Minorities come a long way in the Armed Forces:

By Noorilhuda

Mehboob Alam Gill was born in

1924 in a village near Sialkot.
T h e v i l l a g e G i l l a Wa a l a
Gaon (Village of Gila, a caste)
is near Khan Pur Sayyedan. His
grandfather was a Sikh who
converted to Christianity
through teachings of a local
missionary. Thirty-plus families
lived in Gilla, they were all
Sikhs. His grandfather shifted to
Khan Pur Sayyedan since the
village had good facilities like
medical hospital and a post
office in those days. In the First
World War, Gills father served
as a stretcher-handler for British
Indian Army while stationed in
Egypt, where he was for five
years. According to online
British Library, United India
raised the worlds largest
volunteer army in WWI: 1.5
million people enlisted to go
abroad and fight for the British
starting with original 28,500
troops sent to Western Front in
1914.
At the age of 17, Gill joined a vocational training center, The Metal Workers Institute, alongwith his
Muslim friends. At the age of 18, he was recruited in the British Indian Army and started his career
as a CFN Craftsman. His Muslim friends went into road engineering while he stayed on as beacon
mechanic who fixed military cars. Everything from Ford, Dodger, Chevrolet, cars that no one had
at that time, were fixed by me. Busy working for the army during World War Two, he first heard of
the demand for Indo-Pak Independence only after the ceasefire in 1945. I was in Lahore in
Brigade HQ, when we all heard the announcement via radio that Pakistan had gained Independence.
I had filled the Boundary Form to join India, in 1947, when a Sikh medical officer, Naik and Lance
Naik, came to us for help to protect his daughters during migration. I went back with him to Sialkot
and found out that my son had been born in Khan Pur Sayyedan and so decided to stay here.

Sialkot was one of 12 flashpoint districts that were put under a special military command force to
counter communal riots. Around this time, communal tension was at its highest on both sides of the
border, where Sikh soldiers were being killed off by Pathans and Muslim soldiers were being killed
by Hindu and Sikh civilians. Whatever was happening, it was not done by soldier of one faith to
soldier of another (source: Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha, Pakistans Arms Procurement & Military Buildup - 1979-1999 - 2003).
When asked to name a difference before and after independence Gill says Well, before Pakistan
came into being, Hindus living here were very rich, only a few Muslim families were in business.
After Partition, the Hindus had to leave the factories they owned and their Muslim workers became
owners.
It was Muslim Leagues idea to divide the British Indian Army. The collective Indian Army had the
following commissioned rank numbers (source: Hasan Askar Rizvis book Military and Politics in
Pakistan 1947-1999 published in 2011):
Field Marshal (total 3)
General (total 3)
Lt. Gen. (total 3)
Maj. Gen. (total 13)
Colonel (total 109)
Lt. Colonel (total 634 out of which 4 were Muslim; 5 were Non-Muslim)
Major (total 833 out of which 42 were Muslim; 61 were Non-Muslim)
Captain (total 1003 out of which 114 were Muslim; 218 were Non-Muslim)
The percentage of the various communities in the Army was as follows (source: Rizvi, 2011):
Hindus (Officers: 47.8%; Other Ranks: 55.7%)
Muslims (Officers: 23.7%; Other Ranks: 33.8%)
Sikhs (Officers: 16.3%; Other Ranks: 7.5%)
Others (Officers: 12.2%; Other Ranks: 3.0%)
Pakistan retained a greater number of British officers than India; It also decided to retain them for a
far longer period than India. The reason was simple arithmetic: the number of Muslim
commissioned officers in the Armed Forces was lesser than that of the Non-Muslims. Muslim
officers lacked experience. Most of them chose to come to Pakistan. Accelerated promotions of
Muslim officers is best seen in Commander in Chief Ayub Khan who became a General from Lt.
Col. in mere 4 years. The armies of princely states that chose to amalgamate with Pakistan were
not large. Plus only 10 opted for Pakistan (500 states opted for India). And since British Indian
Army had mixed battalions, post-1947 a conscious effort was made by Pakistan to create Muslim
battalions and decrease Non-Muslim elements (source: Rizvi, 2011)
Gill was Havaldar from 1946 to 1964 and fixed armored fighter vehicles and Chevrolets for a new
class of military leadership. As Naib Subeydaar, he supervised 35 workers, that included 3%-4%
Bengalis. There was no religious or ethnic division in the Army, nor any problem of who will cook
the food. I was Mess Incharge at 502 Workshop Chaklala; I have had all kinds of batmans - Syed,
Muslim, Pathan, Arayien. I have spent my entire life between Hindus and Muslims. I went to
Church every Sunday, since that was an Army holiday. You get facilities in Army, medical is free,

