NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh once offered a poignant response when asked whether he would return to his ancestral village in Pakistan. Born in Gah, a village now in Pakistan’s Punjab Chakwal district, Singh’s connection to the place was irrevocably marked by tragedy. When one of his daughters asked if he wished to visit, Singh replied softly, “No, not really. That is where my grandfather was killed.”
Singh’s journey from a modest village boy to India’s 14th prime minister brought global attention to Gah, where locals fondly recall their connection to “Mohna,” as he was called.
Daman Singh, the former PM’s daughter, authored a book titled “Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan”, which was released by HarperCollins in the year 2014. The publication aimed to present a detailed narrative about the “story of her parents”.
The village school, where Singh studied until Class 4, holds a symbolic place in their hearts. His admission number, 187, remains etched in its register, dated April 17, 1937. The school was renovated during his tenure as prime minister, and there were discussions about renaming it in his honour. However, despite Gah’s pride in him, Singh never returned.
In 2008, he invited his schoolmate, Raja Muhammad Ali, to Delhi, an event villagers cherish. Ali passed away in 2010, and the remaining ties between Singh and Gah grew weaker. With Singh’s passing at 92 in Delhi, the villagers mourned deeply, describing him as family. “The entire village is in mourning. We feel that someone from our family has died today” Altaf Hussain, a teacher at Singh’s former school, told news agency PTI.
“All these villagers are deeply moved… They were eager to attend his last rites in India but it is not possible. So they are here to mourn,” Raja Ashiq Ali, who was a fellow student, made a journey to Delhi in 2008 for a meeting with him.
Pakistan’s former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri also reflected on Singh’s legacy. He recalled Singh’s desire to visit Gah and his vision for regional harmony, famously envisioning a day when one could “have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore, and dinner in Kabul.” Kasuri credited Singh for fostering trust and progress in Indo-Pak relations, particularly through initiatives to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
Singh’s passing severs tangible bond between Gah and its most famous son. While the man who once sang of Partition’s pain in family picnics is gone, his legacy as a statesman and reformer endures, remembered fondly on both sides of the border.