The war of 1971 had changed life, mother remained in Pakistan, son in India, used to watch through binoculars.

New Delhi: Thang, India’s last village in Ladakh near the Pakistan border. The story of Mohammad Ali, who lives here and has made his name by the name Goba Ali, is no less than a film story. Goba’s life, which turned from Pakistani to Indian due to the 1971 war, is as full of ups and downs as the mountains. There is happiness in this and there is also such sadness that he got from Pakistan which he is unable to forget even today. He proudly calls himself a son of the Indian Army. Along with Thang, three more villages around it, Turtuk, Tyakshi and Chulunka, used to be a part of Pakistan till December 17-18, 1971. India won the 1971 war. The Indian Army was moving towards Pakistan when suddenly ceasefire was announced at 6 am on December 18, 1971. The Indian Army did not go further into Pakistan. She stopped where she was. From here, the story of the new life of Goba Ali and his family also begins. Goba Ali tells that he was 5 years old in that war.

During the war, apart from his village Thang, most of the women and children of many other villages were called back by the Pakistani Army. Most of the men lived in the village. He says, ‘By the time the ceasefire ended, the Indian Army had taken 4 villages including Thang village under its control. LoC was created after the ceasefire. My mother along with many other women of the village remained in Farnu, the last village occupied by Pakistan. After the war ended, he tried hard to bring his mother back, but the Pakistanis did not send his mother.

father was taken prisoner
After some time, somehow the Indian Army sent Goba’s father to Pakistan to bring his mother. But there he was imprisoned for 6 years. After this, after continuous efforts, he was successful in going to Pakistan in December 2014. There he met his mother Amina and his father who had been released from jail. Goba stayed in Pakistan for 10 months and returned to his village in India in September 2015.

This is how the process of seeing through binoculars started
Before coming to India, Goba told his mother that it is very difficult for me to come here now. They decided that we could see each other through binoculars every Friday at a fixed time on the hill at the end of the borders of the two countries. Then Goba came to India and from here a new series of seeing his parents started. This trend continued till the death of the mother in 2017 and the death of the father in 2018. Goba Ali from India and his parents from Pakistan used to look at each other through binoculars.

Indian Army reared
Goba Ali tells that in 1971 he and his younger brother were very young. His grandfather was about 90 years old. Who passed away after some time. Father also went to Pakistan. In such a situation, he and his brother were brought up by the Indian Army. That is why he says that the Army is his parents and he is the son of the Indian Army.