Kartarpur, Pakistan

For the town in India, see Kartarpur, India. For the India–Pakistan corridor, see Kartarpur Corridor.
Kartarpur
کرتار پور
Town in Pakistan
The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartar Pur was built to commemorate the spot where Guru Nanak is said to have died.
Kartarpur
Kartarpur
Coordinates: 32°05′N 75°01′E / 32.08°N 75.01°E / 32.08; 75.01
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab
DistrictNarowal
TehsilShakargarh
Founded byGuru Nanak
Elevation
155 m (509 ft)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Kartarpur, Pakistan
Punjabi language
Gurmukhiਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ
Transliteration
kartārpur
Shahmukhiکرتار پور
Transliteration
kartārpur
IPA[kɐɾˈt̪äɾᵊ ˈpuːɾᵊ]

Kartarpur (Punjabi / Urdu: کرتار پور; pronounced [kɐɾˈt̪äɾᵊ ˈpuːɾᵊ]) is a border town 102 km from Lahore in the Shakargarh Tehsil, Narowal District in Punjab, Pakistan.[1][2] Located on the right bank of the Ravi River, it is said to have been founded by Guru Nanak, the first guru of Sikhism, who established the first Sikh commune there.[3]

Geography

Kartarpur is located at 32°5′13″N 75°1′0″E / 32.08694°N 75.01667°E / 32.08694; 75.01667, at an average elevation of 155 metres (511 feet). It lies upon the western banks of the Ravi River, opposite the town of Dera Baba Nanak, a sacred town in Sikhism.[4]

History

The first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 AD on the right bank of the Ravi River with money donated by Karori, a wealthy Khatri convert.[5] It was the site of the first Sikh commune. Guru Nanak settled there with his family. Following his death in 1539, Hindus and Muslims both said he was one of them, and raised mausoleums in his memory with a common wall between them.[4]

Partition

Prior to the 1947 partition of India, Kartarpur was part of Gurdaspur District of British Punjab, this district was subdivided into four tehsils Gurdaspur, Shakargarh, Pathankot and Batala.[6] In 1947 this district (like the rest of Punjab) was divided between India and Pakistan. The Radcliffe Line awarded the Shakargarh Tehsil on the right bank of the Ravi river, including Kartarpur, to Pakistan, with Gurdaspur Tehsil (along with Pathankot and Batala) on the left bank of Ravi to India.[7]

Demography

The population is primarily Punjabi.

Sikhism

At the location Guru Nanak is believed to have died, the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib was built. It is considered to be the second holiest site for the Sikh religion.

The changing course of the Ravi River eventually washed away the mausoleums. Guru Nanak's son saved the urn containing his ashes and reburied it on the left bank of the river, where a new habitation was formed, the Dera Baba Nanak.[8][9][10][11] After Nanak's passing, the early Sikh community's headquarters was shifted from Kartarpur to the village of Khadur by his successor, Guru Angad.[12]

Transport

The town was connected by a historical railway station 'Darbar Sahib Kartarpur', linked by a branch line to Narowal Junction railway station.[13][14] The line was closed back in 2000, leading to the deserting of the track and damage to the station building.[15]

Kartarpur Corridor

Main article: Kartarpur Corridor

On 9 November 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the opening of a cross-border Kartarpur Corridor allowing Sikhs and all other Indians to visit Pakistan without a visa.[16] On the same day, the first Jatha (batch) of over 500 Indian pilgrims visited the shrine thanking Prime Minister Khan for "respecting the sentiments of India" towards the shrine across the border that marks the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sikhs marking 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak in Nankana Sahib". The Express Tribune. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  2. ^ Toppa, Sabrina. "Sikhs mark Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary in Pakistan". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  3. ^ "Floods engulf Kartarpur, swamping Sikh holy site Gurdwara Darbar Sahib". Arab News PK. 2025-08-27. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  4. ^ a b Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1.
  5. ^ Chhabra, G. S. (1960). Advanced study in History of the Punjab vol.1. p. 68.
  6. ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 12: p. 395
  7. ^ Yadav, V.; Sharma, H. (2015), "Disaster Management in Border Sensitive Area: Case Study of Amritsar District", in Huong Ha; R. Lalitha S. Fernando; Amir Mahmood (eds.), Strategic Disaster Risk Management in Asia, Springer, p. 216, ISBN 978-81-322-2373-3
  8. ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M.; Kaur, Gopinder (May 1998), Guru Nanak, Bayeux Arts, p. 15, ISBN 978-1-896209-27-2
  9. ^ Singh, Jagraj (2009), A Complete Guide to Sikhism, Unistar Books, p. 211, ISBN 978-81-7142-754-3
  10. ^ Singha, H. S. (2000), The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Hemkunt Press, p. 59, ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1
  11. ^ "Guru Nanak Sahib". Sgpc.net. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  12. ^ Singh, Pashaura (2021-04-03). "Ideological basis in the formation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal: exploring the concept of Guru-Panth". Sikh Formations. 17 (1–2): 3–4. doi:10.1080/17448727.2021.1873656. ISSN 1744-8727. S2CID 234146387. The second Guru, Angad (1504–1552), established a new Sikh center at his native village Khadur because Guru Nanak's sons made the legal claim as rightful heirs of their father's properties at Kartarpur. It confirmed an organizational principle – that the communal establishment at Kartarpur should not be considered a unique institution, but rather a model that could be cloned and imitated elsewhere. Similarly, the sons of Guru Angad inherited the establishment at Khadur, forcing his successor to move to Goindval ('City of Govind', an epithet of God) on the right bank of the river Beas.
  13. ^ "Pakistan Railways initiates Kartarpur railway track renovation". arynews.tv. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  14. ^ Organization (Pakistan), Census (1962). Population Census of Pakistan, 1961: District Census Report. Manager of Publications.
  15. ^ "Railway loses track of income". Dawn. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  16. ^ Siddiqui, Naveed (9 November 2019). "'This is the beginning': PM Imran inaugurates Kartarpur Corridor on historic day". Dawn.
  17. ^ "Kartarpur corridor: PM Modi thanks PM Imran Khan during inauguration of the Integrated Check Post". gulfnews.com. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Kartarpur Corridor opening a historic moment". Gulf News. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
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