Decode Politics: Who are the two Pasi icons invoked by new MP from Ayodhya in his oath

While taking oath in the Lok Sabha earlier this week, Awadhesh Prasad, the newly-elected Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad, invoked ‘Veerangana’ Uda Devi and ‘Maharaja’ Bijli Pasi, two prominent personalities of the Pasi (Dalit) community. Prasad himself belongs to the Pasi community, who number over three lakh in the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency and who are believed to have voted en masse to elect him over his BJP opponent.

Born in Ujirao, Lucknow, Uda Devi was part of the royal guard of Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh, and participated in the 1857 Mutiny. She is credited with having mobilised people to take up arms against the British.

On November 16, 1857, Uda Devi was among the soldiers who clashed with the British regiment stationed near the Gomti River in Lucknow. It is said that she killed at least three dozen British soldiers from atop a tree before she was spotted and killed.

On November 16 every year, events are organised to commemorate the martyrdom of Uda Devi at various places, mostly in central Uttar Pradesh. She remains an icon especially for the Dalits.

The stories of Bijli Pasi are popular among the Pasis of central UP districts such as Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Bahraich, Sultanpur and Allahabad.

While there are many prominent Pasi faces from here such as brothers Daldev, Baldev and Kakoran, Bijli Pasi is among the most prominent, having ruled over some parts of UP in the medieval period. The ruins of the fort from where he ruled still stand in Lucknow, while a statue has been put up of the Pasi icon in the state capital.

The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP has announced plans to renovate and redevelop Bijli Pasi’s fort as a tourist destination.

The Pasis make up around 7% of UP’s Scheduled Caste