Wagah – The India-Pakistan Border

Before I get going, a warning that this is about to be a long post. The Wagah border experience was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I want to capture it in its full essence. With that, onwards with the story…

The same afternoon that my friend and I visited the Golden Temple, we also took a trip to the Wagah Border. During India’s independence in 1947, the town of Wagah was split into half – half of it in India and half in Pakistan. This is the only land crossing between India and Pakistan. Every day at sunset, a special ceremony between the two countries takes place – a ceremonial opening of the gate and lowering of both countries’ flags. The ceremony simultaneously captures both the close ties and the animosity between the two countries.

We arrived to the town at 3:00 PM, a full two hours before we would be let into the stands and 3.5 hours before the ceremony was due to begin. Being a Saturday, they were expecting 20,000 people and we weren’t going to miss the chance of getting a seat. We were the first to arrive but as the crowds grew, we were pushed closer and closer against the entrance gate. In over 40 degrees of heat (~110 degrees Farenheit), it didn’t take long until I was completely drenched in sweat. Just imagine 20,000 stinking and sweaty bodies pushing up against you for 2 hours – it was a few magnitudes worse than being on a local Mumbai train!

The gates opened at 5:00 PM and I was almost knocked down in the stampede. I kept my balance but there was a mad rush to the security checkpoint. We were one of the first to make it there but the people behind us kept trying to push in and get ahead of us. We almost broke into a fight, trying to maintain some form of queue – it bothers me that most Indians have no regard for common courtesy, fairness and organization!

Once through security, I pleaded with the security guards to let us into the VIP section. Anyone holding a non-Indian passport is considered a VIP (which applies to me) but unfortunately, I didn’t bring my passport with me on this occasion. The guards would not have any of it so we ran to the general seating section. We had already lost out on getting one of the first few rows but we managed to find a seat on the hot concrete stands. It was scorching and I think I gained a few 1st degree burns on my rear end!

Soon enough the VIPs were allowed to walk onto the border crossing and wave Indian flags in anticipation of the ceremony. Here we were in the stands with 20,000 Indians but it were the foreigners (many with no Indian heritage whatsoever) who had the privilege of waving the Indian flags inches away from the border. Hmph!!

Regardless, the ceremony started at 6:30 PM. First the Indian soldiers marched to the border, then the Pakistani soldiers. Both sides opened the gates to the crossing and shook hands.

Next, each set of soldiers paraded back and forth trying to outshine the opposing country through angry gestures and trying to establish superiority. The Indian crowd (including me) was going nuts, shouting “Hindustand Zindabad”, “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram” – patriotic chants proclaiming India’s freedom. The ceremony ended with lowering of the flags and the closing of the gates between the two countries. Just as the crowd had entered, it also left in mass exodus. Even though the experience was frustrating at times, watching the ceremony live was well worth it and a moment of pride for me as a heritage Indian. This is cultural immersion at it’s best!