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Border guards from India (khaki) and Pakistan (black) performing the daily retreat ceremony. AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill
What?
Knee injuries are good for diplomacy
Border patrols between India and Pakistan forced to tone things down.
A TRADITIONAL choreographed aggression ceremony by guards posted on the India-Pakistan border is being scaled down due to knee injuries sustained by the soldiers, the Hindustan Times reports.
The intense goose-stepping ceremony is performed with gusto by guards from the Pakistan Rangers and the Indian Border Security Force. For years, it has been performed every evening at the Wagah border post.
Crowds from both nationalities have been gathering each night, cheering their own troops and booing the others.
The extreme boot stomping has resulted in guards from both sides suffering knee strain. Both forces have now agreed that the display will no longer be one of aggression and hostility. The decision was made unilaterally.
Michael Palin made this four-minute video about the ceremony (check the stomping at 1.15):
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