Wagah ( ur, ) or Wagha ( Shahmukhi pnb, ) is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan. The town is famous for the Wagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal and a railway station between Pakistan and India. Wahga is situated west of the border and lies on the historic Grand Trunk Road between Lahore and

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

in India. The border is located from Lahore and from

. It is also from the bordering village of Attari, India. The Wagah ceremony takes place every evening.

Wagah-Attari border ceremony

Flag ceremony at Wahga border of Pak India

Border crossing

The border crossing draws its name from Wahga village, near which the Radcliffe Line, the boundary

demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahrawi- ...

dividing India and Pakistan upon the Partition of British India, was drawn. At the time of the independence in 1947, migrants from India entered Pakistan through this border crossing and vice versa. The Wagah railway station is to the south and from the border.

Border crossing ceremony

The Wagah-Attari border ceremony happens at the border gate, two hours before sunset each day. The flag ceremony is conducted by the Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF), similar to the retreat ceremonies at Ganda Singh Wala/ Hussainiwala border crossing and Mahavir/Sadqi International Parade Ground border crossing. A marching ceremony, known as the "Silly Walk ceremony", is conducted each evening along with the flag ceremony. The ceremony started in 1986 as an agreement of peace, although there was not a conflict at that time. Other Middle Eastern nations have adopted similar ceremonies in recent years.

Wagah flag

Following India's erection of a 360 ft (110m) flagpole on their side of the border in Attari, in August 2017, a 400 ft (122m) Pakistani flag was installed on the Wagah side. The pole in pattadei is the largest in India.

Gallery

File:Pakistani Flag Wahga Border.jpg, 122m high Pakistani Flag on Wagah Border File:Stadium wahga border.jpg, Stadium-like seating at Pakistani side of the border File:Wagha border.jpg, The Pakistani gate at the border crossing File:Bab e Azadi Wahga Border.jpg, Bab-e-Azadi (Gate of Independence) on Pakistani side of Wagah Border Wagah border indian bsf.jpg, Indian

BSF BSF may refer to: Organisations * Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold, a Danish football club * British Skin Foundation, a UK charity raising money for skin disease and skin cancer research * Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, an international non profit * ...

at Wagah Women personnel of India's Border Security Force.jpg, Women personnel of Indian

at Wagah File:Soldiers at Wagah border.jpg, Punjab Rangers at Waga Milestone near Wagah Border.JPG, Milestone near Wagah Border File:Paddy field in Punjab 002.jpg, Paddy field near Wagah border

References

External links

{{wikinews-inline, Flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah border becomes more peaceful * Michael Palinbr>at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Pakistani side
(from '' Himalaya with Michael Palin''). BBCWorldwide video on YouTube. *

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom '' The Kumars at No. 42''. ...

br>at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Indian side
BBCWorldwide video on YouTube.
Pictures of independence's 60th anniversary celebration at Wagah Border
Wagha Town India–Pakistan border crossings Villages in Punjab, Pakistan Checkpoints