CHANDIGARH: The political controversy over the Union Government denying permission for a Sikh jatha (group of pilgrims) to visit Pakistan for the Parkash Parb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, in November this year refuses to die down.
On Tuesday, both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to allow the devotees to travel to the neighbouring country, respecting Sikh sentiments.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to grant permission for Sikh pilgrims to visit Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
“While we fully understand the need to prioritise national security, it is disheartening to note that age-old traditions, faith, and spiritual practices of lakhs of Sikhs are repeatedly sacrificed in the name of hostility between two governments. The jatha to Nankana Sahib is not just a journey across borders, it is an unbroken centuries-old tradition that binds the Sikh community worldwide with their spiritual roots,” reads the letter.
It further stated, “It is particularly ironical that while pilgrims can be stopped, international cricket and sporting exchanges continue unhindered, even if through neutral venues. The message this sends to ordinary devotees is one of discrimination: that faith, heritage, and Punjabi traditions are easier to sacrifice than commercial or political interests."
"I therefore urge you to reconsider this decision and ensure that Sikh pilgrims are allowed safe passage to Nankana Sahib. Necessary diplomatic and security arrangements can always be made, as has been done in the past.”
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also urged Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to respect Sikh sentiments and allow them to visit Nankana Sahib.
He appealed to the Union Government to reconsider the decision, expressing optimism that the sentiments of Sikhs would be respected.
Warring said that the decision conveyed by the Union Government to Punjab and other states on September 12, asking them not to process applications for the pilgrimage to Nankana Sahib, seemed to have been taken without taking into consideration the sentiments of the stakeholders.
He observed that it clearly appeared to be a purely administrative decision devoid of any respect for the sentiments and sensitivities of Sikhs, who wait for this occasion every year to visit the birthplace of their first Guru.
“I doubt whether those responsible for taking such a decision understand the sensitivities and overall situation,” he noted, while adding, “Nankana Sahib is among the holiest places for Sikhs where our first Guru was born. How can anyone deny us permission to go there?” he added.
Congress Member of Parliament Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has also written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to reconsider the decision to stop visits of Sikh jathas to Pakistan and also urged him to restore the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal urged the Union Home Minister to review the Home Ministry’s advisory. He said Sikh pilgrims had undertaken visits to holy shrines in Pakistan under the framework of the Nehru–Liaquat Pact of 1950, which explicitly provides for visits by community members to Pakistan’s holy shrines on at least four significant occasions, the most important of them being the Parkash Gurpurab of Sri Guru Nanak Sahib.
He said Sikhs had visited Pakistan even during heightened hostility and, considering the thaw in relations with the resumption of cricketing ties between the two countries, permission should also be granted for pilgrimage to Sikh holy sites in Pakistan. He also urged the Home Minister to re-open the Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate pilgrims who wanted to visit Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.