ISLAMABAD: “If I won’t go, who will?“
With those words fresh on everyone’s minds, Indian actor-politician Sunny Deol embarked on his visit to his “home,” the Kartarpur Corridor, inaugurated today.
“If I won’t go, who will? I’ll definitely go. It is my area and my home,” Deol told Indian news agency, ANI, on November 8th one day before he headed to Pakistan, adding that he was trying to set an example and open the door for others to follow.
Headlining international and local news portals for the past few weeks, the Kartarpur Corridor is a border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world to visit one of their most revered sites in Pakistan.
The initiative, one of the few rare agreements between India and Pakistan in recent times, allows visa-free access from India to the Pakistani town of Kartarpur, home to a temple that marks the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, died.
Hundreds of Indian delegates and pilgrims crossed the border for the ceremony on Saturday, with Deol representing India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Upon his arrival at the site, Deol posted a second tweet with photos of himself at the corridor writing: “Today is a very big day with the grace of Jagat Guru Baba Nanak.”
इंसानियत ज़िंदाबाद।
आज जगत गुरु बाबा नानक जी की कृपा से बहुत बड़ा दिन है।
मेहर करो दाता जी।
धन्य गुरु नानक देव जी।#apnagurdaspur #Kartarpur #KartarpurCorridorForPeace @PMOIndia @BJP4Punjab @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/N4fOOjqfPh— Sunny Deol (@iamsunnydeol) November 9, 2019
Later, he tweeted a photo of the Kartarpur Corridor itself which was inaugurated today by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan and by his counterpart, Narendra Modi, in India.
“Humanity is alive today,” he wrote, “Today is a great day with the grace of Guru Baba Nanak Ji of the world.”
ਇਨਸਾਨੀਅਤ ਜ਼ਿੰਦਾਬਾਦ।
ਅੱਜ ਜਗਤ ਗੁਰੂ ਬਾਬਾ ਨਾਨਕ ਜੀ ਦੀ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਸਦਕਾ ਬਹੁਤ ਵੱਡਾ ਦਿਨ ਹੈ।
ਮਿਹਰ ਕਰੀਂ ਦਾਤਿਆ।
ਧੰਨ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ।#Kartarpur #KartarpurCorridorForPeace pic.twitter.com/0yXPhxTzLG— Sunny Deol (@iamsunnydeol) November 9, 2019
Other prominent Indian Sikhs who participated in the event include former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sindhu, and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
Deol, 63, is Sikh and one of Bollywood’s most prominent actors for more than three decades. Starring in over 100 films, he assumed office as a BJP member of parliament in May this year by winning from the Gurdaspur constituency which he was representing.
He is the oldest son of veteran actor, Dharmendra, and brother to Bobby Deol.
Esha and Ahana Deol are his step sisters from Dharmendra’s second marriage to Hema Malini.
Pakistan’s Punjab is home to a number of historic Sikh sites and was home for several Sikhs prior to the partition in 1947.
The Kartarpur Corridor is being seen as a stepping stone toward peace between India and Pakistan with New Delhi opening its borders for Indian Sikhs to visit the site.
Pakistan, for its part, said that the Kartarpur initiative is the first step toward promoting religious tourism in the country where Hinduism and Buddhism have played a vital role in its history.
