Motivations from Kartarpur Corridor: Importance of secular identity in religious democracies like Pakistan

Abstract

Abstract. The case presents the importance of space for secular voices within a religious democracy like Pakistan where laws present the facilitation of Islamic religion but in larger ambit of secular motivations identified by old British Raj. Based on a multicultural and postmodern motivations that come with globalization and its technology orientation, democracy that is itself a contemporary solution for multi ethnic and multi sectarian co-existence demands that local interpretation of law should then be generalized towards secular stream of application that promotes material and religious empowerment without discrimination. Development of Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate millions from Sikh community who reside outside Pakistan and especially in India to visit their most holy shrines placed in Pakistan is a very valid example where religious identity other than Islam in Muslim majority Pakistan is given due importance so that the borders between the two countries, that spend most of the time being hostile to each other (Mamoon & Murshed, 2010), immaterial to make up global citizenship into a local one.

Keywords. Democracy, Secular identity.

JEL. A10, A14, B29.