The control of scared spaces: Sikh shrines in Pakistan from the partition to the Kartarpur corridor

Singh, Gurharpal

Abstract

In November 2018, the governments of India and Pakistan agreed to develop the Kartarpur corridor linking the Sikhs’ two holiest shrines. The initiative is an important symbolic moment in the access to Sikh sacred spaces in Pakistan. This paper examines critically the efforts to control and manage this access since 1947. It assesses the policies of the two states to control access and reflects on the prospects for the Kartarpur corridor to become a ‘bridge of peace’. The Sikh case offers an unusual comparative case-study of closure of sacred spaces to a community in its ‘homeland’ and ‘holy land’.

Citation

Singh, G. (2019). The control of scared spaces: Sikh shrines in Pakistan from the partition to the Kartarpur corridor. Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory, 15(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2019.1593305

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 8, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Mar 16, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 16, 2019
• Deposit Date: Mar 29, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 29, 2019
• Journal: Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory
• Print ISSN: 1744-8727
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-8735
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-18
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2019.1593305