58.182.176.169: /* Other places */ citation and see also added, redlink fixed

2021-08-28T17:55:18Z

Other places: citation and see also added, redlink fixed

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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| caption = The ceremony takes place on the border between [[Wagah]], Pakistan and [[Attari]], India<ref name="bbc">{{cite news |title= Mixed feelings on India-Pakistan border |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6945626.stm |work= [[BBC News]] |date= 14 August 2007 }}</ref>
| location = [[India-Pakistan border]]
| years_active = Since {{Start date and age|1959|paren=yes}}
| founded = [[Border Security Force]] and [[Pakistan Rangers]]
| dates = Every day
| genre = Military display
| coordinates = {{coord|31.60464|74.57310|format=dms|type:event|display=inline,title}}
| attendance =
| budget =
| patron =
| website =
}}

The '''lowering of the flags''' ceremony at the [[Attari]]-[[Wagah]] border is a daily military practice that the security forces of [[India]] ([[Border Security Force]], BSF) and [[Pakistan]] ([[Pakistan Rangers]]) have jointly followed since 1959.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|last=Khaleeli|first=Homa|title=Goodbye to the ceremony of silly walks between India and Pakistan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/nov/01/india-pakistan-border-showdown-toned-down|access-date=14 November 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|date=1 November 2010}}</ref> The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid dance like manoeuvres and raising legs as high as possible, which have been described as "colourful".<ref name="guardian" /> It is alternatively a symbol of the two countries’ rivalry, as well as brotherhood and cooperation between the two nations.

At the international border between [[India]] and [[Pakistan]], the pomp and pageantry of the Beating Retreat and the Change of Guard occur within handshaking distance of the Indian and Pakistani forces. [[Wagah]], an army outpost on the [[India-Pakistan border]] between [[Amritsar]] and [[Lahore]], is an elaborate complex of buildings, roads and barriers on both sides. The daily highlight is the evening “Beating the Retreat” ceremony. [[Soldier|Soldiers]] from both countries march in drill, going through the steps of bringing down their respective national flags.

Similar parades are organised at [[Mahavir/Sadqi International Parade Ground|Mahavir/Sadqi border]] near [[Fazilka]] and [[Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial|Hussainiwala]]/[[Ganda Singh Wala]] border near [[Firozpur]].

==Overview==
[[File:Wagah Border2014.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Wagah-Attari border ceremony]]
[[File:Wagha_Marching.jpg|thumb|Marching by Indian [[Border Security Force]] soldiers]]

[[File:Women personnel of India's Border Security Force.jpg|thumb|Women personnel of [[Border Security Force]] taking part in the ceremonial retreat at the India-Pakistan border at [[Wagah]], 2010.]]
[[File:Pakistani border rangers at Wagah border near Lahore 5.jpg|thumb|[[Pakistani Rangers]] at the Wagah-Attari border crossing]]
[[File:Flag_Ceremony_at_Wagah_Border.jpg|thumb|Indian crowd watching the ceremony]]
This ceremony takes place every evening immediately before sunset at the Wagah-Attari border, which as part of the [[Grand Trunk Road]] was the only road link between these two countries before the opening of the [[Aman Setu]] in [[Kashmir]] in 1999. The ceremony starts with a blustering parade by the soldiers from both sides, and ends up in the perfectly coordinated lowering of the two nations' flags.<ref name="NYT">{{cite web|title=Peacocks at Sunset|url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/peacocks-at-sunset/|work=Opinionator: Borderlines|publisher=The New York Times|access-date=15 July 2012|author=Frank Jacobs|date=3 July 2012}}</ref> It is called the [[Beating Retreat]] border ceremony on the international level. One [[infantryman]] stands at attention on each side of the gate. As the sun sets, the iron gates at the border are opened and the two flags are lowered simultaneously. The flags are folded and the ceremony ends with a retreat that involves a brusque handshake between soldiers from either side, followed by the closing of the gates again. The spectacle of the ceremony attracts many visitors from both sides of the border, as well as international tourists.<ref name="NYT" /> In October 2010, Major General Yaqub Ali Khan of the Pakistan Rangers decided that the aggressive aspect of the ceremonial theatrics should be toned down.
The soldiers of this ceremony are specially appointed and trained for this auspicious ceremony. They also have a beard and moustache policy for which they are paid additionally.{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}

== 2014 suicide attack ==
{{Main|2014 Wagah border suicide attack}}
On 2 November 2014, approximately 60 people were killed and at least 110 people were injured in a suicide attack on the Pakistan side of the Wagah-Attari border. An 18 to 20 year-old attacker detonated a {{convert|5|kg|abbr=on}} explosive in his vest {{convert|500|metres}} from the crossing point in the evening right after the Wagah-Attari border ceremony ended.<ref>{{cite web |title= Pakistan blast 'kills 45' at Wagah border with India |url= http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29871077 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2 November 2014 |access-date=2 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Police: Suicide bomber kills dozens at Pakistan border parade |url=http://m.cnn.com/primary/cnnd_fullarticle?articleId=cnn/2014/11/02/world/asia/pakistan-lahore-parade-border-explosion&branding=&pagesize=10&category=cnnd_latest |work=[[CNN]] |date=2 November 2014 |access-date=2 November 2014}}</ref>

