Circa 1948, the small border town of Batala, in Punjab - famous for its cast iron foundries – was having a civic election. The people of Batala were to elect a Municipal Commissioner for the first time in independent India. The two candidates were as different as chalk & cheese. The town’s dominant Sekhri family had put up Sunder Das, a graduate from Punjab University; he was the scion of the old, rich family of the town. His opponent, a young refugee upstart, Shiv Das Mal, had never managed – despite several attempts – to clear his Matriculation exam. He humorously called himself a ‘Mabuf’ – Matric appeared but unfortunately failed. Blessed with a jovial nature, he would often deprecatingly narrate jokes about himself. He would candidly admit that he was a nobody and was always ready to give credit to others. His humble approach had endeared him to many in the community. His family had crossed over from Sargodha, Pakistan during Partition. Despite being a well-to-do family there, they were forced to leave it all and came to Batala virtually penniless. However, young Shiv Das, a sincere worker, toiled hard and the family soon began to re-establish itself. In the process Shiv Das also made many friends and won many admirers. It was they who had pressed him to fight the election.
As the campaigning warmed up, Sekhri’s supporters would hold impressive meetings, entertain important voters sumptuously and sing their candidate’s praises. Their favourite line was, ‘Sunder Das BA Pass, anpadhya Shiv Das, kaala akshar bhains barabar, main koi jhooth bolya, main koi kufar tolya’? (Sunder Das is a graduate while Shiv Das is an illiterate – who can see no difference between any black letter and a buffalo; <by saying so> have I told a lie, did I commit a crime?) Supporters of Shiv Das were soon ready with their repartee, ‘Sunder Das noon maan kothiyan te havelian te, Shiv Das da maan dostaan te beliyan te. Rab kolun poori poori aas, membry da hakdaar Chaudhry Shiv Das (Sunder Das is proud of his bungalows and mansions, Shiv Das’s pride are his friends & chums. We’ve full faith in the Almighty, only Shiv Das deserves to be elected). And the battle royal carried on: between the rich landlord & the poor start up; between money and true friendship; between a graduate & a school dropout; between idle hangers – on and genuine supporters. Many rallies, parties, and sloganeering later, Shiv Das won with a thumping majority – in fact Sunder Das had to forfeit his deposit!
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