Pakistani Hindu Family Reclaims Roots With Panchayat Win In Rajasthan

Padam Singh has won election as the first sarpanch of the newly created Chachore village in Rajasthan's Barmer district, securing 950 votes against 612 for his nearest rival, Dhana Ram. The 77-year-old belongs to the Sodha family, a politically powerful Hindu landowning clan that left its ancestral home in Chhachro, Sindh, during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Family Background

Padam Singh's great-grandfather, Thakur Akhiraj Singh Sodha, and grandfather Thakur Lal Singh both served in the Sindh Assembly during the British era. His older brother, Laxman Singh, served as Pakistan's Deputy Minister of Railways from 1962 to 1965 under Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The family's ties to the Pakistani government later frayed due to changing political alliances and accusations of anti-Hindu policies. During the 1971 war, when Indian troops entered Chhachro under the command of Sawai Bhawani Singh, the Sodha brothers helped guide the forces.

Migration And Settlement

Following the 1972 Shimla Agreement, the captured territory was returned to Pakistan, prompting the family to migrate to India on camels and horses, leaving behind 1.2 lakh bighas of land that was later declared enemy property. They settled in Rajasthan, initially living in tents before rebuilding their lives as farmers. Despite offers to return from Pakistani leaders including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the family stayed in India. In 2024, the Rajasthan government carved out the new revenue village of Chachore from Bawdi Kala, largely populated by people displaced from the original Chhachro.

Context

Village sarpanchs in rural India head local self-government bodies responsible for basic civic administration and community development at the village level. Panchayat elections form the foundational tier of India's grassroots democratic system. Border districts in Rajasthan have historically received families displaced by cross-border conflicts and partition-era movements.