Jessica Chadha,PHD Research Scholar,University of Siegen,Germany At Attari Wagah Border.
In the first
week of March, the BSF restricted the entry of visitors at the JCP to witness
the Beating the Retreat Ceremony.
The Independence Day ceremony at the joint check post (JCP) of the Attari-Wagah border will be held without spectators for the first time since it started in 1959 this year.
In addition to organising a band display on August 14 (Friday evening), BSF personnel will hold a parade on August 15 evening. “BSF’s Director General Surjeet Singh Deswal, along with other senior officials, will be present during the parade on August 15.
No visitor will be allowed to visit the JCP due to the pandemic.
Only men in uniform, wearing masks and gloves will be there,” said a senior BSF
official, who didn’t wish to be named.
It
will be the first time in the history of the JCP that the Independence Day
functions will be organised without spectators. The ceremonial drill might have
been suspended after the 1971 War, but not on Independence Day.
In the first
week of March, the BSF restricted the entry of visitors at the JCP to witness
the Beating the Retreat Ceremony, a daily drill performed by the BSF and the
Pakistan Rangers. With the infection not abating, only flag lowering ceremony
is being observed at the border on a daily basis.
The BSF official added, “Due to the coronavirus, neither our force nor they (Rangers) will distribute sweets on the occasion of Pakistan and India’s Independence Days.”
Forces on both sides had been following the tradition of exchanging sweets and
gifts on festivals like Diwali and Eid, as well as on Independence Day and
Republic Day functions.
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