Starting as a student at the Karakoram University in Gilgit in 2015, Himmat Begum soon became curious about Baba Jan. The person was hugely popular among her fellow students so that the name frequently came up in their conversations but she had never seen him. Her roommate told her that the guy was a political activist incarcerated in Gahkuch jail for raising his voice in support of the oppressed.

Riots had spread across Gilgit-Baltistan on August 11, 2011, following the killing of a man and his son in a clash between protestors and the police in Aliabad over delay in payment of compensation to those affected by the massive climate-induced landslide in Hunza River that resulted in the formation of Attabad Lake. As unrest over the compensation grew, mobs had blocked the highway set a police station in Gulmat on fire. Baba Jan and a dozen fellow activists were arrested on the charges of rioting and inciting violence.

Matloob Hussain, a young journalist associated with Jang, recalls, “This was when Baba Jan’s popularity soared. He earned the sobriquet of Pakistan’s first climate change prisoner and people across the world started a campaign for his release. However, in 2014, an anti-terrorism court convicted him and some of his associates and sentenced him to life imprisonment.”

Living at a hostel away from her home in Ghizer, Himmat Begum, inspired by Baba Jan, had joined student politics. She was also telling her friends she loved him and asking if they could tell him about her. Finally, she received a message from Baba Jan saying, “I am on a difficult path. I am not even sure if I will step out of the jail any soon or at all. You should not ruin your life on my account.”

Instead Himmat Begum wrote him a letter, saying, “I have already picked you for my life partner. I will do whatever it takes to be with you. While you are away, I will take care of your elderly parents. You are serving the people, I will serve you.” The letter and advice from some friends finally persuaded Baba Jan who then asked his parents to propose the match to her family.

Baba Jan says, “When people approach somebody with such a proposal, they usually tell them about the man’s occupation. In my case, it was ‘[He] is in jail.’” It took Himmat’s father three months to agree. Their engagement ceremony, held inside the prison, was attended by close friends and family. It was the first time the couple saw each other in person.

The wedding was scheduled on April 13, 2017. Food was prepared for the guests at the prison as well as at Baba Jan’s home in Nasirabad. Himmat, dolled up in a red bridal suit, was about to leave for the jail when she was informed that the government had cancelled the permission. The wedding had to be delayed. There was a brawl at the jail. Himmat too protested with the government but in vain.

“A campaign for the release of Baba Jan had been going on since his arrest. It gained momentum in October 2020 when hundreds of people staged a sit-in in Aliabad,” Matloob says. “In the bone-chilling cold, the men and women continued the protest demonstration for a week. In the end, the government accepted their demands and released the prisoners.”

Himmat says, “I was over the moon that day. My ideal, my hero and my husband-to-be was finally coming home after nine years. People were dropping by to pay their regards and I was eagerly waiting to see Baba Jan as a free man for the first time. I just wanted to be with him forever and be his partner in all his endeavours.”

Baba Jan says, “My friends had advised me to get married on the day of my release but I wanted to bring Himmat home in the best possible way. We fixed the wedding for a later date so that more people who had supported me all these years and campaigned for my release might be part of the celebration.”

A month later, GB witnessed the largest wedding in its history. It is estimated that 8,000 people from across the country attended the events from December 21 to 27. According to journalist Shabbir Mir, it was a public wedding. Everyone was invited. “We cannot say exactly how many people were there but it is fair to say that it was the largest wedding the valley has seen so far.”

Mir says that while Baba Jan had already been famous in leftist circles and in his native Hunza, “his position against the imposition of taxes on GB and for compensation to those affected by the Attabad disaster made him popular in other circles too. Then came the incarceration, which remains controversial as the government has not released the report of the judicial inquiry on the Aliabad incident.”

Neither Baba Jan nor Himmat Begum had expected their marriage to be this big. He says, “We did not have to spend a single penny. The expenses were paid by my family, friends, Awami Workers’ Party and my supporters. In my village, Nasirabad, there are 700 houses. Everybody opened their doors for the guests to stay. The hotel owners in the area did not charge the guests.”

Baba Jan is also grateful to the musical groups that volunteered to entertain the guests. “There were eight bands performing at the wedding from across the GB. They usually charge 50,000 to 100,000 rupees for a performance but they did not even accept the transportation cost from us. They said that their performance was a gift to the couple.”

Finally, Himmat is with Baba Jan. She says she has found the man of her dreams. “Selfless, always inclined to help people in any way he can. He is my ideal. I am blessed to have him as my life partner.

The writer is a Karachi based journalist