I grew up with stories about Babuji, told in the soft glow of winter afternoons.
The stories of his honesty, stubborn discipline, and his quiet determination to make Delhi a city worthy of its people. But it was only when I began revisiting his life as Mayor of Delhi that those stories began to breathe again!
Lala Hans Raj Gupta (Babuji) succeeded in occupying various posts of responsibilities. One of them includes becoming the mayor of Delhi in 1967. He was selected as one of the six eldermen by the hundred elected members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
During his tenure, he focused on strengthening municipal administration, insisting that civic work should be visible everywhere it mattered. He pushed for improvements in sanitation, streamlining garbage disposal and ensuring cleaner municipal zones at a time when the city reeled under rapid population growth. He worked to expand primary health facilities and was instrumental in advocating for stronger municipal-run hospitals and dispensaries, emphasizing affordability.
For him, public health was not charity, it was responsibility!
Even in his mayoral years, his heart remained rooted in the work he cherished most- education and social upliftment! It was this blending of civic duty and social vision that made him distinct.
He supported the expansion of municipal schools and teacher training, believing that the municipality’s role went beyond buildings, it shaped futures.
It is notable that he was re-elected up to 1973 and his son, Mr. Rajendra Gupta, reached the same position in 1977-79.
As his great-granddaughter, writing about him now feels less like recounting history and more like tracing the values I’ve unknowingly inherited: duty, dignity, and a belief that cities—like people—must be cared for with both discipline and compassion.
