ISLAMABAD: Gah lived in quiet anonymity until 2004, when its fortunes vividly changed. The turning point came when Dr Manmohan Singh, born in this remote and obscure village in Pakistan’s Chakwal district in 1932, rose to become the PM.
Singh’s connection to Gah, 100km southwest of Islamabad, transformed it into a focal point of development and cross-border goodwill, leaving a lasting mark on the lives of its residents. “Before 2004, even people in Chakwal, 25km away, didn’t know much about Gah,” said Raja Kamran, a long-time resident. “Now, the name of our village is known across borders, thanks to Singh.”
Singh was born to cloth merchant Garmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur. His mother passed away when he was just an infant, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents. His early education began at a modest two-room primary school in Gah, where his classmates affectionately called him “Mohana”. After completing class 4, Singh moved to Chakwal and enrolled in Khalsa High School.
Young Mohana’s favourite hobby was wandering the streets and markets of Chakwal. When he turned 11, his father shifted him to Peshawar.
Singh’s childhood friend and late Pakistani politician Raja Muhammad Ali’s home in Gah became the site of a condolence meeting Friday where villagers gathered to mourn the former PM’s passing. “We had always hoped he would visit us one day,” said Raja Aashiq Hussain, a former chairman of Union Council of Gah.
Singh’s life took a tragic turn during the Partition in 1947. Communal riots claimed his ancestral home in Gah, which was burned down. His grandfather was killed, while his grandmother survived with the help of a Muslim family. “His father moved the family to Haldwani (Uttarakhand), but Gah always remained a part of his identity,” Kamran said.
After becoming PM, Singh wrote a letter to Pakistan’s then President Pervez Musharraf, requesting development for Gah. Musharraf instructed Punjab CM Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to take immediate action.
“Elahi’s govt declared Gah a ‘model village’ and announced several projects, including a boys’ high school, a women’s vocational training institute, and a blacktop road,” said Nabeel Anwar Dhakku, a journalist.
While not all the promised projects were completed, the villagers credit Singh for the improvements that did materialise. “The paved road and schools changed our lives,” said Hussain.
Singh visited Pakistan thrice in his lifetime but never returned to Gah. His reluctance stemmed from painful memories of Partition. “Not necessary. This is the place where my grandfather was murdered,” his daughter Daman Singh quoted him in her memoir.
In 2019, Singh visited Pakistan one last time, joining the first batch of pilgrims to the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. “Even then, he chose not to visit Gah,” said Hussain.
At Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, prayers were held for Singh.
“He may not have come back, but his legacy lives on in every corner of Gah,” said Ramesh Singh Arora, Pakistan’s first Sikh minister for minority affairs. “We will always remember him with respect and love.”
(inputs from Yudhvir Rana in Amritsar)