Living My Dream @ Daral Fort, Lam Village…

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Next morning we decided to explore the last village between India and Pakistan we were told about at Pir Bhadreshwar…

Next day we thought of exploring some more areas, which took us to the last village of India - LAM, at the border of Pakistan. We met some really big hearts, the people are very courteous and they insisted that we stay back for night and enjoy the night as well, but as we had other commitments so we could not stay back, but they made tea for us, and also offered a bangle as memento of love, affection to Ayesha.

They are real people of mettle, they not only survive the harsh conditions and very low income source, and their children do not have the adequate sources for studies, only schools up to primary or Secondary level, the nearest school for higher secondary available is twenty kilometers away, and most of the kids don’t even get to reach there, specially the females.

The information of any vacancies of government recruiting the less educated or from backward classes doesn’t even reach them, even if the information is available they have to get all kinds of certificates from the Sarpanch of village which again is a big problem for them, as they have to either serve the high class or grease the palms of the middlemen to get there, which again is no guarantee will work.

Electricity is so scarce there that they get it only for couple of hours in a day. Some kids even have to walk couple of miles up and down hill every day to reach their schools, we got to know of a child who walked some two miles a day to board the bus to reach a higher secondary school which is located at Nawshera, approximately twenty kilometers, and still managed to score in seventies.

The politicians visit this place only once in every five years only to get the votes from these people and once elected, they never show up, was the statement of one of the villager there.

Another villager gave a recorded statement that they desperately need a higher secondary school for their kids. He also said only medical help available is from the Army, and they do not have any hospital in vicinity, so that is another thing they need, they have to call for an ambulance from as far as Nawshera, if someone falls sick and is to be hospitalized. They even have to carry the person downhill if the sick is not in condition to walk on own.

Further down on our way back from LAM, we visited the Shahidon Ka Gurudwara, this Gurudwara was established in memory of the martyr who laid their lives for the country. Every year on 28^th October, they organize a fest to remember the braves. Even the Army personnel posted around in the area come to attend the day.

Just next to the Gurudwara after taking a walk of fifteen minutes you reach Hill Top and encounter the picturesque view of the Daral Fort - the fort which played an important part in the history of Indian independence and the war against Pakistan, but is in ruins today.

There are no takers for this Fort, the local administration is not taking care of the Fort because it is a piece of History and the Archeological department is sleeping over it, despite the efforts of the local sarpanch to get it declared as the ancient monuments are not getting any results.

We were told that they have got the surveys done but no concrete plan has emerged out of those surveys, people visited and did costing to set the road to the Fort and to bring the fort back to its glory but to no use, all are sleeping.

I seriously wonder why we as humans sleep over an issue till it is the question of life and death, now will we have to get some top notch politician or will the Honorable Supreme Court have to intervene to retrieve the cleanliness, the lost Glory and the due share of honor to the braves.

We also had the opportunity and honor to meet one of the living legends of the wars of 1947-48, the war against Pakistan. This soldier is a lady and her name is Sardarni Pritam Kaur, they were in that Fort to save guard themselves and they dressed themselves in the uniform of men to deceive the Pakistani intruders and saving their respect and dignity. They fought with anything they could lay their hands on, they pelted stones on those who tried to invade the Daral Fort where these ladies were taking refuge.

She was just married for a year when her husband the brave Sardar Pritam Singh passed away, and she could only stay with her husband for couple of days when he was called back to resume duties as a soldier.

She in a very proud manner showed all the honors and letters of her husband to us, along with her children & grand children, she stays in the village of Lam and lives her life with her family on a little pension she receives from government as dependent of Sardar Pritam Singh.