India and Pakistan agree to tone down border ceremony

The goose-stepping ritual that marks the daily closure of the Pakistan-India border has come to represent the hostilities between the two countries over the past five decades. So the news that the ceremony's aggressive moves, which feature heavily mustachioed troops from both sides high-kicking to the sounds of trumpets, are to be "toned down" is being widely welcomed. But those who hope the move marks a watershed in Indian-Pakistani relations may be disappointed. The reason for the new, calmer tone, according to the Indian side at least, is nothing to do with a thawing of hostilities between the two countries, which have fought three wars since the bloody 1947 partition, but rather down to the effect all the high-kicking has had on the bodies of the soldiers involved. Himmat Singh, inspector general with the Punjab frontier headquarters of the border security force, said the heavy stomping of boots had taken a toll on troops from both sides, who had suffered mild-to-severe damage to joints in the lower half of their bodies. "We had proposed a lowering of the aggression in the gestures during the daily parade, and subsequently took unilateral decision to implement that," Singh told the Hindustan Times . He said the Pakistan Rangers had agreed to the proposal and also "toned down their drill". But despite agreement that the ceremony was being altered, the Pakistanis – almost inevitably – disagreed on the reasons for the change. A spokesman, Nadim Raza, said the drill "never causes leg injuries in soldiers". "We will only change the 'fist gesture'," he told the BBC . "No thumb would be shown and aggressive looks will be replaced with a proper handshake and a smile." He insisted the Pakistani guards would "continue with foot-pressing and leg-stretching drill because it is the pride of a soldier and a symbol of his fitness". The ceremony, which began in 1959, takes place at Wagah every day at sunset. The choreographed goose-stepping ceremony concludes with a formal unsmiling handshake before the gates are slammed on either side of the border. Despite – or perhaps because of – the exaggerated aggression of the ceremony, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks sketch , it takes place amid a carnival atmosphere as 20,000 spectators from both countries flock to watch and dance and cheer. The nuclear-armed countries have recently resumed the peace dialogue suspended after the 2008 Mumbai attacks that India blamed on Pakistan-based militants, but talks between their respective foreign ministers this month reportedly ended in acrimony.