Return of the native: Freedom fighter’s last rites in PoK

It was an emotional moment for Gurpartap Singh Teg and Nanak Partap Singh Teg when they immersed the ashes of their father...

It was an emotional moment for Gurpartap Singh Teg and Nanak Partap Singh Teg when they immersed the ashes of their father on the confluence of Jhelum and Kishenganga at Domail in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Their father, Sant Singh Teg, was known as Sher-e-Muzaffarabad in this region of the Valley, long before Partition.

Sant Singh Teg, a staunch Gandhian and a freedom fighter, who died on September 16 at the age of 100 in Jammu, had expressed a wish to visit his birthplace Muzaffarabad in PoK, especially after the earthquake in 2005.

Apart from his two sons, five other family members were also in PoK recently where at a grand function, Sant Singh Teg’s last rites were performed in the presence of the Prime Minister of PoK, Attique Ahmed Khan.

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“While we were immersing his ashes in the waters of Kishenganga, we felt a strong presence of our father’s spirit over there. It seemed that he was finally at peace and happy after having merged with his own soil that nurtured him for the first four decades of his life prior to Partition”, said Nanak Partap Singh Teg.

Last year, Sant Singh Teg had repeatedly urged the Government on both the sides to allow him to visit his birthplace, which he had left 60 years ago during the Partition. Teg was born at Hattian Dupatta on April 13, 1907 in Muzaffarabad district of PoK. Earlier in September this year, Sant Singh had gone on a tour of Doda district to attend a public function where he fell from a horse at Gandoh and got injured. He was shifted to Jammu and admitted at ASCOMS Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sant Singh is believed to have been close to national leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Subash Chandra Bose and had participated in many movements during the heyday of the freedom struggle. He was arrested on numerous occasions, and spent a total of 17 years behind bars. Singh worked with many political parties like National Conference, Praja Parishad and Janata Party, besides being closely associated with different factions of the Akali Dal.

When Jawaharlal Nehru visited Muzzaffarabad in 1946, to defend his friend Sheikh Abdullah, who was under arrest, it was Sant Singh Teg who personally received him at the Kohala route. Also on the instructions of Sheikh Abdullah, Singh had received and accompanied Mahatma Gandhi to Srinagar, Jammu and Suchetgarh.