Gah Begal is a small village in Chakwal district, about 100 kilometers away from Islamabad. Gah came in the spotlight when Manmohan Singh was first elected as the Indian Prime Minister.

Gah happens to be Singh’s birthplace and was also declared as a model village by the previous government. Many developmental schemes were initiated and the Indian prime minister also launched alternative energy projects comprising solar heaters, cookers and lighting.

Singh’s school in Gah still holds an admission register and two of his report cards. The register shows his date of birth as February 4, 1932. Local villagers said that Manmohan was called “Mohana” by his closed friend in the village. Dawn.com takes a tour of the village where Singh spent his childhood. - Text by Suhail Yusuf, Photos by Raheel Qureshi