It's difficult for the current generation to even imagine how and in what ways the nature of Indian politics has changed over the past three decades. This is because the character of current politicians has completely changed, and they are now seen as symbols of social evils. I vividly remember the 1967 general elections. That year, I had entered the first year of Intermediate, and my curiosity about politics had already been awakened. At that time, my hometown, Najibabad, fell under the Dehradun Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where the late Mahavir Tyagi, a former minister in the Nehru government, was contesting on a Congress ticket. Mr. Tyagi was a great freedom fighter and a member of the Constituent Assembly. But this time, he was facing an independent candidate and MP, the late Thakur Yashpal Singh, who specialized in defeating ministers. In the 1962 elections, he had defeated the late Union Minister, Ajit Prasad Jain, from a seat in Punjab (Haryana had not yet been created at that time).
Mahavir Tyagi possessed a very gentle demeanor. His opponent, Yashpal Singh, was a powerful orator and resembled the warriors of old. He campaigned on horseback. Mr. Tyagi then sought the support of the city's prominent Sahu Jain family in his election campaign. Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain, a member of this family, was then the commercial manager of the Times of India in Delhi. When the matter reached him, he clarified that he could not directly assist him because he was in the publishing group. Sahu Ramesh Chandra's father, the late Rai Bahadur Jagmander Das, had a very cordial relationship with Mahavir Tyagi. Although Sahu Jagmander Das had been awarded the title of Rai Bahadur by the British government, he held no disrespect for Congress members. Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain then devised a simple solution: he asked members of his circle of influential social figures in Najibabad to support Tyagi. In this election, Kunwar Devendra Singh, the former prince of the Saharanpur princely state adjacent to Najibabad, was contesting the assembly elections. Sahu Saheb's circle of friends supported Devendra Singh in the assembly elections. This was the same Devendra Singh whose son, Bharatendu Singh, later became a BJP MP from the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat.
The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were being held simultaneously, and prominent figures in the city supported the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, while opposing the Congress in the Assembly elections, as Kunwar Devendra Singh was contesting as an independent candidate. Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain visited Najibabad once during the elections, but he refrained from participating in any political forum. He commanded a high reputation in the city, and residents dared not interrupt him. Mahavir Tyagi lost the Lok Sabha elections, while Devendra Singh won. However, the late Mahavir Tyagi received the most votes from the Najibabad Assembly constituency, winning by a landslide, but he failed to gain an edge in the Dehradun Assembly and other Assembly constituencies. Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain's late father, Rai Bahadur Sahib, had twice served as Chairman of the Bijnor District Board and was active in politics. During his tenure, he accomplished significant development work, which was admired by all residents. He played a particularly important role in paving the road from Najibabad to Bijnor.
Rai Bahadur Sahib was also an honorary magistrate. Therefore, he had a reputation among the residents of Najibabad as a just leader. Sahu Ramesh Chandra benefited from this, although Rai Bahadur died when he was only ten years old. Today's generation needs to understand that India's overall development wasn't driven by the reckless growth of cities, but rather, it began at the village level, and people like Rai Bahadur played a crucial role. Rural politics has consistently elevated people from villages and small towns to national prominence. A prime example of this was Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain, who rose from a small town like Najibabad to reach Delhi. His entire life was devoted to nurturing the talents hidden in the Bijnor district. This quality was inherited from his father.
Later, Mahavir Tyagi's relationship with Sahu Sahib remained very cordial, although after the dissolution of the Congress in 1970, he joined the Syndicate's organization, the Congress. Similarly, before becoming Prime Minister, the late Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, visited Najibabad once. At that time, there was not even a proper hotel in Najibabad, and given the late Vajpayee's stature, he had to be accommodated in a proper place. Even the home of a BJP worker was not suitable to accommodate the late Vajpayee. Sahu Ramesh Chandra also had very good relations with BJP leaders. Therefore, some leaders contacted him in Delhi, and Sahu Sahib easily resolved the problem. He suggested that the Nagar Seth of Najibabad himself contact Vajpayee and invite him to stay at his home.
What I mean to say is that in old politics, human relationships were given the highest priority, which is disappearing in the present times. I had a close relationship with him only because he was a resident of Najibabad, otherwise there was a huge difference between his status and that of my family. It is often said about politics that personal relationships are of no particular importance, because ideological ties play a vital role in connecting people. Similarly, I remember the late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, who, in every sorrow and pain, would go to everyone's doorstep to establish human relationships, forgetting all political differences. Shri Lal Krishna Advani also possesses this quality. But such people are disappearing from politics, as a result of which political voices are becoming increasingly shrill. The mango season has passed. There was a time when politicians' mango feasts were much talked about, where leaders from every party's staunchest opposition would be present. Now, it seems unlikely that those times will return.