Wise Counsel | The Social Warriors
SIDELIGHT: In 1977, when the Jat residents of Gorakhpur boycotted the Balmikis, Krishan Swarup, a Jat himself, refused to accept it. In fact, he went out of his way to mix with the Balmiki families even inviting them to graze their animals on his land. A year later, in 1978, he was elected sarpanch of Gorakhpur, with both Balmikis and Jats voting for him.
His mother told Krishan Swarup that he was eight months old at the time of the "martial law (how many locals refer to the Partition of 1947)". Although from school and college records, he is now 72 years old. A striking persona with his carelessly wrapped turban and walrus moustache, he is an easy man to talk to,
