3 min readLucknowNov 17, 2025 04:00 PM IST
First published on: Nov 17, 2025 at 05:34 AM IST
Unveiling the statue of Uda Devi Pasi in Lucknow, on Sunday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed the state government’s decision to include icons of the Pasi community in school curricula. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present at the event.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rajnath congratulated the Uttar Pradesh government and praised the decision to teach the lives of Pasi leaders and heroines in schools.
Recalling his own tenure as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, he said the process of recognising regional icons had a longer history, noting, that the Vajpayee government issued a postal stamp in honour of Maharaja Bijli Pasi during his time. “In that sequence our UP government… Yogi Adityanath ji has decided to include the heroes and heroines of the Pasi community in the curriculum. I congratulate him,” Rajnath said.
The defence minister described Uda Devi as a symbol of women’s empowerment who mobilised Dalit women to resist British rule. He also praised the increasing role of women in the armed forces and cited, by way of illustration, the participation of women in recent operations, a point he framed as evidence of women protecting the nation from “Siachen to the depths of the ocean.”
Referring to Pasi community as “sword-wielder”, Rajnath said that the word “Pa” means “to hold,” and “Si” means “sword,” and added that such icons did not receive the place in history they deserve alleging that “leftist historians” and previous Governments ignored them.
“The Pasi Empire finds little mention in school textbooks; libraries have barely a few references, despite the Pasi kings ruling for centuries, long before Emperor Ashoka.” he said.
Rajnath listed several figures he said deserved recognition, including Maharaja Bijli Pasi, Maharaja Satan Pasi, Maharaja Lakhan Pasi and called for their stories to be “written in golden letters.”
Union Minister of State Kamlesh Paswan, who belongs to the Pasi community, echoed the call. “Although the Pasi community once held prominent positions in the region around Lucknow, historical records were later distorted. Our identity is rooted in our community. If we lose our identity, history, future generations will question us,” he said
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recalled Uda Devi’s role in the 1857 uprising. “On November 16, 1857, Uda Devi climbed a peepal tree in Sikandarbagh and fought courageously,” he said.
CM Adityanath with Rajnath Singh unveils Uda Devi statue. (ANI) 
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