Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is a Gurdwara in Kartarpur, Narowal District, Pakistan, 120 km from Lahore. It is built on the historic site where Guru Nanak settled and assembled a Sikh community after his missionary travels. The present Gurdwara is built on the site where Guru Nanak is popularly believed to have died, on 22 September 1539. The Gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border as Pakistani authorities generally trim the tall Elephant grass that would otherwise obstruct the view. Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers on bluffs to perform darshan, or sacred viewing of the site, from the Indian side of the border
Shrine’s History
The present building was built at a cost of Rs.1,35,600, donated by Sardar Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala. It was repaired by the Government of Pakistan in 1995 and fully restored in 2004, incurring expenditure in lacs of rupees. It has a spacious and beautiful building. Its location beside a forest and river Ravi makes its care difficult.
Extra Information About this Shrine
As the shrine lies only 3 kilometres from the border with India, Pakistan in the year 2000 agreed to allow Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the shrine visa-free by constructing a bridge from the border to the shrine. In May 2017, Indian parliamentary standing committee members announced that no such corridor would be established, given the poor state of India-Pakistan relations. Instead, the government of India may install four binoculars for viewing of the site.
