New Delhi: The whole country is mourning the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A village in the neighboring country of Pakistan is also mourning at the moment. A special prayer was organized in the mosque on the death of Manmohan. Residents The villagers feel that someone in the family has left after Manmohan’s death. He revealed what they called Manmohan. (Manmohan Singh Demise)
Gah is a small village located 100 km southwest of Islamabad. A special prayer was organized at the local mosque on Friday to mark the demise of Manmohan. In an interview to news agency PTI, village teacher Altaf Hussain said, “The whole village is in mourning. It feels like someone from our family is gone.” They said that they are saddened by the death of ‘Mohana’. Everyone called Manmohan by that name. (Pakistan Mourns Manmohan Singh Death)
Manmohan breathed his last at Delhi’s AIIMS on Thursday. He breathed his last at the age of 92. His funeral took place in Delhi on Saturday. The people of that village in Pakistan also watched Manmohan’s last journey. Because Manmohan was born in that village. With the wounds of partition on his chest, he left his homeland and moved to India. Later elected as the 14th Prime Minister of India.
Photo: PTI.
But the border fence, political and diplomatic tension, nothing could break the relationship between Manmohan and the pulse of that village. Manmohan’s father Gurmukh Singh Kohli worked under a fruit merchant. Mother Amrit Kaur died when Manmohan was five years old. People are fascinated by grandmother Yamunadevi. Education in primary school in Gah. Manmohan’s admission documents are still preserved in that school. Manmohan was admitted to the school on April 17, 1937. He was student number 187. Kohli is written in place of nation.
The head teacher of that school was Golam Mustafa. Mustafa opened his mouth to the media before. He said that even today they show Manmohan’s record to the students. Encouraging the students that they too can be like Manmohan if they want. His schoolmates were alive when Manmohan first became Prime Minister. Currently there are not many of them. But the story of Manmohan still comes back in the mouths of their family members.
Mohammad Ashraf was Manmohan’s best friend in school. His son Mohammad Zaman said that his father went crazy after hearing that Manmohan had become the Prime Minister. Rushing to him, he said, “Way, apna mohana Hindustan da Wazir ho gaya (Our mohana has become the Prime Minister of India).” Zaman said that there was a festival in the whole village that night. Even those who had never seen Manmohan swelled with pride. Manmohan became a fairy tale character. Ashraf said, “Dad used to say, Manmohan used to study by candlelight. Dad used to play in the field. Manmohan used to prepare for exams.”
Manmohan was in that school till he was 10 years old. Later went to his father in Peshawar. He studied there. They moved to Amritsar in 1947 due to Partition. Start a new life. Ashraf stayed in Pakistan. But the friendship did not break. Ashraf said, “The land was divided. People were separated. But ‘we could not put a fence between our friendship’.” Ashraf died in 2010.
Manmohan was similarly attracted to his village. Raja Ashiq Ali, a Pakistani journalist, said that in 2004, Manmohan sent a message to him through his chief secretary. He said that the development work of the village will start soon. And surprisingly, since then, the landscape of the village began to change. Locals said that Manmohan also provided financial assistance for the development of the village school, construction of hospital, provision of solar energy. Energy and Resources Institute of India joined the development project. 51 solar-powered lighting technologies for the home. There are 16 solar light pillars on the road. Solar heaters were also installed in three mosques.
Meeting a school friend in Delhi. Photo: PMO Archives. (https://archivepmo.nic.in/drmanmohansingh/photogallery_next.php?pageid=1285)
In 2008, Manmohan also personally invited his schoolmate Raja Mohammad Ali to come to Delhi. Many people have kept the moment of that meeting in their hearts. According to Ashraf, Raja took shawl and shoes for Manmohan. Ashraf’s family sends Peshawar’s famous Rebari sweets. But after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, everything changed, Ashraf said. Manmohan could never go to Gah while he was still alive. The news of his death is weighing heavily on the people of the village. To their regret, they could not attend Manmohan’s last rites. They are hopeful that at least his wife and daughters will visit once.
Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khushid Mahmood Kasuri has expressed grief over Manmohan’s death. He told news agency PTI that Manmohan had dedicated himself to establish good relations between the two countries. He also credited Manmohan for bringing the SAARC countries under one umbrella. Explaining Manmohan, Khurshid said, “Manmohan wanted to see a day where breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul were all possible.” Khurshid said that if Atal Bihari Vajpayee had started the process of reaching a settlement with Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir, Manmohan poured his heart and soul into achieving that goal. Tina said that Manmohan also wanted to go to his village.
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