Grand Trunk Road: (Between Lahore (Pakistan) and Amritsar (India)): Wagah Border

Wagah is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Lahore and Amritsar (in India).

The Wagah border, often called the "Berlin wall 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.

Interesting Info about Wagah Border

Location:  Grand Trunk Road [Between the cities of Lahore (Pakistan) and Amritsar (India)]

Type of site: Border Post

Time to See: 4:0 hrs to 5:0 hrs

Opening Time: 4:00 P.M

Closing Time: 5:00 P.M

Last Entry Time: 4:00 P.M

Entrance Fees:  No Fee

Avoidable Season: May, June

Enjoyed by: History lovers

Connectivity: Taxi is an option

Nuisance: The site is very peaceful and free of irritants

Special Attributes: The palpable energy and enthusiasm on either side of the border as the martial flag-lowering ceremony takes place.

Tip: Need to scamper for a good seat as the event draws big crowds

Recommended travel directions from popular tourist places to Wagah Border

Route from Ambala to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 291 km | Drive time about: 5.82 hrs

Route from Amritsar to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 26 km | Drive time about: 0.52 hrs

Route from Jalandhar to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 119 km | Drive time about: 2.38 hrs

Route from Karnal to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 371 km | Drive time about: 7.42 hrs

Route from Khanna to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 219 km | Drive time about: 4.38 hrs

Route from Ludhiana to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 178 km | Drive time about: 3.56 hrs

Route from New Delhi to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 492 km | Drive time about: 9.84 hrs

Route from Panipat to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 406 km | Drive time about: 8.12 hrs

Route from Pipli to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 340 km | Drive time about: 6.8 hrs

Route from Rayya to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 69 km | Drive time about: 1.38 hrs

Route from Transport Nagar to Wagah Border

Approximate distance 479 km | Drive time about: 9.58 hrs

‘Soft’ Borders

It makes life very inconvenient for those living along the border.

Hardev Singh is a farmer, working his family's land which was marooned in no-man's land in 1947.

Now he needs a special permit to reach his lush, green rice paddy fields which are on the other side of a high, wide and rusty barbed-wire fence.

Only he is allowed access to work the fields alone at specific times in the heat of every other day, there are limits on crop sizes and there is the degrading need for body searches when he goes in and out.

He hates the crowds and the military posturing just up the fence at the sunset ceremony.

"People who come to see it say relations between India and Pakistan are getting better but it's not changed for us," he said.

"When I stand in my farm I don't feel India is even an independent country."

Despite the bitterness and the bureaucracy there is some optimism that change will come.

Kuldeep Nayyar was formerly an Indian High Commissioner to Britain but is now an activist for peace between Pakistan and India.

"We want to foster the India-Pakistan friendship," he said, welcoming a Pakistani delegation at the border ahead of a midnight peace ceremony.

"My dream is that the borders should become soft - from Afghanistan to Burma - and we can have a common market like Europe. Identities will remain, but we will work on fighting poverty."

That dream is still a long way off, but he hopes every anniversary of partition will bring better relations that little bit closer.

History of Wagah Border

During British rule the village was part of the Lahore Division of British Punjab.[9] 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.[citation needed] 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 vigils 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 standoffs.

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. This was owing to the fact that the soldiers hurt their feet and knees performing the goose-stepping every day

Flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah border

The traditionally hostile flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah border post between India and Pakistan will become a relic of the past after almost five decades from Monday as authorities from both sides have agreed to do away with the show-piece event of aggression. The decision was reached in Lahore, capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, on Saturday after a meeting of visiting Director General of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) Raman Srivastava with Maj. Gen. Yaqub Ali Khan, director general of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab).

"We have decided to end the angry eyeball-to-eyeball exchange, thumping of boots and other aggressive gestures from the flag-lowering parade," said Maj Gen Khan. "I had come to Pakistan to extend a hand of friendship and feel happy that it has been emphatically reciprocated," said Srivastava.

The animated display by the border guards had become synonymous with the parade at Wagah border and was greeted by loud cheers and slogan-mongering from spectators on both sides.

The traditional event always attracted spectacular coverage and has been covered by almost every publication and TV channel around the world.

"The jawans taking part in the flag-lowering ceremony will shake hands properly from here onwards," the officials said.

Both sides also agreed to hold regular sports events between Indian and Pakistani troops to promote friendship and ease tensions.

A similar effort was also made to lessen animated gestures in the parade during former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf's tenure when the peace process was initiated between both countries in 2004, but it could not last long as tensions resurfaced.

The current style of flag-lowering ceremony started at the Wagah border in 1960.

The 19-member Indian delegation spent five days in Lahore to discuss issues related to cross-border tensions, smuggling and release of fishermen and will now pursue these points with their respective governments to form a joint mechanism to resolve such issues.

History of Grand Trunk Road

The Grand Trunk Road (commonly abbreviated to GT Road) is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For several centuries, it has linked the eastern and western regions of the Indian subcontinent, running from Bangladesh, across north India, into Peshawar in Pakistan up to Kabul, Afghanistan. It was initiated by Chandra Gupta Maurya, and later renovated and extended by the famous Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri.

