India, Aug. 5 -- MEERUT The political journey of former governor and Union minister Satyapal Malik, 79, who passed away on Tuesday, began not in the corridors of Parliament but on the historic campus of Meerut College. A native of Hisawda village in Baghpat (then part of Meerut district), Malik's early foray into leadership was marked by his election as the first directly chosen student union president of Meerut College in 1969 at the age of 21 - a turning point that set the course for his public life.

Before Malik's tenure, student leadership positions at the college were filled through indirect elections, with the 'premier' being nominated rather than elected by student votes. That changed in 1965-66, when Malik was chosen as the first...