Today, on Valentine’s Day, ICORP On The Road team salutes you with an episode that shows the power of love!
This episode tells the story of how the communities of India and Pakistan, who have parted into two countries a long time ago, have been taking care of each other’s cultural heritage that was left on the other side of the border with love and respect.
We also have a surprise for you!
For the episode which was filmed in India, our story writer is the Vice President of ICOMOS India, Gurmeet Sangha Rai and our narrator is the President of ICOMOS Pakistan, Fauzia Husain Qureshi.
In 1947 the year when two independent nations were created – India and Pakistan. The borders of Punjab on the west and Bengal on the east witnessed large scale migration of communities, the Muslim population moved into Pakistan and Hindus, Sikhs and others, into India. Communities were uprooted from their homes. They brought with them memories of lost lands, culture, and associations. In a recent joint effort of both the governments, Pakistan and India, a ‘corridor’ has been created as a passage for the Sikh community to visit a very important religious shrine in Pakistan, Kartarpur, the place associated with Guru Nanak (the first Guru of the Sikhs spent last 18 years of his life) without a visa. This is the first time since 1947, that effort has been made by the two countries, India and Pakistan to use the power of cultural heritage for building peace and understanding. Episode 5- “Kartarpur Corridor- Collective memories of Connected histories’ shows the engagement of the local community in taking care of the heritage of the ‘other’ as a service. It further challenges the notion of whose heritage is it in times of displacement – and the relationship between cultural heritage and the local community, those ‘displaced’ and further the ‘relocated’.