LAHORE, 23 February 2007 — At the top of his voice, Baba Mehr Din cried out “Pakistan,” the crowds around him roared back in one voice “Zindabad” (long live). This was the scene at the nearly 60-year-old flag-lowering ceremony held daily at the Pakistan-India border.
“There is no one who can compete with me from the Indian side,” said the 77-year-old man speaking in a proud guru-like tone. The must-see 20-minute flag-lowering ceremony has become a friendly expression of rivalry between the two nuclear powers that keeps onlookers amazed.
It is said to be the world’s longest running flag-lowering ceremony between two nations and after almost 60 years since partition, the daily ritual at this border checkpoint, continues to pull large crowds. It took us close to 30 minutes to drive from Lahore to the border city of Wagah. As we neared, a throng of people could be seen heading toward the border. The ceremony could be likened to a thermometer giving one an idea of the rivalry that exists between India and Pakistan. The ceremony is a mixture of current political relations blended into a friendly competition between guards and spectators from both sides.
Baba Mehr, an old man with a white Father Christmas-like beard, led the chanting while standing in a Roman gladiator fashion between two split football-stadium-like-terraces (one reserved for ladies and another for men). There were two additional platforms for tourists on the ground much more closer to the action and again exercising gender segregation. Baba Mehr has been attending the daily ceremony for the past 15 years. He has never missed a day and his eyes glitter with joy at being a proud Pakistani. Baba Mehr has, however, lived through the difficult times of partition as he was only 17 years old when the massacres took place in 1947. Meanwhile, the ceremony is also observed by spectators sitting on the Indian side. People usually come through Amritsar (15 kilometers from the border) to observe the daily event. The Indians could be seen likewise chanting “Hindustan, Hindustan” with Bollywood music blaring in the background and people dancing.
Music is also usually played on the Pakistani side but on Wednesday, in respect of the people who were killed in a train explosion earlier in the week, a border guard announced on loud speakers, “Music will not be played today in respect of the families of Pakistanis who lost their lives in the train explosion.”
Shortly after 5 p.m., spectators continued to gather on either side of the border. The excitement grew as the crowd became bigger and more boisterous.
Waving the national Pakistani flag, Baba Mehr cried out in Urdu, “What is the meaning of Pakistan?” The crowds replied in Arabic, “There is none worthy of worship except Allah.”
Two officers — a Pakistani Rangers and an Indian Border Guard — shook hands at the beginning of the ceremony to the sound of cheers from both sides signaling the improvement of relations between the two nuclear states.
The ceremony kicked off with a recitation from the holy Qur’an from the Pakistani side with the Indian side, located a few meters away behind a set of massive gates which mark the border checkpoint, observing silence in respect. Then a trumpet was blown declaring the start of the ceremony.
The Pakistan Rangers, dressed in their dark gray shalwar kameez, showed physical prowess as they raised their knees to touch their faces and then stomped on the ground hard. The Rangers simultaneously shook their heads with angry faces making gestures. Two soldiers — one from each side — then began competing in unwrapping the ropes around their respective flag poles. The Pakistani solider finished a few seconds before his Indian counterpart to the wild cheers of people on the Pakistani side.
It’s a psychological competition, said Burhan Al-Din, a 40-year-old Pakistani, who was ecstatically chanting “Pakistan Zindabad.”
It is definitely amazing to see how each side expresses feelings in a unique way that shows how they feel about each other, said Angela, a British tourist in her thirties who arrived at the ceremony in a tourist party.
The partition of the two countries that took place in August 1947 may be a distant event, but judging by the mood of the crowd here emotions still run high especially after last week’s explosion.
The ceremony ended after border guards from both sides lowered their flags at 5.45p.m. Spectators gave the daily ritual two thumbs up as they began taking memorial photographs with the star of the show being Baba Mehr Din.