you get the food ration for a whole month, daily vegetables stock, I had money in my pocket. I have
had a good life.
Currently on a Rs.18,000 monthly pension, the 88-year old Gill is living with his family in a ninebedroom house built by him in Christian Town near Cantt area, Sialkot. One of his grand-daughters
is a Major (Nurse Rank) at Kharian and another one is Captain (Nurse Rank) in AMC Rawalpindi.
The blasphemy issue hasnt scared him since government has its own measures here; Army and
police have presence here. It happens sometimes that brother is made to fight against brother. As
for Salman Taseers murder over the issue, his response is As you shall sow, so shall you reap.
He believes he has lived a satisfactory life and not being a Muslim hasnt impacted his life in any
way. Its upto you what you make of your life. When I retired in 1974, General Zia who was
Adjutant General at that time gave me an Exemplary Career Certificate, he says speaking over the
phone from Sialkot.
It is ironical that the same General is blamed for cutting short the golden careers of many Christian
officers. Most notably, that of Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry, the 1965 war hero, recipient of
Tamgha-i-Jurrat for 1971 war. Friends, family, colleagues and Chaudhry himself believed that he
was discriminated against during Zia era (1979-1989) and that the only thing that stood between
him and becoming Chief of Air Staff title was Zia-ul-Haq and his discriminatory policies against
minorities. The much-loved officer resigned in 1985 and was laid to rest this year with full Pak Air
Force honors.

