Two election wins in a county north of London last week set off celebrations in a modest two-storey house in a Haryana city north of Delhi.The Dahiyas in Rohtak’s Sector 34 now have the rare, if not unique, distinction of having two family members elected as mayors in UK. Victories for Parveen Rani and her son Tushar Kumar, first-generation immigrants who gravitated to the Labour Party and found their path to political office in local community work, resonate beyond the Dahiya household, in a state where the twin social problems of female infanticide and a dangerous ‘dunki’ obsession remain prevalent.“I feel bad when people tell me that I come from a state where women are not treated well, but I tell them to look at the examples of Gita and Babita Phogat. They are also women from Haryana. Look at all the medal-winning athletes, so many are from Haryana,” Parveen (45) said in a phone conversation with this reporter from Hertfordshire, the county where she lives.“I too want to be an inspiration to women back home through my work in the UK. I want to give them the confidence that they can do anything they want to,” added Parveen, who moved to the UK in 2013 with her husband and two sons.Tushar was 10 then and her younger son Priyanshu 7. Immigrating was Parveen’s decision. Growing up in a progressive family that, shesays, gave her more opportunities to study and work than her brothers, she always had agency. But while working as a teacher here, she did not see enough opportunities for the family to chase all its dreams. She convinced her husband Sunil Kumar, who ran a property business, to move to the UK. Her in-laws supported the move.They moved on entrepreneur visas and initially settled in east London, where Parveen taught Hindi and built her connections in the local community through a Vishwa Hindu Parishad temple in their area. Her husband worked on setting up a business.There were initial struggles. Tushar was homesick and unable to adjust, linguistically or culturally. “I missed my cousins and my family in India. And to be honest, my English wasn’t top-notch, so it took me time to feel at home,” the recently elected mayor of Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council told this reporter over the phone.“But over the years, I found friends who helped me assimilate in the culture and have been with me through all my ups and downs.”
