Pakistan:
People of Gah village of Chakwal district of Punjab province of Pakistan are extremely saddened by the demise of former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and they say that they feel as if a member of their family has passed away. Altaf Hussain, a resident of Gah village, told PTI that a group of local people held a condolence meeting to express grief over the demise of village boy Manmohan Singh. Hussain is a teacher in the same school of Gah village where Manmohan Singh had studied till class 4.
Where is Manmohan Singh’s village?
Manmohan’s father Gurmukh Singh was a textile businessman and his mother Amrit Kaur was a housewife. Her friends used to call her ‘Mohana’. The village is located about 100 km south-west of the capital Islamabad and was part of Jhelum district at the time of Singh’s birth. But in 1986 it was included in Chakwal district.
When friend came to Delhi
Manmohan Singh’s schoolmate Raja Muhammad Ali traveled to Delhi in 2008 to meet him. Raja Ashiq Ali, nephew of Raja Muhammad Ali, addressed the condolence meeting. He said, “All the people of the village want to attend his (Singh’s) funeral in India but it is not possible. That’s why they have come here to mourn.
The villagers still remember
Some of Singh’s classmates, now deceased, had expressed happiness when he became Prime Minister in 2004. The families of these classmates still live in Gah and are proud of their long association with Singh.
Ashiq Ali said, “We are still overwhelmed by remembering those days when everyone in the village felt proud that a boy from our village had become the Prime Minister of India.”
Manmohan Singh’s education
The most prestigious place in the village is probably the school where Singh received his early education. His entry number in the register is 187, and the date of entry is recorded as April 17, 1937. His date of birth is February 4, 1932 and his caste is recorded as ‘Kohli’.
Locals credit Singh, who is from the village, for renovating the school and say there was some discussion about naming it after the Indian politician. He feels that Singh’s success in India inspired local officials to focus on village development.
In 2008, Singh had invited his friend Raja Muhammad Ali to meet him in Delhi. Ali died in 2010 and some of his other friends also died in the years that followed.
‘Mohana’ never came back, news of death came
The school teacher said, “Dr. Manmohan Singh could not visit Gah again during his lifetime, but now that he is no more, we want someone from his family to visit this village.
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