine is being built by India.

22-Nov-2018: Cabinet approves construction of Kartarpur corridor

The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the development of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the International Border. This will give Indian pilgrims easy access to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi river, in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji.

The Kartarpur corridor will be implemented as an integrated development project with Government of India funding, to provide smooth and easy passage, with all the modern amenities. The government of India will put in place suitable facilities for smooth passage of pilgrims.

The government of Pakistan will be urged to recognise the sentiments of the Sikh community and to develop a corridor with suitable facilities in their territory as well.

22-Jul-2019: Digitization of Archaeological Museum is being done through a special software in a phased manner.

The National Portal and Digital Repository for Indian Museums is developed and hosted by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, C-DAC, Pune, as per the agreement with Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Human Centres Design and Computing Group, being a technical expertise, developed JATAN: Virtual Museum software which is used for creating the digital collections in various museums and digital archival tools that are used in background for managing the National Portal and Digital Repository for Indian Museums.

There are 48 (forty-eight) Archaeological Site Museums under Archaeological Survey of India out of which two Archaeological Site Museums, namely - Velha Goa; and Nagarjunakonda, have been digitised during the first phase through JATAN: Virtual Museum software and the data has been up-loaded in public domain through National Portal and Digital Repository for Indian Museums.

The portal works through the website - http://museumsofindia.gov.in/ wherein all the digitised data on museums have been up-loaded for on-line viewing. Digitisation in rest of the 46 (forty-six) archaeological museums through multi-user JATAN software is being done in phase-wise manner.