Pakistan, Indian tensions become entertainment in border
Relations between Pakistan and India have been stalled by a number of old disputes that have led to tensions along the border areas. Wagah Border in Lahore city is one exception, where friction is less intimidating and more frequently viewed as a source of amusement. The Jakarta Post’s Lilian Budianto visited the area last week on an invitation by the Pakistani government.
Although diplomatic ties between Pakistan and India have remained frayed at the center of the Kashmir dispute, the paramilitary guards from both countries along the Wagah border have shown that tensions are not necessarily hostile. It can be fun — at least for the audience.
Every day before sunset, security forces from both India and Pakistan gather to lower their own flags at the Wagah border dividing the Pakistani city of Lahore in the west with the Indian city of Amritsar in the east.
The flag lowering ceremony could have been a mundane ritual but thanks to the creativity of the guards, the ceremony has become a major attraction that brings local and foreign tourists to Wagah, some 30 kilometers from Lahore.
The sunset ritual has featured a theatrical act of rivalry, performed by Pakistani Rangers and India’s Border Security Forces in their cockerel-like head costumes. The ceremony is opened with a handshake from both side’s guards who approach each other with orchestrated boot-stomping steps and an exchange of hostile stares.
Guards clunk their heavy boots several times as fast as they can while staring at each other in what could be perceived as a comical manner.
The ritual, which has been performed since 1959, has drawn thousands of audiences from each side every day and they have become parts of the ceremony.
Audiences from both sides are involved in trade shouting with each other. The Pakistani audience is led by a local participant to shout “Pakistan Zindabad”, which means “long live Pakistan”, while India trade back with “Jai Hind”, which has the similar meaning, but no provocative shouting that disgraces each other is allowed.
The performance is so lively and cheerful that it could be hard for a foreigner to believe that any major tension exists, especially because the guards from both sides created the movement and practice the performance together.
The guards also coordinate movements with each other. Any new movements created by one side are discussed with the opposite side. If one side disagrees, they will cancel it.
“They are at comfort with the situation, there is nothing hostile on the ground and it is different from the hostility in Kashmir,” said an official that accompanied a group of journalists who were invited to visit Pakistan on a recent media visit program.
Predominantly Muslim Kashmir, which Pakistan and India share at the Himalayan region, has been at the center of the diplomatic thaw between the two countries since 1947.
The dispute, triggered by revolt from people in India’s Kashmir, has led to two wars and turned into many close skirmishes between the armies. At the diplomacy level, the Kashmir dispute has led to a major suspicion and mutual dislike between the two nuclear-armed states.
The Kashmir talks have been in deadlock since 2008 after the Indian government blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group who fought for the Pakistan Kashmir cause, after Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. As a flashpoint in the relations, the Kashmir dispute has also led to many other conflicts between the two neighboring countries, from cross-border trade to rivalry for influence in war-torn Afghanistan. But the main concerns may rest on the fact that the two countries wield nuclear powers that none in the region can afford to see them fight a war.
“Kashmir is one of the main problems in the Pakistan-India dispute,” said Mansoor Suhail, deputy minister at the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which has acted as the government mouthpiece. “We want to have peaceful relations with India but it can only be reached once the Kashmir issue is solved.”
Although both India and Pakistan have met recently to discuss reviving the peace talks, no real outcome has been produced yet. As the governments of the two countries have remained entangled in a complicated situation over the Kashmir rift, the Wagah ritual could have been among the few activities that managed to tone down the hostility between both countries.
“There is nothing political about the show,” said Ahmad Nawaz, a college student from Peshawar, who came with his family and friends to watch the performance for the first time. “It is just a show and we do not take offense.”
Nawaz, as well as hundreds of other audience members, have treated the show as entertainment where they can laugh with each other. In the sunset performance, both India and Pakistani guards compete with each other to see who can fold up their flag the fastest, who can stomp their feet the highest, who can shout the longest.
The audience also compete with each other in dances and in cheering their man in the show along with the background of loud and noisy music played by the opposing guards simultaneously.
“The show is all about competition and a display of pride,” said Capt. Sultan Ali Khan, who came with his family.
“The foot stomping is an act to show that they are not afraid of each other, and how angry they can get if something goes wrong,” he said.
Although the show is aimed at overwhelming the opponents psychologically through the orchestrated movements, both manage to end it with a hand shake and smile — no matter how artificial these may be.
