The Kartarpur Corridor as a Model for Cross-Border Connectivity and Cultural Exchange

The Kartarpur Corridor exemplifies infrastructure-led diplomacy by facilitating visa-free access for Sikh pilgrims from India to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final abode of Guru Nanak Devji. This chapter employs a qualitative case study approach, drawing on historical analysis, geopolitical contextualization, and comparative frameworks (e.g., European Mobility Corridors, BRI) to interrogate it's socio-political, cultural, security, and economic ramifications amid Indo-Pakistani tensions. The chapter explores how the corridor reconfigures post-partition pilgrimage practices, fosters transnational Sikh identity through festivals and digital media, boosts local economies via tourism, and advances soft power while navigating challenges like infrastructure disparities and securitization. Despite operational hurdles, the Corridor emerges as a replicable model for heritage-based connectivity, prompting people-to-people ties, regional stability, and cultural reconciliation in conflict-prone South Asia.