Kartarpur Sahib (on the Ravi)

Kartarpur Sahib stands on the right bank of the Ravi in Pakistan. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism calls it Kartarpur Ravi to tell it from another Kartarpur in Jalandhar district, and places it in Sialkot district; recent reports place it in Narowal district. Guru Nanak settled here at the end of his long journeys and spent his last two decades here with his wife and children. The Encyclopaedia says it became the main seat of the Sikh faith.

Key moments

• Bhai Lahina came to Kartarpur for instruction and later became Guru Angad; Guru Nanak named him his successor before he died.
• Guru Nanak died at Kartarpur on Assu vadi 10, 1596 Bk, which the Encyclopaedia gives as 7 September 1539. In August 2020 the PSGPC and the ETPB decided to commemorate the Jyoti Jot on 22 September, which The Tribune says is 22 September 1539 by the original Nanakshahi calendar. The two dates, 7 September and 22 September 1539, come from different calendars.
• The Ravi's encroachment washed away most of the old settlement, and the Guru's descendants and followers moved across the river and founded Dera Baba Nanak.
• 1947: the gurdwara, a three-storeyed building called Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib Ravi Pratsha I, became inaccessible to Indian pilgrims. It could be seen from the embankment north of Dera Baba Nanak.
• 24 October 2019: India and Pakistan signed the corridor agreement. On 9 November 2019 Narendra Modi opened the Indian side and Imran Khan the Pakistani side, and the first jatha included Manmohan Singh, Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal. The Quint puts the corridor at 7 km.
• 3 November 2020: Pakistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs gave full control of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur to the Evacuee Trust Property Board, taking it from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (WION).
• October 2024: the agreement was extended for five years. Pakistan charges a $20 service fee per pilgrim per visit, which India has urged it to drop, and over 300,000 pilgrims had used the corridor (The Tribune).
• 7 May 2025: India suspended the corridor. On 31 July 2026 a minister told the Lok Sabha that the security situation required it to stay suspended, although Sikh groups had asked for early reopening (ThePrint). Pilgrims can reach Kartarpur only through Attari-Wagah with a visa (The Tribune).