“We have agree on it for a long time — to open it with a handshake and close it this way too. There is nothing personal about it,” said a Pakistani guar
sources
Although diplomatic ties between Pakistan and India have remained frayed at the center of the Kashmir dispute, the paramilitary guards from both countries along the Wagah border have shown that tensions are not necessarily hostile. It can be fun — at least for the audience.
Every day before sunset, security forces from both India and Pakistan gather to lower their own flags at the Wagah border dividing the Pakistani city of Lahore in the west with the Indian city of Amritsar in the east.
The flag lowering ceremony could have been a mundane ritual but thanks to the creativity of the guards, the ceremony has become a major attraction that brings local and foreign tourists to Wagah, some 30 kilometers from Lahore.
The sunset ritual has featured a theatrical act of rivalry, performed by Pakistani Rangers and India’s Border Security Forces in their cockerel-like head costumes. The ceremony is opened with a handshake from both side’s guards who approach each other with orchestrated boot-stomping steps and an exchange of hostile stares.
Guards clunk their heavy boots several times as fast as they can while staring at each other in what could be perceived as a comical manner.
The ritual, which has been performed since 1959, has drawn thousands of audiences from each side every day and they have become parts of the ceremony.
Audiences from both sides are involved in trade shouting with each other. The Pakistani audience is led by a local participant to shout “Pakistan Zindabad”, which means “long live Pakistan”, while India trade back with “Jai Hind”, which has the similar meaning, but no provocative shouting that disgraces each other is allowed.
The performance is so lively and cheerful that it could be hard for a foreigner to believe that any major tension exists, especially because the guards from both sides created the movement and practice the performance together.
The guards also coordinate movements with each other. Any new movements created by one side are discussed with the opposite side. If one side disagrees, they will cancel it.
“They are at comfort with the situation, there is nothing hostile on the ground and it is different from the hostility in Kashmir,” said an official that accompanied a group of journalists who were invited to visit Pakistan on a recent media visit program.
Predominantly Muslim Kashmir, which Pakistan and India share at the Himalayan region, has been at the center of the diplomatic thaw between the two countries since 1947.
The dispute, triggered by revolt from people in India’s Kashmir, has led to two wars and turned into many close skirmishes between the armies. At the diplomacy level, the Kashmir dispute has led to a major suspicion and mutual dislike between the two nuclear-armed states.
The Kashmir talks have been in deadlock since 2008 after the Indian government blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group who fought for the Pakistan Kashmir cause, after Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. As a flashpoint in the relations, the Kashmir dispute has also led to many other conflicts between the two neighboring countries, from cross-border trade to rivalry for influence in war-torn Afghanistan. But the main concerns may rest on the fact that the two countries wield nuclear powers that none in the region can afford to see them fight a war.
“Kashmir is one of the main problems in the Pakistan-India dispute,” said Mansoor Suhail, deputy minister at the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which has acted as the government mouthpiece. “We want to have peaceful relations with India but it can only be reached once the Kashmir issue is solved.”
Although both India and Pakistan have met recently to discuss reviving the peace talks, no real outcome has been produced yet. As the governments of the two countries have remained entangled in a complicated situation over the Kashmir rift, the Wagah ritual could have been among the few activities that managed to tone down the hostility between both countries.
“There is nothing political about the show,” said Ahmad Nawaz, a college student from Peshawar, who came with his family and friends to watch the performance for the first time. “It is just a show and we do not take offense.”
Nawaz, as well as hundreds of other audience members, have treated the show as entertainment where they can laugh with each other. In the sunset performance, both India and Pakistani guards compete with each other to see who can fold up their flag the fastest, who can stomp their feet the highest, who can shout the longest.
The audience also compete with each other in dances and in cheering their man in the show along with the background of loud and noisy music played by the opposing guards simultaneously.
“The show is all about competition and a display of pride,” said Capt. Sultan Ali Khan, who came with his family.
“The foot stomping is an act to show that they are not afraid of each other, and how angry they can get if something goes wrong,” he said.
Although the show is aimed at overwhelming the opponents psychologically through the orchestrated movements, both manage to end it with a hand shake and smile — no matter how artificial these may be.
“We have agree on it for a long time — to open it with a handshake and close it this way too. There is nothing personal about it,” said a Pakistani guar
sources
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