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1. English tribune
dated 23-8-2018
Kartarpur corridor mission for 24 yrs, he now sees hope
CHANDIGARH:Away from the political clamour over the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, a man in Amritsar and his group of friends have been quietly pursuing the cause for the past 24 years.
Updated At: Aug 23, 2018 03:19 PM (IST)
Kartarpur corridor mission for 24 yrs, he now sees hope
Bhabishan Singh Goraya
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 22
Away from the political clamour over the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, a man in Amritsar and his group of friends have been quietly pursuing the cause for the past 24 years.
With the matter assuming importance after Punjab Cultural and Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s Pakistan visit, Bhabishan Singh Goraya, 67, who belongs to Awawalpur village in Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, is hopeful that the corridor may be finally opened for the 550th birth anniversary of founder of the Sikh faith Guru Nanak.
“Kartar Sahib is revered by the Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims alike. It was here that Guru Nanak breathed his last following which a quarrel broke out between his Hindus and Muslim followers over his last rites. It is said the Guru’s body ‘vanished’. Subsequently, the two communities tore his shroud into half and performed the rites as per their faith,” Goraya explained.
He visited Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan in 1994. Disappointed to see the shrine in a shambles, he started writing letters to influential persons and raising billboards near Darshan Point on the India-Pakistan border where Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib can be sighted with the help of binoculars.
Along with his supporters, he has been holding ‘ardas’ at the site every 15 days, hoping their wish will be granted some day.
Besides his brother Raghbir Singh and friends Dr Balbir Dhingra, Bhajan Singh, Gurbachan Singh and Raj Singh, who is 93, Goraya has been pursuing the matter relentlessly for over two decades, despite harassment at the hands of Intelligence officials questioning his motive.
In 2008, Pranab Mukherjee, then External Affairs Minister, visited Darshan Point and announced that the corridor would be opened soon, he recalls. “Many other politicians promised likewise. Nothing of the sort happened. Nevertheless, people on both sides of the border did not despair and kept raising the demand persistently.”
Goraya is aware of the enormity of the task. “I understand it is a huge security risk for both countries. It will require a level of trust never seen before between the governments and the forces of both countries. Managing the rush of devotees would be a mammoth job too,” he says.
Goraya and his group ran into controversy just before the elections last year when they raised huge hoardings about their demand and criticised the NDA government for initiating talks with China over Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. but taking no such step with Pakistan on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
Tribune Nov 10, 2019
His 24-year struggle for corridor goes unnoticed
CHANDIGARH: He campaigned for the opening of Kartarpur corridor for 24 years.Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 9
He campaigned for the opening of Kartarpur corridor for 24 years. Though the dream project has become a reality, his efforts were not recognised.
He does not even figure on the list of over 600 persons chosen by the Punjab Government for a special award in Kapurthala on Sunday to mark the 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak.
Amritsar-based Bhabishan Singh Goraya, 67, had written hundreds of representations to the Indian and Pakistani authorities for opening of the corridor. He had also erected hoardings from Dera Baba Nanak to the Darshan Sthal on the border with Pakistan where binoculars are installed for darshan of the gurdwara. He had also been performing ardas at a gurdwara near the site twice every month.
Bhabishan Singh says he never worked for the corridor for any award, “The greatest award is the opening of the corridor for people like me who prayed to see this happening in their lifetime,” he says, declining to comment on claims by some politicians in India and abroad on credit for opening of the corridor.
Bhabishan says his inspiration was late MLA Kuldeep Singh Wadala who worked relentlessly for opening of the corridor, “I started working with him,” he says, adding that he did get a call from a government official seeking details of his contribution towards the project, but it was never followed up.
He said he was hopeful of the opening of the corridor when in 2008, Pranab Mukherjee, the then External Affairs Minister, visited the Darshan Sthal and announced that the corridor would be opened soon, he recalls as he had written to Mukherjee to visit the site.
