Modi Claims He Would Have Secured Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara for India During 1971 War
Image Source: The Indian Express
During an election rally in Patiala, Punjab, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that had he been around during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, he would have ensured that the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan was “taken” by India before releasing the 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, closely associated with Guru Nanak Dev, is located just 2.46 km from the international border.
In the 1971 conflict, a significant battle occurred between Indian and Pakistani forces in the Dera Baba Nanak sector in Punjab, near the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. The action here was focused on capturing a Pakistani enclave near the gurdwara and denying Pakistani forces access to a strategic rail-cum-road bridge over the Ravi River, which could lead to Dera Baba Nanak town in India, providing further connectivity to the rest of Punjab.
The Indian Army’s Jalandhar-headquartered 11 Corps was tasked with defending the area from Dera Baba Nanak in the north to south of Anupgarh in Rajasthan. Specifically, the 15 Division, headquartered in Amritsar, and the 86 Infantry Brigade were responsible for defending the Dera Baba Nanak enclave. Their mission included containing any Pakistani threat from the Kassowal enclave, a piece of Indian territory across the Ravi River, and attacking Pakistani defenses in the Jassar enclave to protect the rail-cum-road bridge and thwart any Pakistani threat.
However, capturing the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara was not part of the military objectives for the brigade. The focus remained on the strategically important enclaves north and south of the Ravi River. The Indian Army successfully overwhelmed the Pakistani forces in the Jassar enclave, defended by the Pakistan Rangers, on the night of December 5-6, 1971. Brigadier Gauri Shanker, commander of the 86 Infantry Brigade, achieved the mission of eliminating the Pakistani Jassar/Dera Baba Nanak enclave by the morning of December 6, with the help of troops from 10 Dogra and 1/9 Gorkha Rifles, supported by tanks from the 71 Armoured Regiment and artillery.
Despite being within reach, no attempt was made to capture the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. According to Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh (retd) in the Indian Defence Review, the operation focused on the strategic importance of the enclave, with no mention of capturing the gurdwara.
Capturing the gurdwara would have required advancing just an additional kilometer, as no Pakistani forces were positioned between the gurdwara and the captured enclave.
However, such an action could have extended the war. India did not retain any Pakistani territory captured during the conflict, except in disputed areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
Historically, the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara ended up on the Pakistani side during Partition due to the decisions of the Punjab Boundary Commission, which divided the Gurdaspur district based on religious demographics. The Shakargarh Tehsil, where the gurdwara is located, was awarded to Pakistan, while Gurdaspur, Batala, and Pathankot tehsils went to India. Despite Congress’s request to include Kartarpur in Punjab along with Nankana Sahib and Sacha Sauda, this demand was not heeded by the commission.
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