Pakistan Bars Hindu Devotees From Sikh Jatha; 14 Indians Sent Back at Wagah

In a display of religious discrimination amid fragile India-Pakistan ties, 14 Indian Hindu pilgrims—cleared by New Delhi's Home Ministry—were brutally turned away at the Wagah border on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. The group, part of a 2,100-strong Sikh jatha (pilgrim contingent) heading to Nankana Sahib for Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 556th birth anniversary, faced harsh rejection from Pakistani officials who declared, "You're Hindu... you can't go with Sikh devotees." These pilgrims, mostly Pakistani-born Sindhis now Indian citizens eager to reunite with relatives in Sindh, completed all immigration checks and even bought bus tickets before the humiliating U-turn.

The incident unfolded just hours after the border reopened for people-to-people contact—the first since India's Operation Sindoor, a four-day military blitz from May 6-10, 2025, that targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Launched in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre—where Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot The Resistance Front gunned down 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists, in Kashmir's Baisaran Valley—the operation killed over 100 militants but spiked bilateral tensions. Pakistan's visa nod for 2,100 Indians masked this fresh snub, with sources telling NDTV the Hindus, hailing from Delhi and Lucknow, walked back "humiliated" after officials cross-checked records for Sikh tags only.

While Sikh leaders like Akal Takht's Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, SGPC's Bibi Gurinder Kaur, and Delhi Gurdwara's Ravinder Singh Sweeta crossed unhindered for the main akhand path at Gurdwara Janamasthan (80 km from Lahore), the Hindus' exclusion has ignited fury. Over their 10-day visa, approved Sikhs will also visit Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad, and Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur—sites tied to Guru Nanak's life. But the barred group, devotees of the Guru's universal teachings on equality and unity, decried the irony: "Guru Nanak's message knows no religion—why divide us now?"

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Adding insult, 300 other independent visa applicants were stopped on India's side for lacking Home Ministry clearance, underscoring bureaucratic hurdles in cross-border faith travel. Indian officials slammed Pakistan's move as "unprecedented and divisive," especially post-Sindoor, when the Nehru-Liaquat Pact of 1950—meant to protect minorities—feels more like a relic. As lakhs celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanti with nagar kirtans and langars worldwide, this border blockade exposes how old wounds from Pahalgam's bloodbath still fester, turning spiritual journeys into symbols of suspicion.

For the rejected pilgrims, the sting runs deep—dreams of family ties and shared heritage dashed by a visa stamp's fine print. One, Amer Chand from Delhi, told India Today: "We explained Guru Nanak unites us all, but they just said, 'What will Hindus do in this jatha?'" As Delhi and Islamabad eye uneasy détente, this episode begs: Can faith bridges survive when borders wield faith as a weapon? With results from July's rebel hunts in Kashmir claiming all Pahalgam attackers dead, the path to peace remains as treacherous as the Wagah parade ground.

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