Kashmir I March 12, 2025 – Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek K. Tankha called on the Indian government to establish a pilgrimage corridor to Sharda Peeth, a historic Hindu temple located in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), during the Zero Hour session of the Upper House on Wednesday. Highlighting the temple’s significance as one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas in Hindu tradition, Tankha drew comparisons to the Kartarpur Corridor, which enables Indian Sikhs to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan without a visa.
“Sharda Peeth holds immense religious importance for millions of devotees,” Tankha said in his address. “Just as the Kartarpur Corridor has facilitated Sikh pilgrims, a similar arrangement should be made for Hindus to visit this sacred site across the Line of Control.” The proposal comes amid ongoing discussions about access to religious and cultural landmarks in PoK, a region India claims as part of its territory but which remains under Pakistani control.
Tankha also linked the pilgrimage issue to the broader plight of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, urging the government to expedite their rehabilitation. “The Kashmiri Pandit community longs to return to their homeland, but security and basic facilities remain inadequate,” he stated. Reflecting on past efforts, he praised the rehabilitation initiatives undertaken during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure, contrasting them with what he suggested were less effective measures in recent years. In a veiled reference to the 2022 film The Kashmir Files, which dramatized the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, Tankha remarked, “We did not make a film; we worked for them.”
Sharda Peeth, located in the Neelum Valley near the Line of Control, was once a prominent center of learning and devotion but has been inaccessible to Indian pilgrims since the partition in 1947. The call for a corridor reflects a growing sentiment among some lawmakers to reconnect with such sites, though it faces significant diplomatic and logistical challenges given the tense India-Pakistan relationship.
The government has yet to formally respond to Tankha’s proposal. Any move toward facilitating a pilgrimage would likely require negotiations with Pakistan, a prospect complicated by the militarized border and the absence of high-level bilateral talks in recent years. The Kartarpur Corridor, opened in 2019, remains a rare exception to such tensions, and experts suggest that replicating it for Sharda Peeth could hinge on broader geopolitical developments.
Tankha’s remarks also underscore ongoing debates about the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, a community displaced in the 1990s due to militancy in the Kashmir Valley. While successive governments have promised their return, progress has been slow, with many citing security concerns and inadequate infrastructure as persistent barriers.
As of now, the proposal remains a point of discussion in Parliament, with no clear timeline for action. The issue is likely to resonate with religious and political groups advocating for greater access to heritage sites in PoK, while also reigniting focus on the unresolved Kashmir conflict.