Wagah
Encyclopedia
Wagah is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India , and lies on the Grand Trunk Road
between the cities of Lahore
, Pakistan
and Amritsar
, India
. Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line
was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in the Republic of India while the western half is in Pakistan.
of Asia", is a ceremonial border on the India–Pakistan Border where each evening there is a retreat ceremony
called 'lowering of the flags', which has been held since 1959. At that time there is an energetic parade by the Border Security Force
(B.S.F) of India and the Pakistan Rangers
soldiers. It may appear slightly aggressive and even hostile to foreigners but in fact the paraders are imitating the pride and anger of a Cockerel. Troops of each country put on a show in their uniforms with their colorful turbans. Border officials from the two countries sometimes walk over to the offices on the other side for day to day affairs. The happenings at this border post have been a barometer of the India-Pakistan relations over the years.
Samjhauta Express
, the train service between Lahore
and Delhi
, plies twice a week from Attari
railway station, 5 km from Wagah. The National Highway of India
starts from Wagah Border, and is the transit point for the Delhi–Lahore Bus service operating within the Punjab
between Amritsar and Lahore, which was started in 2004 as relations between the two countries improved.
the village was part of the Lahore Division
of British Punjab
. In 1947 the division, like the village, was split between India and Pakistan.
Since independence in 1947, porters have been carrying goods across the Wagah border. This was the only road link between the two nations between the closure of the border crossing at Ganda Singh Wala
/ Hussainiwala
in the 1970s and the opening of Aman Setu in Kashmir for the start of the Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus in 1999.
On August 14–15, 2001, the respective Independence days of Pakistan and India, the candle-lighting ceremony at the Wagah border, in which 40,000 Pakistani citizens and 15,000 Indian citizens took part, was seen as a reflection of the changing public mood over India-Pakistan reconciliation; such candlelight vigil
s and the yearly 'Midnight Peace Festivals' were also reported in subsequent years.
There have been many calls for the opening up of Wagah border to promote Indo-Pak trade through increased transport between India and Pakistan
. In March 2005, a delegation of the Indian Border Security Force met the Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah border to discuss the border issue after three years since the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff.
In May 2005, Pakistan allowed the import of five specified food items, free of tax via Wagah border to tide over shortages in the domestic market; eventually, in an unprecedented move, on 1 October 2006, trucks carrying goods crossed the Wagah border for the first time since the independence of Pakistan and India over 60 years ago. The 1,400 Pakistani and 1,300 Indian porters employed till then were employed in unloading lorries and trucks, with this the bi-lateral arrangement which accounted for $1.3 billion (£650 million) a year in trade in 2007 and was expected to exceed $10 billion by 2010. The trade has further improved since then through the Wagah post, despite the ups and downs of Indo-Pakistani relations.
With over 8000 people visiting the border on an average day just on the Indian side, governments have started developing Wagah as a tourist destination, improving tourist and custom facilities. The Indian government plans to develop a global tourist complex at the Wagah-Attari
border, which lies 30 km away from Amritsar
.
As the relations between the two nations improved, the joint talks to tone down the sunset ceremony were held between BSF and Pakistan rangers, and the two later started "reorienting" their personnel involved in the ceremony, effects of which were seen by November 2006, when the evening ceremony at the border was considerably less aggressive than in previous decades on both sides.
In July 2010, as part of a move initiated by India, both countries agreed to tone down the aggressiveness exhibited by soldiers during the gate closing ceremony because the soldiers hurt their feet and knees performing the goose-stepping every day.
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
between the cities of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line
Radcliffe Line
The Radcliffe Line was announced on 17 August 1947 as a boundary demarcation line between India and Pakistan upon the Partition of India. The Radcliffe Line was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who as chair of the Border Commissions was tasked with equitably dividing of territory...
was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in the Republic of India while the western half is in Pakistan.
Border
The Wagah border, often called the "Berlin wallBerlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
of Asia", is a ceremonial border on the India–Pakistan Border where each evening there is a retreat ceremony
Wagah border ceremony
The Wagah border closing 'lowering of the flags' ceremony was a daily military practice that the security forces of India and Pakistan have followed since 1959...
called 'lowering of the flags', which has been held since 1959. At that time there is an energetic parade by the Border Security Force
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is a border patrol agency of the Government of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. Its primary role is to guard India's international borders during peacetime and also prevent transnational crime...
(B.S.F) of India and the Pakistan Rangers
Pakistan Rangers
The Pakistan Rangers are part of the Paramilitary forces of Pakistan, and consists of members of the Pakistan Army under the direct control of the Ministry of the Interior of the Pakistan Government. The Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain...
soldiers. It may appear slightly aggressive and even hostile to foreigners but in fact the paraders are imitating the pride and anger of a Cockerel. Troops of each country put on a show in their uniforms with their colorful turbans. Border officials from the two countries sometimes walk over to the offices on the other side for day to day affairs. The happenings at this border post have been a barometer of the India-Pakistan relations over the years.
