Hundreds of Indian Sikhs make historic pilgrimage to Pakistan

Hundreds of Indian Sikhs made a historic pilgrimage to Pakistan on Saturday and crossed the white door to reach one of the most sacred places in religion after a landmark deal between the two countries separated in the subcontinent in 1947.

The cheering Sikhs happily walked along the road to the new immigration hall in Dera Baba Nanak, India, where the immigration passed through Pakistan with safe weapons.

Some fathers ran with their children on their shoulders.

From the Pakistan side, he took a bus along the corridor to Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and arrived at the small city of Kartarpur, 4 km from Pakistan.

Surjit Singh Bajwa told the AFP news agency howling as he walked down the hall.

At 78, he is older than India and Pakistan, has already waged three wars and has almost ignited a quarter earlier this year.

For up to 30 million Sikhs around the world, the White Dome Shrine is one of the most holy places.

However, Indian Sikhs have been enthusiastic enough to stand on the border for decades and look at the four cupolas.

One day after Pakistan began independence at the end of British colonial rule on August 14, 1947, Qatarpur went west of the Pakistan border, and most of the Sikhs remained on the other side.

Since then, perennial hostility in India and Pakistan has been a constant barrier for those who want to visit the shrines known as Gurwara in Sikhism.

Pilgrims on both sides of the border reflected hope that the corridor would foretell the thawing of India-Pakistan relations.

"Everything is hate in government-government relations, everything is love in relations with people," one of the Sikh pilgrims who did not reveal his name told Pakistani state television. When he went over

Among the first pilgrims to pass through the door, former Indian Prime Minister Man Man Singh said to the ist Pakistani state media "a big moment".

It is hoped that the relationship between Pakistan and India will improve after the opening of Qatarpur.

The opening ceremony thanked India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Pakistani imran Khan for "respecting Indian sentiment."

Khan greeted the pilgrims in the Holy Land, and was able to see the conversation with the full-blown Singh on television.

Khan said the day will come when relations with India improve.

"I hope this begins," he told the pilgrims at the shrine.

For several years India has asked Pakistan to grant Sikhs access to the shrine.

Many believe that this is what happened now because of the friendly relationship between politician Khan, who became the cricketer who won the World Cup, and Navjot Singh Sidhu of India, who became another cricketer.

Khan said on Saturday.

He could compare the situation with the Muslims to see the Holy Land in Medina, but he never visited.

Guru Nanak's 550th Birthday

The opening ceremony is celebrated by millions of Sikhs around the world a few days before the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak on November 12. The shrine is one of the most important places for the Sikhs that day.

More than 700 pilgrims are expected to pass through the halls on Saturday, with more pilgrims in the future.

After acquiring a visa, Sikhs from all over the world, including some of India from the border crossing Wagah, have already arrived in Pakistan a few days ago.

On Friday I was able to see pilgrim vans traveling to Kartarpur.

The Indian flag was seen flying across the border over fields dotted with eucalyptus and guava trees, but recently it was half obscured by the heavy downy heavy smog of South Asia.

The existence of a paramilitary patrol in Pakistan has given it a threatening edge in terms of peace. Very rice growing areas very close to the border are strongly protected by multiple checkpoints.

& # 39; This land is sacred & # 39;

"The land is sacred to them," said 63-year-old Imam Habib Khan of the small temple on the outskirts of Gurwara, told AFP Friday.

This deal allows you to pass up to 5,000 pilgrims a day.

Pakistan hires hundreds of workers to build shrines, including expanding borders as well as building border crossings and checkpoints and bridges.

The Sikh faith began in the city of Lahore in the 15th century, and Guru Nanak, now part of Pakistan, began to teach faith that spreads equality.

The bloody religious violence triggered by independence and division is estimated to have left about 20,000 Sikhs in Pakistan after millions fled to India, causing the largest population shift in human history, resulting in at least one million deaths.

Source: AFP