The town of forgotten World War heroes
THE VILLAGE OF DULMIAL IS DESERVEDLY RECLAIMING ITS FORGOTTEN GLORY
As the world recently marked 100 years since the end of the First World War, hundreds of forgotten soldiers who fought valiantly in both world wars now sleep peacefully in the cemetery of a quiet village in Pakistan. This village, called Dulmial, is located about 40km from Chakwal city, nestled in the stony hills of Punjab’s salt ranges, 150km from Islamabad.
“This is the final resting place of Captain Gulam Mohammad Malek, the pride of Dulmial,” says historian Riaz Ahmad Malek, pointing to a well-preserved tombstone that reads: “Haji Capt. Gulam Mohammad Malek, died in January 1947.” Offering prayers for the departed in the centuries-old cemetery dotted with trees, Riaz explained to Gulf News,
“This is where the great men of Dulmial have been laid to rest.”
The 69-year-old president of Dulmial’s history society is one of the 15,000 proud residents of Dulmial, known as the ‘village with the gun’.
The story of Dulmial’s contribution was brought into the limelight by Dr Irfan Malek, the great-grandson of Gulam Mohammad and cousin of Riaz, who now lives in Nottingham, UK.
Rediscovering history
Irfan, the great grandson of Capt Gulam Mohammad, was just five years old when he left his native Nottingham to visit his ancestral village of Dulmial. One particular detail that registered in his young mind was a British cannon, mounted on a marble plinth “in recognition of services rendered by all ranks from this village” during the First World War.
It was only many years later that Irfan, a GP, decided to investigate the extent of Dulmial’s contribution to the Great War.
In the four years since, working with historians in England and Pakistan, Dr Malek has discovered the village sent a staggering 460 soldiers — including his two great- grandfathers — to fight.
“I wanted to highlight our strong shared history and inform the world of the contributions of Dulmial,” Irfan told Gulf News.
What surprised the British army was that “this village sent 460 soldiers out of a population of only 879 males that time, making the largest single participation in the First World War from any village in Asia,” said historian Riaz.
According to documents unearthed by Irfan, British recruiters first arrived in Dulmial in 1914 offering £30 — the equivalent of three years’ net pay those days — to would-be soldiers.
A Belgian missionary school nearby ensured many in the village could already read and write in English, while they were also subjected to a physical inspection.
Hard hands and a stern visage were deemed of vital importance — the men of Dulmial had both.
“My parents always just told me they were tough men,” Irfan recalls. “Walking up to 100km in one go for them was no problem.”
The village has a long, proud military history dating back several centuries. By the time of the outbreak of the First World War, there were 21 pensioned Indian officers and 90 current serving sergeants.
Among the recruits was Subedar Mohammad Khan, Malek’s paternal great-grandfather, a celebrated soldier who had been awarded medals fighting for the 33rd Punjab Regiment on the frontiers of British India. His other greatgrandfather was Captain Gulam Mohammad.
This contribution of the village has been recorded in the book Wisdom and Waste in the Punjab Village by Malcolm Lyall Darling. A monument inside a primary school building also lauds the efforts of those 460 soldiers.
Historic contribution
In the Second World War also, the village sent 732 soldiers to fight for the British government, of which 36 laid down their lives. Riaz, whose father Subedar Mohammad Khan also participated in both World Wars, says the military traditions of the village are “a great honour and privilege” for its residents.
After the partition of the subcontinent, Dulmial has produced five Lt Generals (both Army and Navy) and 23 brigadiers for the Pakistan Army, along with many other junior officers. “There is hardly any house in the village that did not produce an army officer,” the historian says.
The martial tradition of this village, he says, owes itself to early education in the area. “Dulmial got its first primary school in 1857 and a missionary high school in 1900.”
The 200-year-old British naval cannon that sits at the entrance of the village symbolises the service and sacrifice of its men during the First World War.
Meanwhile, a two-minute drive from the great cannon in a narrow street is the small but tidy house of the Dulmial’s last living Second World War veteran.
Rasheed Ahmad, 98, is one of the men who fought in Burma (Myanmar) in the war.
“I was recruited in the British army when I was 21 and served from 1939 to 1942 in the 1st Burma Regiment and later in the police force for 30 years,” he told Gulf News, showing a black-and-white photograph of his younger days.
He now lives with his son Zaahid Ahmad, 56, and his deeply treasured memories.
Besides the heroic tales, the grand cannon, and the last living veteran, Dulmial has a one-room museum housed in the office of Riaz Malek where he has since 1970 conserved souvenirs signifying the village’s proud heritage.