‘I was alone but people joined to form a cavalcade’

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 11

The Aam Admai Party (AAP) candidate from the Attari constituency, Jaswinder Singh Jahangir, made sacrifices before joining politics to fulfil dreams of better education and health for all. A qualified teacher unionist, who struggled for eight years to get a regular government job, resigned from his post in August 2016.

“I have only one dream for our next generation. Everyone should get good education, health and secure employment. I fought for basic amenities, education and employment for years. I don’t want that our youth face same struggle in life. Being a union leader, one can demand all facilities from the government, but can’t deliver. So, I decided to quit the job for a change,” said Jahangir.

Jaswinder comes from a humble background. He is native of Jahangir village, which is 10 km from Amritsar. He has no political background or money to become a politician. He has read Punjabi and Russian literature, besides history of political and social movement of the world thoroughly.

He said, “My wife was worried about education of my children when I decided to resign from job. But, I recited a popular saying ‘Jine ditte sanu niaane, appe dau khan nu dane’ (Who gave us kids, will also provide food for them). I was all alone when I started the campaign, but people joined to form a cavalcade. The Aam Adami Party has a strong hold in hearts of people. A large number of youth are now our supporters in every village,” he added.

According to Jahangir, “Every political activist has to make some sacrifices. Leaders of traditional political parties have become a cult. They are not even aware about problems of common man. Earlier, people had no alternative. So, they had no option to bring in a change. AAP gave them a hope.”

Jahangir said, “Farmers, who own fields beyond the fencing on the Indo-Pak border, have been residing in tough conditions. They face harassment at hands of local leaders, police and the Army. I will become their voice and address their issues on priority. The rural education and health system has almost collapsed. Our government will make efforts to revive the public system.”