AIA Fellow Summar Iqbal Babar gave a public lecture on the Kartarpur Corridor at the Centre for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn. The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free pilgrimage route between India and Pakistan that connects two important Sikh shrines. It runs for just under 4–4.7 km from the Indian-Pakistani border crossing and enables Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the shrine without going through the traditional visa process, simply by applying for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) document. When it opened in 2019, the corridor was seen as a symbol of peace and interfaith dialogue between India and Pakistan. India’s Prime Minister compared the project to the fall of the Berlin Wall as a sign of trust.

Summar Babar explored the extent to which the Kartarpur Corridor can be understood as a transformative model for translocal and subnational diplomacy between India and Pakistan. In doing so, he emphasised in particular the shared religious and cultural traditions that transcend national borders, which he believes form the basis for interpersonal relationships. Despite the tense situation at the state level, he sees potential for peace in this. In his view, the Kartarpur Corridor is much more than just a physical route. He sees it as a method – a living testimony to diplomacy through shared memory. In his view, it represents a method – a living testimony to diplomacy through shared memory. In this way, the corridor also challenges traditional state-centred views and shows that peace can indeed be built from the bottom up and maintained from within.