The annual pilgrimage marking the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Sikhism’s revered founder, has been overshadowed by a diplomatic row after Pakistani authorities denied entry to a group of Hindu pilgrims from India. The incident, which unfolded at the Attari–Wagah border on November 4 and 5, 2025, has sparked outrage and raised questions about religious freedom and the fragile state of India-Pakistan relations.
According to multiple reports from NDTV, Republic, and The Federal, approximately 1,900 Indian pilgrims, most of them Sikhs, crossed into Pakistan this week to participate in the celebrations at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, located about 80 kilometers from Lahore. The pilgrimage, a cherished tradition for the Sikh community, is conducted under the 1974 bilateral protocol on visits to religious shrines. This year’s event is especially notable as it marks the first such civilian exchange since Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in April, which claimed 26 lives and was attributed to The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot.
Yet, what should have been a moment of spiritual unity and cross-border goodwill has instead become a flashpoint. Pakistani authorities denied entry to at least 12 to 14 Hindu pilgrims, all of whom were part of the official Sikh ‘Jatha’ (group) and had received both Indian Home Ministry clearance and Pakistani travel documents. The pilgrims, mostly Sindhi Hindus originally from Pakistan but now Indian citizens, were stopped at the final immigration checkpoint and told, “You are Hindu… you can't go with Sikh devotees,” according to NDTV and Republic. Some were further told, “Go to your temples, gurdwaras are for Sikhs.”
Amar Chand, one of the Hindu pilgrims turned away, recounted his ordeal to Republic: “After getting the visa, we went to the Pakistani side through the Attari border. The Nankana Sahib Gurdwara committee welcomed us there. We were seven people and we felt very happy. But then they asked us to exchange currency and get bus tickets. We paid Rs 13,500 for each ticket. Our immigration was cleared and we stepped onto the bus. While we were waiting, Pakistani guards asked us to get down from the bus. It was scary as it reminded us of the Pahalgam incident...We were deported after that. Officials said that Hindus cannot visit the gurdwaras of Sikhs. We tried to tell them that Hindus also visit gurdwaras but they did not listen. We were sent back." Chand also provided proof that his visa had been approved by Pakistani authorities nearly a month prior to his deportation.
The denial of entry was not limited to the Hindu pilgrims. An additional 300 individuals who had applied for visas independently, without the required Indian Home Ministry approval, were stopped on the Indian side and sent back. Meanwhile, the main Sikh delegation, which included prominent leaders such as Akal Takht chief Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Bibi Gurinder Kaur, and Ravinder Singh Sweeta of the Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee, proceeded to Pakistan and participated in the religious ceremonies.
The main celebrations were scheduled at Gurdwara Janamasthan in Nankana Sahib, with the pilgrims also planning to visit other historic Sikh shrines, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad, and the famed Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. The Kartarpur Corridor, opened in 2019, allows visa-free access for Sikh pilgrims from India to visit Kartarpur Sahib, where Guru Nanak spent his final years. However, the majority of this year’s group traveled under the standard bilateral protocol, not through the corridor.
Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa welcomed the Indian government’s decision to allow the Sikh ‘Jathas’ to visit Pakistan despite ongoing tensions. He praised the Prime Minister and Home Minister for their “sentiment and reverence” in making the visit possible, likening it to the landmark 2019 opening of the Kartarpur shrine. “The Prime Minister and Home Minister displayed the same sentiment and reverence by issuing a notification allowing the Sikh groups to travel to Pakistan,” Sirsa said, as reported by The CSR Journal.
The exclusion of Hindu pilgrims, however, has cast a shadow over the event and reignited concerns about religious discrimination. The Ministry of External Affairs of India had not issued a formal statement as of the afternoon of November 5, but the incident has already stirred anger and disappointment among religious leaders and the broader Indian public. Many see it as symptomatic of a broader pattern of anti-Hindu sentiment in Pakistan, an accusation that has surfaced repeatedly in diplomatic exchanges between the two countries.
The Pakistani authorities’ stance—that gurdwaras are only for Sikhs—has been met with incredulity by many in India, where gurdwaras are considered open to all, regardless of faith. “We tried to tell them that Hindus also visit gurdwaras but they did not listen,” Amar Chand lamented. The denial of entry has also added another layer of bitterness to an already strained people-to-people relationship, coming so soon after the trauma of the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent military escalation.
For the Sikh pilgrims who were able to enter Pakistan, the journey remains deeply significant. Over the course of their 10-day stay, they will pay homage at some of the most sacred sites in Sikhism, retracing the footsteps of Guru Nanak and reaffirming the enduring ties between communities separated by borders and history. Both the Indian and Pakistani governments are maintaining heightened security vigilance throughout the pilgrimage, a reminder of the persistent undercurrent of tension that shapes every cross-border interaction.
Yet, the exclusion of fellow Indian citizens based on their faith has left a bitter aftertaste. The incident underscores the complexities of religious diplomacy in South Asia, where sacred traditions are often entangled with the legacies of partition, political rivalry, and mutual suspicion. As the main celebrations at Nankana Sahib proceed, the voices of those turned away resonate as a stark reminder of the work that remains to build genuine religious tolerance and cross-border understanding.
This year’s pilgrimage, meant to honor a spiritual leader who preached unity and compassion, has instead highlighted the enduring barriers—both physical and ideological—that continue to divide the region. For the pilgrims denied entry, the journey ended at the border, but their story has traveled far, prompting uncomfortable questions about the true meaning of religious openness in the subcontinent.
