On Wednesday, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi unveiled a statue of Veera Pasi, a “forgotten hero” who had fought the British during the Revolt of 1857, in Raebareli. While this was not the first attempt by a political party to woo the Pasi community in Uttar Pradesh through an icon from the community, Gandhi’s move in his parliamentary constituency is significant ahead of the state Assembly election next year.

Gandhi also addressed a “Bahujan Swabhiman Sabha” in Veera Pasi’s memory the same day. “While listening to other speakers, I felt that we remember Veera Pasi and Dr Ambedkar, but the ideology they stood for is not being protected properly because, in front of our eyes, an attack is being made on the Constitution,” he said at the event. 

Veera Pasi was a trusted companion and commander of Rana Beni Madhav Baksh Singh, the ruler of the Shankarpur Estate in modern-day Raebareli during the 19th century. A Dalit belonging to the Pasi caste, Pasi was born on November 11, 1835, into an impoverished family in Lodhwari village of Raebareli district.

He lost his parents at an early age and went to live at his sister’s house. In the local dialect, a brother living with his sister’s family was called “Veerna”, which later evolved into the name “Veera”.

Pasi was recruited by Singh for his army, after he was impressed by the former’s strength and went on to become one of his most trusted lieutenants. According to local folklore, when the British captured Singh during the 1857 revolt, Pasi displayed remarkable bravery by rescuing Singh from prison. The British government then announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for the capture or information on Pasi’s whereabouts.

While Veera Pasi doesn’t feature too prominently in the history books, oral history has kept his legacy alive in Raebareli and adjoining areas where the Pasi community resides in sizeable numbers. As per local folklore, Pasi died while trying to protect Singh from the British forces.

Dalit history and politics in UP

Over the last few years, political parties in UP have worked towards invoking Dalit icons from the past and their contribution to the freedom struggle. 

In 2024, after the general election, Awadhesh Prasad, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Faizabad (Ayodhya), had invoked “Veerangana” Uda Devi and “Maharaja” Bijli Pasi, two prominent personalities of the Pasi (Dalit) community while taking oath in the Lok Sabha.

Uda Devi was part of the royal guard of Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh and participated in the 1857 revolt. She is credited with having mobilised people to take up arms against the British. In November 2022, the SP had commemorated Uda Devi’s death anniversary at its party headquarters.

Bijli Pasi is among the most prominent Dalit icons, having ruled over some parts of UP in the medieval period. The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP has announced plans to renovate and redevelop Bijli Pasi’s fort in Lucknow as a tourist destination.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had paid rich tributes to Maharaja Bijli Pasi in December 2025. Adityanath had also joined Modi in praising the ruler, describing him as “a valiant warrior of Lucknow who challenged foreign rule to protect India’s eternal traditions”.

Dalit leaders and academics in UP say that icons from the community have largely been “ignored” by historians.

Ajay Kumar, assistant professor at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University’s sociology department, says that mainstream historical writing has often neglected the contributions and experiences of Dalits, Adivasis, and other marginalised communities.

“In resistance to this, these communities have sought to reclaim and restore their historical and cultural heritage. This process is not just about rediscovering the past, but also about reviving identity, self-respect, and political consciousness. Through the creation of self-history, these communities challenge the myths, prejudices, and historical narratives constructed by the mainstream, which kept them marginalised for a long time,” said Kumar.

“Since these communities traditionally possessed relatively few written records, their histories survived through folk tales, folk songs, memories, and oral traditions. These oral traditions became important carriers of their social experiences, struggles, and collective consciousness,” he added.

Manoj Paswan, an SP leader from the Pasi community, echoed what Kumar said. He added: “It was Kanshi Ram who brought Dalit icons to the forefront and appealed to the community to not be ashamed of their history and rather be proud of it. Dalit leaders played a crucial role in the freedom struggle, but have not found mention in books as the likes of upper caste icons like Mangal Pandey have. This needs to be corrected.”

Pasis and the Dalit vote in UP

The Pasis make up around 7 per cent of the state’s Scheduled Caste population, making them the largest group among Dalits in UP after the Jatavs. While they also have significant presence in other states, their largest population is in UP. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the SP won 37 seats, the party had received a boost as five Pasi candidates fielded by the SP had won, compared with three of the BJP.

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With the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party steadily declining in UP — its vote share fell from 22.23% in the 2017 Assembly election to 12.88% five years later, with the vote share roughly proportional to the population of Jatav-Ravidasi Dalits, who are its core support base — everyone, from the SP and the Congress to the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) led by Chandrashekhar Azad is trying to fill that space.

The SP and Congress have both been working to reach out to Dalits by regularly invoking B R Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. This year, both parties held programmes across the state on Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14.

After claiming to get overwhelming support of the Dalit community in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, which was evident from the results too, the SP and Congress are both working to ensure that Dalits (around 20% of UP’s total population) support the parties in next year’s Assembly election.