5 min read Jaipur Oct 30, 2026 11:26 AM IST First published on: Oct 30, 2026 at 05:48 AM IST

When the Sodhas, one of Pakistan’s most politically powerful Hindu families, left their ancestral homeland in Chhachro in Pakistan’s Sindh province in 1972, they made a vow: to reclaim their homeland. More than five decades later, that vow has been fulfilled — at least symbolically.

On October 24, 77-year-old Padam Singh was elected the first sarpanch of the newly created Chachro village in Rajasthan ’s Barmer district, winning 950 votes against 612 for his nearest rival, Dhana Ram.

“He still goes by the name Padam Singh Chhachro,” Pushpendra, Padam Singh’s son, tells The Indian Express .

For Padam Singh Sodha, this is a reclamation of sorts — not only of the homeland he thought he had forever left behind, but also of a former glory. One of seven siblings, Padam Singh belonged to a politically powerful Hindu landowning family in Pakistan.…