adually absorbing them in its midst. The Exhibition Grounds of Saharanpur city, which was used as a refugee camp to accommodate them, has grown into a thriving modern township and an outpost of Punjabi culture.
Until the end of the British rule, the power and social prestige of the descendants of the past ruling classes was formidable, especially in the rural interiors; often called the upper castes, they lorded over the lower caste people. After independence, the conversion of the country to democracy has enabled these under-privileged and ex-untouchable Dalit classes to move forward gradually in all fields in India. Late Master Kanshi Ram, the founder of pro-Dalit Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), started his political career in Saharanpur. His protégé Kumari Mayavati, a Dalit from Saharanpur, has ruled over Uttar Pradesh as a BSP Chief Minister four times and, after completing a full term in office, lost to Samajwadi Party in February 2012 assembly elections, . The Jains and Aggarwals are influential business communities; the latter have "Agarwal Sabha" and elect their presidents annually.
On 28 December 1988, Saharanpur district lost the region of Haridwar, which was made into a new district within the Saharanpur division. Subsequently, Haridwar district was taken out of Saharanpur division and merged with what is now Uttarakhand, a new state that was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 2000. With this territorial reorganization, Saharanpur lost many important places of religious and cultural heritage, including the city of Roorkee, disappointing the Saharanpur people. Political debate is still simmering on whether parts of Saharanpur, including the city itself, can be merged with Uttarakhand. Another political view is that a new state of Harit Pradesh should be carved out of the present Western Uttar Pradesh region