== 2016 Indo-Pakistani tensions ==
After the [[2016 India–Pakistan military confrontation|India–Pakistan military confrontation on 29 September 2016]] the border closing ceremony continued, but on the Indian side public attendance was denied on the evenings between 29 September and 8 October 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Attari-Wagah post echoes with patriotic chants again |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/attari-wagah-post-echoes-with-patriotic-chants-again/story-0c64r9bdI7B3HUeKNqkXkJ.html |work=[[hindustantimes]] |date=9 October 2016 |access-date=6 November 2016}}</ref>
As a sign of the increased tensions, the BSF did not exchange sweets and greetings with Pakistani Rangers on Diwali 2016, despite a long tradition of doing so on major religious festivals like [[Eid al-Adha|Bakr-Eid]] and [[Diwali]], and also during Independence Days of both countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=BSF refuses to exchange Diwali sweets at Wagah as Indo-Pak tension increases |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/bsf-refuses-to-exchange-diwali-sweets-at-wagah-as-indo-pak-tension-increases/articleshow/55141786.cms |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=30 October 2016 |access-date=6 November 2016}}</ref>

== Other places ==
{{see also | Borders_of_India#Beating retreat | l1= Border ceremonies of India's with neighbours }}
[[File:Ganda Singh border kasur.jpg|thumb|190px|Border ceremony at Ganda Singh Wala/Hussainiwala border]]

Similar border ceremonies by the [[Pakistan Rangers]] and [[Border Security Force|BSF]] just before sunset are also carried out at other India-Pakistan border posts, such as the:

* [[Ganda Singh Wala]] border, [[Kasur District]] (Pakistan side) / [[Hussainiwala]] border, [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] (India side)<ref name=cer1>[https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/indo-pak-border-839044-2016-10-10 5 crossing points in India: All you need to know], India Today, 10 OCt 2016.</ref><ref name=cer2>[https://changing-guard.com/changing-guard-worldwide/wagah-india.html Beating Retreat Wagah India], CHanging Guards, accessed 8 July 2021.</ref>
* [[Sulemanki Headworks|Sulaimanki]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] (Pakistan side) / [[Fazilka]] border (India side).<ref name=cer1/><ref name=cer2/>
* [[Fazilka#Ceremony|Sadiqui-Sulemanki border ceremony]] near [[Fazilka]] in Punjab.<ref name=Mahavir1>[https://fazilka.nic.in/tourist-place/sadqi-retreat-ceremony/ Sadqi retreat ceremony], nic.in, accessed 8 July 2021.</ref><ref name=Mahavir2>[https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/punjab-sadiqi-border-in-fazilka-will-be-another-wagah/story-seJrYctRLdv5jI3KdHBuzJ.html Second Wagah: India, Pak agree to new ceremony, beating retreat on Punjab border], Hindustan Times, 201 April 2017.</ref><ref name=Mahavir3>[https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/at-sadiqi-border-strained-indo-pak-ties-dampen-spirits-818449 At Sadiqi border, strained Indo-Pak ties dampen spirits], The Tribune, 17 April 2019.</ref>

As at Wagah-Attari border, border soldiers from both sides intimidate each other by throwing high kicks and by staring, and the ceremonies are concluded by a simultaneous [[beating retreat|flag or beating retreat]]. These ceremonies occur in smaller settings, and spectators tend to be local [[Punjabis]] rather than tourists from other regions in India, Pakistan, and other countries. The method of drill and parade is also quite different compared to the one in Wagah-Attari border.

== See also ==
* [[Attari]], the Indian village bordering with [[Wagah]]
* [[Borders_of_India#Beating retreat|India's Border ceremonies with neighbours]]
* [[Borders of India]]

[[File:Wagah Border Ceremony from Pakistani Side.webm|thumb|Wagah-Attari Border Ceremony from Pakistani Side, 2013]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Wagah Border}}
* [[Michael Palin]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9y2qtaopbE at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Pakistani side] (from ''[[Himalaya with Michael Palin]]''). BBCWorldwide video on YouTube.
* [[Sanjeev Bhaskar]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC9NeJh1NhI at the India-Pakistan border ceremony on the Indian side]. BBCWorldwide video on YouTube.

[[Category:India–Pakistan relations]]
[[Category:Ceremonies in India]]
[[Category:Ceremonies in Pakistan]]
[[Category:India–Pakistan border]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Amritsar]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Lahore]]
[[Category:Daily events]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:1959 establishments in East Punjab]]
[[Category:1959 establishments in Pakistan]]

[[fr:Wagah#Cérémonie de fermeture de la frontière]]

Wagah-Attari border ceremony - Revision history

58.182.176.169: /* Other places */ citation and see also added, redlink fixed