'If ye would count up the favours of Allah, never would ye be able to number them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.' Quran 16:18

The Darr Family's forefathers were from Batote in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Batote has an average elevation of 2,006 metres (6,584 feet - Snowdon is 1,085 metres and Ben Nevis is only 1,344 metres!). It is located 123km (76 miles) from Jammu towards Srinagar. Batote is very famous for its beauty and weather - people go there to spend their summer vacation and enjoy its cool and pleasant weather.

In 2001, Batote had a population of 3,733. Batote has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average.

Darr is a Kashmiri surname (kram - a clan, Kashmiri lineages, family appellations or tribal names) and they were Kashmiri Brahmins before the advent of Islam. The majority today are Muslim and are found among individuals native to the Kashmir Valley.

The surname originates from the honorific title given to a village head, strongman/warrior or a warlord of a jagir (feudal system of land ownership).

One of the earliest mentions of the Darr 'clan', in historical records, is Meeru Pandit Darr who was the commander of the Golkunda Fort under the control of Feroz Shah and who helped Feroz Shah defeat the Mughal Emperor Jahangir's (reign 1605-1627) army when they attacked the fort. Subsequently, when Jahangir attacked the fort again, Feroz Shah tamely ordered Meeru Pandit Darr to hand over the fort to Jahangir's army.

Meeru Pandit Darr then left for Delhi and, under the recommendation of Hakim Abdul Fateh, a close friend of Empress Noorjahan, eventually became the commander of her 600 strong royal mounted guard! As such, he became the right-hand-man of Empress Noorjahan and subsequently, Emperor Jahangir made him in charge of some regions of Kashmir including Sopore and Baramulla with the authority to appoint military commanders.