William Dalrymple (historian)

Wagah

واگھا
واہگہ
Wagah واگھا; واہگہ;
Union Council of Pakistan
	Wahga
	The evening flag lowering ceremony at the Pakistan–India international border near Wagah
	Location of Wagah
	Wagah Location in Pakistan Wagah Wagah (Pakistan)
	Coordinates: 31°36′17″N 74°34′23″E / 31.60472°N 74.57306°E
Country	Pakistan
District	Lahore
Zone	Wahga
Union Council	181
Population
• Total	Cantonment village: 26,900; Municipal corporate council: 560,968; Border: 230,008
Time zone	UTC+5 (PKT)

Wagah (/wɑːˈɡə/; Punjabi: واگھا [ʋäː˦ˈgä]; Urdu: واہگہ [ˈwɑːɦˌgɑː]), also spelled Wagha or Wahga, is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan.^[1] 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.^[2] Wahga is situated 600 metres (2,000 ft) west of the border and lies on the historic Grand Trunk Road between Lahore and Amritsar in India. The border is located 24 kilometres (15 mi) from Lahore and 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Amritsar. It is also 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the bordering village of Attari in India. The Wagah flag-lowering ceremony – by the border security personnel of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) – has been taking place here every evening since 1959.^[3]

Wagah-Attari 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.^[4] 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 400 metres (1,300 ft) to the south and 100 metres (330 ft) from the border.

Border crossing ceremony

The Wagah-Attari border ceremony happens at the border gate, two hours before sunset each day.^[4] 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.

Wagah Border Stadium and Flag

India, on their side of the border in Attari, built a stadium of 25000 seating capacity with Balcony Gallery overarching the Pakistani side and erected a 360ft (100m) flagpole in Aug 2017. This flagpole is the tallest in India.^[5]^[6] Pakistan installed a flagpole of 400ft (122m) on the Wagah side. Construction of stadium on the Pakistan side is progressing and expected to complete by Dec 2026. Once complete, both sides will have the same seating capacity.^[7]