North West Frontier jail. Their current status is unknown. They are listed as missing by the Indian Government along with 52 others, including Major Ashok Suri who wrote a letter to his father in 1975 from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
stating that he was alive and well. Pakistan denies holding any of the soldiers who are
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
.
India–Pakistan border crossing
The border crossing, 10km from district headquarters Ferozepur,
[Places of Interest , District Ferozepur, Government of Punjab, India]
Nic.in, accessed 8 July 2021. has a ruined fort, National Martyrs Memorial and a daily beating retreat flag ceremony, all three in the same compound manned by India's
Border Security Forces
The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
.
India–Pakistan border crossing
The border crossing is now closed for travellers, although a flag retreat ceremony is still held daily. Until 1970, it was the principal road crossing between India and Pakistan, and was a trade route for truckers, mostly for the import of Kandahari Angoor (dehydrated grapes) and other fruits and food products from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The border crossing was replaced by the border crossing at
Attari
Attari, also spelled Atari, is a village of Amritsar district in the Punjab state of India, 3 km from the Indo-Pakistani border at Wagah. It is situated 25 km west of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, and is the last Indian station on ...
, a little further north. In 2005 there were proposals to reopen the border, but it remained closed. Hussainiwala Headworks is located at this village across the Sutlej river which supplies irrigation water to Bikaner canal and Eastern canal.
Hussainiwala-Ganda Singh Wala border ceremony
At the Hussainiwala–Ganda Singh Wala border crossing, a flag
beating retreat
Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
History
Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...
ceremony has been held every day at 6 pm since 1970 by the military of both nations. It is open to the public and tourists as a tourist attraction. It is similar to the Mahavir/Sadaki near
Fazilka
Fazilka, also known as Bangla, is a city and a municipal council in Fazilka district of Punjab, India. In 2011, it was made the headquarter of the newly created Fazilka district. The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAPI) project originating in Tu ...
and
Wagah–Atari border ceremony,
[5 crossing points in India: All you need to know]
India Today, 10 OCt 2016.
Changing Guards, accessed 8 July 2021. though attendees are mostly local Punjabis from either side of the border. As a result, the atmosphere is not as tense as some other border ceremonies, and Indian and Pakistani attendees often smile and wave to one another, and even cheer for each other's guards as they perform the ceremony. At one point during the ceremony, an Indian BSF soldier and a Pakistani Ranger cross over the borderline to collect the flags of their respective nations.
The National Martyrs Memorial
Hussainniwala is the site of the
National Martyrs Memorial, which marks the location where
Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary*
* who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer
*
* in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian nationa ...
,
Sukhdev and
Rajguru Rajguru, also spelled as Rajyaguru, is an ancient title and surname of the Indian subcontinent which means ''royal priest''.
Notable people
*Rajguru Aggavamsa Mahathera, Bangladeshi Buddhist
*Rajguru Priyo Ratana Mahathera, Buddhist guru
*Basava ...
were cremated on 23 March 1931. It is also the cremation place of
Batukeshwar Dutt
Batukeshwar Dutt (18 November 1910 – 20 July 1965) was an Indian socialist revolutionary and independence fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded two bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assemb ...
, who was also involved in bombing the
Central Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometime ...
with Singh, and that of Singh's mother, Vidyawati. After the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, the cremation spot became a part of Pakistan but on 17 January 1961 it was returned to India in exchange for 12 villages near the
Sulemanki Headworks
Sulemanki Headworks is a headworks on the River Sutlej near Okara, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Sulemanki Headworks is used for irrigation and flood control.
Sulemanki Headworks is part of the Sutlej Valley Project completed between 1922 ...
(Fazilka).
An annual fair takes place at the memorial on 23 March, which is the anniversary of Singh's death.
The day is also observed across the state of Punjab.
Gallery
File:Hussainiwala border 1.jpg
File:Hussainiwala border 2.jpg
File:Hussainiwala border.jpg
File:Hussainiwala border 3.jpg
File:Hussainiwala border 5.jpg
File:Hussainiwala border 6.jpg
File:Hussainiwala border 7.jpg
See also
*
Attari
Attari, also spelled Atari, is a village of Amritsar district in the Punjab state of India, 3 km from the Indo-Pakistani border at Wagah. It is situated 25 km west of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, and is the last Indian station on ...
*
Munabao
References
Cities and towns in Firozpur district
India–Pakistan border crossings
{{Firozpur district