I was deprived of prized appointments during Zia era. In 1983, my whole battalion moved from
Quetta to serve as Presidential BodyGuards in Rawalpindi, yet I was not security-cleared due to
religion and instead was transferred to School of Infantry and Tactics Quetta (and later PMA Kakul)
which was the worst place they could find to dump me, says 58-year old Brigadier (R) Samson
Simon Sharaf currently working as the Principal at St. Marys College Rawalpindi. Sitting in his
office at the newly constructed College building at Lalazar, Rawalpindi, Brig. Sharaf reminisces
about the tough life and sacrifices of his mother to make him a successful man after his fathers
death left her a young widow with eight children.
Originally Sikh, his great grandfather had converted to Christianity, his grandfather was a cattle
herder in Sargodha and his father worked as Draftsman at Wah Cantonment. Brig. Sharaf was five
and a half years old when he lost his father. Our father left nothing for us except prayers. My
mother used to stitch clothes and I used to help her in soap-making when young. My eldest brother
was hired at M.E.S. Lahore as draftsman as a welfare measure and we continued to live in official
quarter. My second eldest brother joined army as cadet. I was commissioned in 1971. Despite the
poverty, Brig. (R) Sharaf got the best of education studying in St. Anthonys School for one,
because education was free for Christians in missionary schools. And he was extremely bright.
He retired as Brigadier Military Operations in 2006 and is currently a volunteer for Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaaaf as well as Imran Khans Adviser on Defence. When asked about the apparent lack
of a stance by Imran Khan on blasphemy issue he cuts me off by saying So that he is also killed
like Salman Taseer? So that we have to wait another 60 years for a leader? He rejects that the
image of Army has weakened after constant attacks (OBL operation, Mehran Airbase attack, Kamra
base attack etc.), No, Army has not taken a hit, it shows that you are not supporting us as soldiers.
They need publics support. Poverty induces crime which induces militants - who are heavily paid
for doing attacks. Ideology cannot be killed by killing people. U.S. War on Terror is faulty. Plus,
they give us peanuts, just 1/10th of what they have spent in Afghanistan. Even in the funding they
do give us, major part goes back to U.S. for payment of services they provide us!
He says that though one volunteers for induction in the Army and Army has a stringent selection
process, yet less Christian officers were inducted in Zias time. There is no way to refute this
allegation since ISPR did not provide any data to me related to minority recruitment or number of
minority officers or practitioners that have worked in Pak Armed Forces since 1947. But Brig. (R)
Sharaf had 3 Christian students while he worked as an instructor in the 80s; There were just one
other Christian in the battalion he was a soldier in; And there were none in the battalion he headed.
He also blames the nationalisation process initiated by Bhutto in the 70s for pushing Christians
back. Christians were put behind by a generation. People became ghetto-isd. We have the lowest
literacy rates, even lower than Hindus. Thirty years of nationalisation of schools and hospitals did
its damage. Christians had to take up janitorial jobs, become a hermit community.
As for assimilation within a pre-dominantly Muslim Force, he spoke of his time as leader of the
battalion. I led soldiers into battle with Allah-O-Akbar, never ate in public during Ramadan, infact
we fasted with soldiers, celebrated Laila-tul-Qadr, Mehfil-e-Shabeena, Christmas is celebrated by
every unit. This is how you win hearts and minds. In every Cantonment, there is a church Protestant as well as Catholic - and a Chaplain. If Pakistan has to follow the pluralism in society,
then it needs to take a leaf out of Armed Forces.

Harcharan Singh became the first non-Christian minority member in 2006 to be recruited by Pak
Army. He was commissioned as a cadet in Pak Army in 2007. He was posted as a Guard at Quaids
Mazaar and now is reportedly working at GHQ, Rawalpindi. His cousin Kalyan Singh spoke over
the phone about how the commission came about. He was selected on his second try; the first time,
he gave the exam alone and was not selected. (Simultaneously) pressure was put on Musharraf to
give a chance to minorities. It was during his tenure that minorities were selected for Army; The
second time, Harcharan gave exam with 4 other Sikhs and was the only one who made it through.
The Singh family is a large one. The original family consisted of 7 brothers and 3 sisters and was
settled in Chakwal in pre-partition days. From 1947 to 1971, Brothers No.1, No.2 and No.3 lived in
FATA in a place near Khurram Agency - alongwith other Sikhs - and waited for matters to settle
down in Pakistan. This intra-migration is one of the reasons that most of the Nankana Sahib Sikhs
are called Pathan Sikhs and Kalyan and Harcharan know how to speak in Pushto, though the
post-1971 breed is called Punjabi Sikh. In 1971, the Sikh community came to set up house in
Nankana Sahib. Brother No. 1 is still alive and is a member of Evacuee Trust Board. He married
twice - Kalyan is the son from his second wife. Brother No.2 had a grocery store and died a decade
ago. He married twice as well - Harcharan is the son from his second wife. Brother No. 3 married
once. All of them, all of the wives, children and now even grand children live in a large
establishment in Nankana Sahib. The huge family eats dinner together.
Capt. Harcharan Singh has three older sisters and has one younger brother. He also has 3 sisters and
1 brother from his older mother (i.e. his fathers first wife). He is not the only one to make a name
in this family. Kalyan Singh is the first Sikh professor teaching Punjabi in a government college in
Gujranwala. A cousin is the first Sikh police warden and another is the first Sikh doctor. Two

