Pakistan's gesture betrays Guru Nanak’s teachings

IN an indefensible act of bigotry, Pakistan turned away a group of Hindu pilgrims who were part of a Sikh jatha visiting Nankana Sahib for Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary. The 12 devotees, carrying valid visas, were stopped at Wagah with the words, “You are Hindus — you can’t go with Sikhs.” It was a line that stripped bare Islamabad’s hollow rhetoric of interfaith respect and exposed the theocratic mindset that still governs its institutions. Both Hindus and Sikhs hold Guru Nanak as their spiritual guide. His teachings transcend religious boundaries — preaching equality, compassion and the unity of humankind. By refusing entry to Hindu followers, Pakistan has insulted not just the pilgrims, but also the universality of Guru Nanak’s message itself. Faith, after all, does not come stamped with a religion or passport.

The episode reeks of the same sectarian rigidity that sustains the two-nation theory — a creed Pakistan’s army chief recently tried to revive, proclaiming that Hindus and Muslims are “different in every aspect of life.” That ideology, long discredited, continues to guide petty actions and poison goodwill. Turning away pilgrims on religious grounds betrays intolerance masquerading as policy.

While India continues to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims to Ajmer Sharif and other shrines, Pakistan’s gesture smacks of hypocrisy and political insecurity. It has squandered an opportunity to show maturity, tolerance and neighbourly decency. New Delhi must firmly take up the matter with Islamabad and seek assurances that such discriminatory conduct will not be repeated. For a country that claims to protect Sikh shrines and heritage, Pakistan’s conduct at Wagah is an affront to the values those very shrines enshrine. True homage to Guru Nanak lies in opening hearts — something Pakistan’s authorities seem unwilling to do.