Wagah (; ; ), also spelled Wagha or Wahga, 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.
Wagah is situated west of the India-Pakistan border and lies on the historic Grand Trunk Road between Lahore and Amritsar in India. The border is located from Lahore and from Amritsar. It is also from the bordering village of Attari in India. The Wagah flag-lowering ceremony – by the border security personnel of Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) and India (Border Security Force) has been taking place here every evening since 1959.
Border ceremony
Border crossing The border crossing draws its name from Wahga village, near which the Radcliffe Line, the boundary demarcation line 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. Gallery
See also Wagha railway station Lahore–Wagah Branch Line 2014 Wagah border suicide attack Khyber Pass Manhala
Grand Trunk Road Canal Bank Road References
External links
Michael Palin at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Pakistani side (from Himalaya with Michael Palin). BBCWorldwide video on YouTube. Sanjeev Bhaskar at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Indian side. BBCWorldwide video on YouTube. Pictures of independence's 60th anniversary celebration at Wagah Border