Border War: Pakistan Versus India

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A little bit battle of the bands, a sort of a dance-off, a dash of border control and a whole lot of national pride...the border closing ceremonies at the Indian-Pakistani border did not disappoint!

The reputation of the border closing ceremonies intrigued us enough to lure us to the Punjab region and it was not oversold. The pomp and pagentry was indescribable, but the electric atmosphere is what really blew us away. With the flag waving, music blaring and crowd chanting, we thought we were at a football game!

The border crossing at Wagah is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Since 1959, the "lowering of the flags" ceremony is performed each night by the border security forces of both countries. The ceremony is a demonstration of pride and strength, and is attended by literally thousands of proud Indians and Pakistanis, in addition to a few dozen awe-struck foreigners. Permanent grandstands were constructed to accomodate the spectators.

The ceremony involved a lot of saluting, stomping, and head high leg kicks. An Indian officer would goose step to the border and upon reaching the gates he would stomp with as much aggression as he could muster. A Pakistani officer responded with equal force. Ultimately, after all the troops were faced off, each side lowered its flag slowly and sent an officer to exchange an icy-cold handshake with its adversary. The border gates were then closed for the night.

We had a blast, and are glad we made a point to see it.

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Photos

Indian Border Patrol Guard
It was not until we reached the Punjab did we see Indians that were our height or significantly taller than us. To be a member of this special unit, the soldiers must be over 6 feet tall.

Going Through Security at the Border
Men and women have to go through separate lines to enter No Man's Land because they have to pass through gender-specific security guards.

Dad in No Man's Land
To view the ceremonies of taking down the flag and closing the border for the evening, visitors must go through security in India and enter that ambiguous region of No Man's Land between countries. Visitors were allowed to bring cameras, required to bring their passports and not allowed to bring anything else.

Comments

[Nancy]

fascinating
This sure looks like a worthwhile stop! I'm a bit surprised the guards took photos with you though. Welcome home by the way. N

[Joy]

Interesting! It doesn't appear that you were able to cross into Pakistan. Is that correct?