Samjhauta Express
Samjhauta Express
The Samjhauta Express commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train Tuesdays and Fridays that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding","accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.Until the reopening of the Thar...
, the train service between Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, plies twice a week from Attari
Attari
Attari is a villageof Amritsar District in the Punjab state of India. It lies on the rail route connecting Lahore, Pakistan with the Indian capital Delhi. The Samjhauta Express, the train service that actually crosses the international border, only runs from Attari station to Wagah, Pakistan a...
railway station, 5 km from Wagah. The National Highway of India
National Highway 1 (India)
National Highway 1 or is a National Highway in Northern India that links the National capital New Delhi to the town of Attari in Punjab near the India-Pakistan International border. This was a part of Grand Trunk Road of Sher Shah Suri, that ran from Lahore to Bengal, built on earlier roads that...
starts from Wagah Border, and is the transit point for the Delhi–Lahore Bus service operating within the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
between Amritsar and Lahore, which was started in 2004 as relations between the two countries improved.
History
During British ruleBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
the village was part of the Lahore Division
Lahore Division
Lahore Division was an administrative division of the Punjab Province of Pakistan, until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government.-History:Lahore Division was originally an administrative division of the Punjab Province of British India...
of British Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
. In 1947 the division, like the village, was split between India and Pakistan.
Ganda Singh Wala
thumb|alt=Full-length It is the snapshot of Ganda sing border kasur where the flag lowering ceremony is underway in feb 2010|Ganda Singh Wala Border, Flag Lowering CeremonyAbout=...
/ Hussainiwala
Hussainiwala
Hussainiwala is a village in Ferozepur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the banks of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala...
in the 1970s and the opening of Aman Setu in Kashmir for the start of the Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus in 1999.
On August 14–15, 2001, the respective Independence days of Pakistan and India, the candle-lighting ceremony at the Wagah border, in which 40,000 Pakistani citizens and 15,000 Indian citizens took part, was seen as a reflection of the changing public mood over India-Pakistan reconciliation; such candlelight vigil
Candlelight vigil
A candlelight vigil is an outdoor assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset. Such events are typically held either to protest the suffering of some marginalized group of people, or in memory of lives lost to some disease, disaster, massacre or other tragedy. In the latter case, the...
s and the yearly 'Midnight Peace Festivals' were also reported in subsequent years.
There have been many calls for the opening up of Wagah border to promote Indo-Pak trade through increased transport between India and Pakistan
Transport between India and Pakistan
Transport between India and Pakistan has been developed for tourism and commercial purposes and bears much historical and political significance for both countries, which have possessed few transport links since the partition of India in 1947. In 1977, both nations launched the Samjhauta Express...
. In March 2005, a delegation of the Indian Border Security Force met the Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah border to discuss the border issue after three years since the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff.
In May 2005, Pakistan allowed the import of five specified food items, free of tax via Wagah border to tide over shortages in the domestic market; eventually, in an unprecedented move, on 1 October 2006, trucks carrying goods crossed the Wagah border for the first time since the independence of Pakistan and India over 60 years ago. The 1,400 Pakistani and 1,300 Indian porters employed till then were employed in unloading lorries and trucks, with this the bi-lateral arrangement which accounted for $1.3 billion (£650 million) a year in trade in 2007 and was expected to exceed $10 billion by 2010. The trade has further improved since then through the Wagah post, despite the ups and downs of Indo-Pakistani relations.
Attari
Attari is a villageof Amritsar District in the Punjab state of India. It lies on the rail route connecting Lahore, Pakistan with the Indian capital Delhi. The Samjhauta Express, the train service that actually crosses the international border, only runs from Attari station to Wagah, Pakistan a...
border, which lies 30 km away from Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
.
As the relations between the two nations improved, the joint talks to tone down the sunset ceremony were held between BSF and Pakistan rangers, and the two later started "reorienting" their personnel involved in the ceremony, effects of which were seen by November 2006, when the evening ceremony at the border was considerably less aggressive than in previous decades on both sides.
In July 2010, as part of a move initiated by India, both countries agreed to tone down the aggressiveness exhibited by soldiers during the gate closing ceremony because the soldiers hurt their feet and knees performing the goose-stepping every day.
External links
- Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Pakistani side (from Himalaya with Michael Palin). BBCWorldwide video on Youtube. - Sanjeev BhaskarSanjeev BhaskarSanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...
at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Indian side. BBCWorldwide video on Youtube. - Pictures of independence's 60th anniversary celebration at Wagah Border