Cong MP proposes shrine land swap with Pak

In lieu of the transfer of Kartarpur Sahib shrine area, Punjab Congress MP of Gurdaspur, Partap Singh Bajwa, has proposed that India should offer land to Pakistan , across river Ravi opposite Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, where Guru Nanak spent the last days of his life.

Bajwa took up this issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday. Congress MPs from Punjab Manish Tiwari and Ravneet Singh Bittu were also in the meeting.

Bajwa cited the example of land swap with Pakistan effected in 1962 when 12 villages were swapped in lieu of the land where Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sujkhdev were cremated on the banks of Satluj. This area near Hussainiwala had been transferred to Pakistan as it was on the other side of Satluj which forms the boundary between the two countries in this region.

In Gurdaspur district, Punjab has some villages across Ravi which are connected to the mainland only by a boat. These villages are surrounded on three sides by Pakistan territory and lack even the basic amenities. Bajwa has proposed that such area should be exchanged with Pakistan.

It should be recalled that the Sikh community has been demanding free access to the shrine, visible from Dera Baba Nanak, via a corridor for a long time.

Seeking PM's attention Bajwa said although the Indian and Pakistani Governments reached an agreement to build the corridor some time in 1998 in order to enable the Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan without a visa or passport, there had been no progress on this issue by the Indian side so far. The alternative he proposed is the land swap.

Bajwa pleaded that the Prime Minister being a devout Sikh, was aware of the sentiments of the Sikhs the world over, who hold Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in high reverence where the founder of Sikh faith Guru Nanak Dev , spent the last 18 years of his life. In the absence of a hassle free pilgrimage, the devotees are forced to perform a strenuous journey taking the circuitous route via Wagah-Lahore to reach Narowal.