Village soil, water, photo and 100 year old shawl… when Pakistani friends came to meet Manmohan

During the partition of India and Pakistan, lakhs of people from both the countries had to flee the country overnight. During this time, these people not only had to leave their homes but also their neighbourhood, friends and relatives. Similar is the story of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh died on the night of 26-27 December, after which his Pakistani friend Raja Mohammad Ali has also come into discussion. 

Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932 in Gah in Punjab province, which is now part of Pakistan. At the time of partition, Manmohan came to India and his friend Raja Mohammad Ali was left in Pakistan. After 6 decades of separation, both the friends got a chance to meet and Raja Ali came to India to meet his childhood friend. When Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister for the first time in the year 2004, Raja Mohammad Ali was very happy to hear this and he decided to come to Delhi to meet Manmohan. He came to India after four years in May 2008.

Manmohan and Raja Ali used to study together in primary school in Pakistan and Raja Ali used to fondly call his friend ‘Mohana’. During this meeting both were in their seventies. Raja Ali had brought soil, water, a pair of shoes and a photo of the village from Gah village for Manmohan. He also gave a 100 year old shawl to Manmohan Singh and two salwar-kameez suits to his wife Gurusharan Kaur. Manmohan Singh gave him a turban, shawl and a Titan watch as return gifts.

According to Pakistani newspaper The Dawn, Raja Ali had told reporters before coming to India, ‘I am sure that Manmohan will definitely spend time with me.’ He had told that both of them used to study together in school and used to play together in the locality. Recalling his childhood days, Raja Ali had said, ‘Manmohan was very smart in studies and whenever he came to school, he used to bring dry fruits in his pocket and then distribute them among his friends.’

He had said that the entire village was very happy with Mohana becoming the Prime Minister and when the news of her becoming the PM was received, there was a celebration in her village. Not only this, the name of his school was also changed to Manmohan Singh High School. Raja Ali told that there was only one girl in his class, whose name was Bakht Bano. When Bakht Bano died, Manmohan Singh had called Raja Ali. According to NDTV report, Raja Ali died in the year 2010. Then his age was 78 years.

Also read:-
ED reached the second house of millionaire former constable Saurabh Sharma, also raided his brother-in-law’s house.