Sikh pilgrimage circuits: sacred places, memory and divided routes

Visiting places associated with the Gurus

Journeys to places associated with the Gurus are an important part of lived Sikh religious life. Rajinder S. Jutla’s study asks why Sikhs travel long distances to historical sacred sites even while Sikh teachings question the religious value of pilgrimage as an obligation. His research question distinguishes the act of travelling from an assumption that distance or arrival alone produces spiritual fulfilment. Attachment to history and tradition helps explain the continuing journeys.[1]

The five Takhts connect Punjab with a wider geography

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee presents the five Takhts as centres of inspiration for the Khalsa Panth and encourages readers to learn their histories. Its grouping links Akal Takht at Amritsar, Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib and Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo with Patna Sahib and Hazur Sahib at Nanded. The geography therefore extends beyond Punjab. These places connect institutional authority with remembered lives and events; the list gives pilgrims a framework for linking destinations without establishing one compulsory itinerary.[2]

The same introduction places the Takhts within the authority of the Guru Panth rather than treating them simply as royal seats. Visiting such places can therefore involve attention to the community’s institutions alongside devotion at a gurdwara. The SGPC’s presentation combines a religious interpretation of authority with an invitation to encounter the sites and their histories.[2]

Partition changed the routes and the conditions of access

Iqbal Singh Sevea traces a different connection: the relationship between sacred geography and an international border. After 1947, Sikhs in India were separated from important places in Pakistan, including Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib. Community demands for access became matters of negotiation between the two states. His account shows that pilgrimage depended on transport, permission, maintenance and diplomatic relations as well as the significance of a shrine.[3]

The 1974 protocol organised visits through agreed groups, sites and periods. The Kartarpur Corridor, opened in November 2019, created a distinct arrangement linking Dera Baba Nanak with Kartarpur Sahib. Sevea treats these as different mechanisms for regulating religious movement. A connected sacred landscape could persist in prayer and memory even when the practical routes through it changed or became restricted.[3]