Border Bravado

While we were in Amritsar over quarter break, we decided to take a look at the India-Pakistan border ceremony. There is only one place where these two countries allow traffic to flow between the border and it is a little ways outside of Amritsar. The sculpture of hands clasped in peace and friendship below is a bit misleading. The ceremony was a crass display of nationalism at its worst.

When we arrived, Pakistan and India both had their flags flying high to signify that the border was still open. The ceremony that we were to attend would end with the closing of the border and the lowering of the flags.

Soldiers on both sides of the line were wearing their elaborate dress uniforms.

We could not see the Pakistan side of things very well from where we were sitting, but the Indian soldiers had a bizarre display of goose-stepping and foot-stomping all to show that they were better than their neighbors.

Any time any of the soldiers neared the actual border line, there was a fierce stare-down of the soldiers on the other side.

In the end, the two countries flags were lowered simultaneously so that they could both be equal. As soon as it was down, the soldiers grabbed India's flag and goose-stepped it back to their barracks. The border was then officially closed and no more buses could get through until the next day.

It seems likely that this is as close as we'll ever get to Pakistan. It was interesting to see such a spectacle and we're definitely glad that our national relations with Canada are a bit more civil.

Dave and Beth