Hussainiwala
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Hussainiwala ਹੁਸੈਨੀਵਾਲਾ |
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|---|---|
| village | |
Flag lowering ceremony at Hussainiwala Border, Far side is Pakistan and near side is India
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 Hussainiwala
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| Coordinates: 30°59′51.56″N 74°32′49.62″E / 30.9976556°N 74.5471167°ECoordinates: 30°59′51.56″N 74°32′49.62″E / 30.9976556°N 74.5471167°E | |
| Country |
 India
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| State | Punjab |
| District | Firozpur |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Punjabi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Nearest village | Ganda Singh Wala |
Hussainiwala (Punjabi: ਹੁਸੈਨੀਵਾਲਾ)is a village in Firozpur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the bank of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala.
Hussainniwala is the site of the National Martyrs Memorial, which marks the location where Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were cremated on 23 March 1931. It is also the cremation place of Batukeshwar Dutt, who was also involved in bombing the Central Legislative Assembly with Singh, as well as that of Singh's mother, Vidyawati.
An annual fair takes place at the memorial on 23 March, which is the anniversary of Singh's death. The day is also observed across the state of Punjab.
The border crossing is now closed for travelers, although a flag retreat ceremony is still held daily. Until 1970, it was the principal road crossing between India and Pakistan, and was a trade route for truckers, mostly for the import of Kandahari Angoor (dehydrated grapes) and other fruits and food products from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The border crossing was replaced by the border crossing at Wagah, a little further north. In 2005 there were proposals to reopen the border, but it remained closed.
Since 1970 there has been a Retreat Ceremony at the border crossing every day at 6 pm, similar to the Mahavir/Sadaki and Wagah/Atari border ceremony. Attendees are seated in close proximity here, as compared to Wagah where crowds are kept far apart. And unlike the jingoistic display at Wagah which draws nationalistic tourists from all over India and Pakistan, the Hussainiwala ceremony is a more intimate ceremony attended mostly by local Punjabis from either side of the border. As a result, the atmosphere is not as tense, and Indian and Pakistani attendees often smile and wave to one another, and even cheer for each other's guards as they perform the border spectacle.
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Wikipedia