Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- PART I SOUTHEAST ASIA AND REGIONAL SECURITY AFTER THE COLD WAR
- PART II AGE OF TERRORISM, WAR IN IRAQ
- PART III THE BIG BOYS OF ASIAN GEOPOLITICS
- 21 China Needs to Act Like a Good Neighbour
- 22 On Balance, America is Benign
- 23 Resoluteness Alone Will Not Solve Bush's Security Woes
- 24 India Has a Key Role in Asia's Power Balance
- 25 China, Japan Must Meet and Talk More
- 26 India's Ascent: Rocky Path Ahead
- 27 America's Security Strategy and the “Long War” on Terror
- 28 A Weaker America Could Allow the Quiet Rise of China
- 29 ASEAN as a Geopolitical Player
- 30 China: A Powerhouse in Search of Grace
- 31 Security Treaty Signals Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties
- 32 The Wagah Border: From Division to Bridge
- 33 Fix the Gaping Holes in India's Security
- 34 Chiang Kai-shek's Legacy Lives On in China
- 35 Asia-Pacific Security: The Danger of Being Complacent
- PART IV REMEMBERANCES OF CONFLICTS PAST
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
32 - The Wagah Border: From Division to Bridge
from PART III - THE BIG BOYS OF ASIAN GEOPOLITICS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- PART I SOUTHEAST ASIA AND REGIONAL SECURITY AFTER THE COLD WAR
- PART II AGE OF TERRORISM, WAR IN IRAQ
- PART III THE BIG BOYS OF ASIAN GEOPOLITICS
- 21 China Needs to Act Like a Good Neighbour
- 22 On Balance, America is Benign
- 23 Resoluteness Alone Will Not Solve Bush's Security Woes
- 24 India Has a Key Role in Asia's Power Balance
- 25 China, Japan Must Meet and Talk More
- 26 India's Ascent: Rocky Path Ahead
- 27 America's Security Strategy and the “Long War” on Terror
- 28 A Weaker America Could Allow the Quiet Rise of China
- 29 ASEAN as a Geopolitical Player
- 30 China: A Powerhouse in Search of Grace
- 31 Security Treaty Signals Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties
- 32 The Wagah Border: From Division to Bridge
- 33 Fix the Gaping Holes in India's Security
- 34 Chiang Kai-shek's Legacy Lives On in China
- 35 Asia-Pacific Security: The Danger of Being Complacent
- PART IV REMEMBERANCES OF CONFLICTS PAST
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
Summary
The residents of the city say there are only three places worth visiting in Amritsar: the Sikh Golden Temple, Jallianwalla Bagh where British Brigadier Dyer in 1919 massacred unarmed Indians — and the Wagah border. Indeed the flag-lowering ceremony at the end of each day on the India-Pakistan border at Wagah in Punjab has over the years become a tourist destination, attracting predominantly Indians and Pakistanis on the respective sides of the border, with a sprinkling of foreigners.
The Wagah check-point is about mid-way between the cities of Lahore in Pakistan and Amritsar in India, each about 25 kilometers away, on the only road link between the two neighbours. Here the border is marked in white as it cuts across the historic Grand Trunk Road (GTR). The road has been closed for years now at Wagah by two metal gates, one on each country's side. The two flag posts are located contiguous to the boundary line between the two gates.
Traditionally the flag-lowering ceremony has been a display of macho and mutual hatred by the border security forces on each side, though the animosity has been toned down in recent years. As the guards muster on each side and the crowds on both sides wave their respective flags, the air resonates with nationalistic slogans, including “Pakistan Jindabad (“Long Live Pakistan”) and “Jai Hind (“Long Live India”). On the Pakistani side, there is also the intermittent playing of Koranic verses.
Then, at the appointed time, both gates are thrown open, the border troops take giant exaggerated steps towards the flag posts and stamp the ground vigorously with their boots. Their demeanor and facial expressions signify determination, defiance, even hostility. After the flag lowering, the two gates are shut with a loud clang, as if to signify a determination that each country will remain shut to the other.
A South Korean visitor on the Pakistan side of the border last year could barely contain his amusement over what, to him, looked like a farce. In his derisory merriment he forgot that it was perhaps no more farcical than the face-off between South Korean and North Korean troops at the Panmunjom on the 38th parallel border between the two countries.
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- Information
- By Design or AccidentReflections on Asian Security, pp. 132 - 135Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak InstitutePrint publication year: 2010