cousins work as preachers at Nankana Sahib. The family of 27-year old Capt. Singh is currently
looking for a girl to marry him off to.
Outlook Magazine India interviewed Capt. Singh in 2008 after what it declared to be a two year
struggle to get ISPR to approve the interview request. In the story titled The First-Timers (June
16th 2008 issue), the young captain narrates how he initially was baffled by fellow cadets who
wanted to convert him to a Muslim, how his initial beard and turban-clad appearance set him apart
from other clean shaven Christian and Muslim cadets, and how his mother will never be allowed to
visit Golden Temple in Amritsar since her son is in Pak Army now. But the captain sounds
ambitious with dreams of making it to Brigadier one day. Meanwhile, Kalyan Singh quotes a 2008
Christian Database that placed the overall number of Sikhs in Pakistan including FATA between
15,000-20,000. He says that though Harcharan was a trendsetter, one or two more Sikhs tried to get
in after him, but failed. To date, Capt. Singh is the only minority soldier inducted in the Army.

(Capt. Dr. Anil Kumar)

(Capt. Dr. Danish)

Four Hindu doctors were also recruited by the Armed Forces as officers after 2005: Capt. Dr.
Danish, from Tharparkar, was working at CMH Karachi in early 2012 and is considered as the first
Hindu officer. Dr. Anil Kumar is from Hyderabad, and is member of medical corps of the Army; He
is currently deputed at Sudan as part of peace corps mission. Dr. Suresh Kumar is a Captain in the
Army and is currently deputed in Hyderabad. Dr. Gautum Lakhani is part of Rangers medical corps
team and is deputed near a border area.
According to M. Prakash, Chairman of Minority Rights Commission of Pakistan, the unofficial
Hindu population data (5.1 million) puts them as the biggest minority group in Pakistan ahead of
Christians whose unofficial estimate is 4.9 million. Officially the last census was in 1998 and it puts
Hindus at 2.4 million and Christians at 2.5 million. Pakistan Hindu Council, Karachi puts Hindu
population at 7 million. According to Federal Ministry of Minorities, Christians and Hindus are
spread all over Pakistan (HRCP Report Life At Risk, 2011). Unofficially, Hindus are largely
concentrated in Sindh and Balochistan.

Maybe Christians had more inclination to join Armed Forces since upper caste Hindus traditionally
go into business, medicine or become lawyers while scheduled caste works on farms in Sindh.
Maybe Christians were closer (to the Army) since they had common Punjabi language (with
Punjab-majority Army) and it was easier for them to get in as opposed to us who lived far away,
says Prakash, speaking over the phone from Islamabad, adding that army has taken scheduled caste
Hindus from Tharparkar area for janitorial jobs. It was Musharraf who took the initiative to bring
minorities in the Armed Forces. I was a district council member for 16 years but it was only during
his tenure in 2006-07 that Army Recruitment Department came and did meetings with us to
encourage Hindu-minority to also try for the Forces.
The Hyderabad-based lawyers family stayed on in Pakistan after partition citing the order of the
Sufi Pirs of Sindh who told the Hindu community that their betterment was in staying on in
Pakistan. The division in Hyderabads society only exists with respect to scheduled caste Hindus
who are even given tea in separate tea cups in roadside cafes, but the upper caste Hindus and
educated upper class Muslim families are well-integrated. The recent well-documented migrations
of 1500 Hindu people from Sindh were from lower and middle income groups and over-hyped
according to Prakash. When asked whether it would have made a difference if he had been born a
Muslim as opposed to a Hindu in Muslim-majority Pakistan, he says No, life for a Hindu and a
Muslim - its the same thing. World is materialistic. If you have money, you will be considered a big
man; if you have no money, then you will be insignificant.
It has taken 60 years for Pak Armed Forces to open its doors to non-Christian minorities, lets hope
it does not shut them soon. With Al-Qaeda, Taliban, political strife, and extremist elements within
the ranks, Pakistan needs all the help it can from its citizens.