Hardeep Puri praises PM Modi for initiating various initiatives for Sikh community
New Delhi: Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating various initiatives for the Sikh community, including the operationalisation of the Kartarpur Corridor.
“From opening of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, to painting the fundamental teaching of Sikhism ੴ ‘Ek Onkar’ on an @airindia aircraft that began operations between Sri Amritsar Sahib & London (Stansted) from 31st Oct 2019 when I was the Civil Aviation Minister, a host of initiatives were implemented under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji to celebrate the auspicious 550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the most befitting manner,” the Union Minister wrote on X.
The Kartarpur Corridor in Punjabi is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, near Narowal in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak, in India’s Gurdaspur district of Punjab.
The crossing allows devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border on the Pakistani side without a visa.
The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan respectively at that time, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.
On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; two days later, then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did the same for the Pakistani side.
The corridor was completed for the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, on 12 November 2019.
The national carrier Air India had also painted “Ik Onkar” on one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner to mark the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak in 2022.
Ek Onkar means “God is One”. The symbol is an emblem of the Sikh religion and is found on Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) around the world.