Recent research indicates that during the time of the Maurya empire in the 3rd century BC, overland trade between India and several parts of western Asia and the Hellenic world went through the cities of the north-west, primarily Taxila (located in present day Pakistan)(see inset in map). Taxila was well connected by roads with other parts of the Maurya empire. The Mauryas had built a highway from Taxila to Pataliputra (present-day Patna in Bihar, India). Great Chandragupta Maurya had a whole army of officials overseeing the maintenance of this road as told by the Greek diplomat Megasthenes who spent fifteen years at the Mauryan court.

In the 16th century, a major road running across the Gangetic plain was built afresh by Pashtun emperor Sher Shah Suri, who then ruled much of northern India. His intention was to link together the remote provinces of his vast empire for administrative and military reasons. The Sadak-e-Azam ("great road") as it was then known, is universally recognized as having been the precursor of the Grand Trunk Road.

The road was initially built by Sher Shah to connect Agra, his capital, with Sasaram, his hometown. It was soon extended westward to Multan and eastward to Sonargaon in Bengal (now in Bangladesh). While Sher Shah died after a brief reign, and his dynasty ended soon afterwards, the road endured as his outstanding legacy. The Mughals, who succeeded the Suris, extended the road westwards: at one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber Pass. This road was later improved by the British rulers of colonial India. Renamed the "Grand Trunk Road" (sometimes referred to as the "Long Walk"), it was extended to run from Calcutta to Peshawar and thus to span a major portion of India.

Over the centuries, the road, which was one of the most important trade routes in the region, facilitated both travel and postal communication. Even during the era of Sher Shah Suri, the road was dotted with caravansarais (highway inns) at regular intervals, and trees were planted on both sides of the road to give shade to the passers-by. The road was well planned, with milestones along the whole stretch. Some of these milestones can still be seen along the present Delhi-Ambala highway. On another note, the road also facilitated the rapid movement of troops and of foreign invaders. It expedited the looting raids, into India's interior regions, of Afghan and Persian invaders and also facilitated the movement of British troops from Bengal into the north Indian plain.

Tourist attraction:

This political icon that saw the partition has now become a major tourist attraction; almost eight thousand people visit the border everyday to witness the flag lowering ceremony that lasts for about forty-five minutes. The Indian government is even thinking about opening a tourist complex near the border to increase and promote it as a tourist attraction.

Peace activist’s playground: 

This place has slowly become the peace activist’s domain even though many foreigners find the ceremony to be very aggressive in nature. In March 2000 many women activists from India made the first border crossing from India to Pakistan. This was after the bloodless coup de tat in Pakistan and the Kargil war. Interestingly it attracted the attention of Jaswant Singh who was the foreign minister of India; recently expelled from his party because of alleged remarks about praising Jinnah, in his book, who was the founder of Pakistan.

The Parliament attack: 

The Indian parliament was attacked in 2001 and in the wake of these attacks by alleged Pakistani terrorists there was a massive build-up of troops on the border. An incident took place at this time that made the Wagah border an icon of war and peace. Allegedly, a Pakistani Jawan pulled out his weapon and pointed it at Indian spectators. Since this incident the Wagah border has become a barometer for gauging the heat (politically or otherwise) between the two countries.

Grim paradox:

The increasing tension between the two countries has not abated the number of people visiting Wagah. In fact the number of tourists has increased, making it a sad paradox that the ceremony is enjoyed under the shadow of the imminent threat of a war. Some people visit in the hope of showing their support for peace, some for patriotic reasons and others for pure entertainment.

The ceremony:

The ceremony starts every evening at dusk and lasts for about forty-five minutes. The Indian side is comprised of Border Security Force (B.S.F) Soldiers and the Pakistani side has Pakistan Rangers. Both sides are precise, aggressive and grim while performing the ceremony. The crowd usually grows silent and the adrenalin and tension is palpable. Soldiers on both sides are almost seven feet tall and dressed in colorful turbans and khaki. The flags are folded with a surgeon’s precision and brought back. The ceremony ends with a retreat that involves a handshake between the soldiers.

Mixed feelings: 

After the ceremony is over people from both the countries are within touchable distance of each other. However, interaction and talking is not permitted by both the governments. In spite of this there are shouts of “Greetings from India” or “Greetings from Pakistan” by spectators. Spectators are not even allowed to touch the ones on the other side. Many people return home with mixed feelings about the relations between India and Pakistan. The Wagah border has an iconic significance for both the countries and is a grim reminder of the past and the present tensions between them


Galleries of Wagah Border

Indian National Symbol

Indian Side of Wagah Border

Indian Border Security Soldier

Wagah Border Gate Opens

Carrying the Flag

Indian and Pakistani Flags Raised at the Gate

Oct. 26 Wagah Border ceremony in-step

Pakistani Side of Wagah Border

Wagah Border Flag Lowering

Indian Border Security