Ghaziabad (UP), Nov 6 (PTI) Indian-origin politician Saba Haider, who won a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, credited her upbringing in Ghaziabad and her parents’ altruism for shaping her approach to public service.
“In our house, we never asked how much money you have, or where you are from. We only asked: What do you need? Then in Ghaziabad, now in Illinois, the same family, same rule,” Haider said in a statement shared with the media by her family in Ghaziabad.
Recalling her childhood in an upper-middle-class family in Ghaziabad, Haider said her parents followed a simple principle that became central to the family’s way of life: helping anyone in need, irrespective of their identity or circumstances.
Her father, a government engineer, travelled daily to neighbouring cities for work, while her mother managed the household.
Haider said she grew up watching her parents help neighbours with hospital visits, provide books to children, assist elderly residents and guide new families settling in the locality.
“We never asked who they were, where they were from, or what they could give in return. We only asked: What do you need?” she said.
Haider said she adopted the same approach as a teenager, tutoring younger children from the neighbourhood for free, checking on elderly neighbours and helping organise community activities.
“My father taught me that privilege is not for comfort; it is for service. He built public infrastructure with honesty all day, and came home to serve his own neighbourhood,” she said.
Linking these childhood experiences to her political priorities, Haider said her parents shaped her commitment to addressing the cost of living, making education affordable and ensuring safer communities for children.
“For my family, helping someone in need was never politics. It was just how we lived,” she said.
Haider, who traces her roots to Aurangabad in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district, won the November 3 US mid-term election from Illinois’ 84th House District, securing 20,756 votes, or 70.9 per cent, against Republican candidate Brian Scopa.
She became the first South Asian woman to be elected to the Illinois General Assembly. PTI KIS VN
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