At Wagah border, a sea change in 60 years

By Jaideep Sarin Aug 12, 2007, 7:35 GMT

Wagah Border (Punjab), Aug 12 (IANS) Exactly 60 years ago, the village of Wagah - now in Pakistan - was somewhere in the middle of the 48-km distance between the two important cities of Amritsar and Lahore.

The road here saw the exodus of millions of people as India's partition and the birth of Pakistan catapulted the not so well known village to the status of an international border checkpoint between the two countries.

At that time, a board was hurriedly put up announcing that Wagah was a joint outpost. Since then, the place has changed completely.

The checkpoint has now become a place for celebrating the sovereignty of both the nations with an impressive Retreat ceremony every evening at sunset that marks the closure of gates at the international border.

For many people coming here from the Indian side, a visit is nothing less than a pilgrimage. Visitors on the Indian side generally outnumber those on the Pakistani side even though the enthusiasm on both sides is the same.

'The ceremony is so impressive. When our soldiers tap their feet hard against the ground, it gives an adrenalin rush. It's a must-do for every Indian,' says Rajan Patel, a visitor from Ahmedabad.

Tarred and well-kept roads, the welcome gates of India and Pakistan, border gates painted in the colours of the two nations' flags, barbed wire fencing on the Indian side and modern buildings that house the border security, customs and immigration counters of both the countries are now part of this check post, 30 km from the Sikh holy city of Amritsar.

Besides the official paraphernalia, it is the mushrooming of 'dhabas' (eateries) and other shops just outside the customs gate at the check point - nearly one kilometre before the actual border gates - that has changed the way Wagah looks in the 60th year of India's independence and partition.

'Hundreds of people come to watch the Retreat ceremony here every evening. Even VIPs make a beeline for this place every day. This place has gained in importance. Many of the visitors come till Wagah only to witness the ceremony,' pointed out a Border Security Force (BSF) official here.

Terrorism in Punjab from 1982 to 1995 had its effect on the number of people visiting the place. But the number has increased again in the last one decade.

'Business is good here. Things have taken an upswing after 1995. In the last five to six years, the number of visitors has gone up by four to five times,' admits dhaba owner Dalbir Singh.

From locally made 'banta' cold drink bottles to brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, freshly made pakoras to Uncle Chips and Lays - everything is available for tourists who savour the eatables and drinks as they wait for the gates to open to watch the Retreat ceremony.

'Not only visitors, trade has also increased from this border post,' points out porter Rulda Singh.

There are over 1,300 porters on the Indian side of the border to carry goods till the Pakistani gate from where porters from the other side take over.

Amritsar-based journalist Ashok Sethi recalls that his uncle, G.R. Sethi, used to pedal from that city to Lahore before August 1947 to file news reports at the head office of the oldest English daily of the region, The Tribune.

'I have crossed the road at Wagah several times before partition. There was nothing here at that time. Things have completely changed now,' says 75-year-old Kewal Krishan, formerly a resident of Lahore.

Recently there have been demands that the border check post on the Indian side be re-christened Atari as Wagah is actually now in Pakistan. If that happens, the name will be the latest thing to change at the ever-transforming border outpost.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service