There is a Pakistan where Hinduism settles in each and every resident. Not only that, they also are proud Indians and even celebrated Indian Army’s air strike on Balakot following Pulwama terror attack.
In fact, this ‘Pakistan’ is a village located in Srinagar block of Purnea district of Bihar. One should not go by its name and assume it is a Muslim populated village. What makes it unique is that it does not have a single Muslim, nor a single Madrasa or a mosque.
Lord Ram is worshipped here.
How and when the village gets its name? Two popular stories are there to get one’s doubt clear. According to the elderly villagers, during the Partition of India in 1947, the minority families living here migrated to Pakistan. Thereafter, the people named the village ‘Pakistan Tola’.
The second story revolves around 1971 Indo-Pak war. It is said that at the time of war some refugees from Pakistan came here and settled in a ditch, naming the Tola as ‘Pakistan’. At the time when Bangladesh was formed, they went back, leaving behind the name ‘Pakistan Tola’.
No Muslim population is to be found here. Obviously the village does not have a mosque and a madrasa. The tribals here worship Lord Ram. They observe their main festival in January.
The name of the village more often than not creates problems for the villagers. Sometimes they hesitate to mention the name of their village and at some other times they face another sort of problem. That is at the time marriage. No outsiders want to give their daughters or take daughters from here.
While there is no place of terrorism and violence in this village surrounded by four rivers, the Santhal families are used to living a happy life here.
PNN