From Lakshman to Lakhan Pasi as Lucknow’s ‘actual architect’: A change in BJP narrative post-polls

Till last year, some BJP leaders were pushing for Lucknow’s name to be changed to Lakshmanpuri. But with the INDIA alliance getting a chunk of the support of Pasis — the biggest Dalit community in UP after Jatavs — the ruling party has taken note. Getting back the community’s support will be crucial in the coming by-elections for 10 Assembly seats whose legislators have been elected to Parliament.

Pasis comprise 16% of the Dalit population in UP and are among the most electorally influential communities in the state. They play an especially significant role in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh: Faizabad, Lucknow, neighbouring Barabanki, Hardoi, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Unnao, Rae Bareli, and Pratapgarh. With Pasis backing it, the INDIA alliance either won several seats in this region — Faizabad, Barabanki, Sitapur, Kheri, Pratapgarh, and Rae Bareli — or was able to reduce the victory margins of sitting BJP MPs in Lucknow, Hardoi, and Unnao. The BJP has estimated that Pasis can influence more than 25 Assembly seats in the Awadh region and the fight to get their vote is likely to intensify in the coming months.

Awadhesh Prasad, SP, actually defeated the BJP by 54,000 votes in Ayodhya. (PTI)

Since pulling off an upset by winning the Faizabad seat, of which Ayodhya is a part, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Awadhesh Prasad is among the prominent Pasi faces in the state. Prasad recently took the names of popular Pasi icons Bijli Pasi and Urda Devi during his oath ceremony in Parliament. By invoking Lakhan Pasi, the BJP has attempted to send a signal to the community that it too cares about its history and cultural icons.

“Both (Lakshman and Lakhan Pasi) are part of history. Thousands of years ago, Lucknow was known as Lakhanpuri named after Lakshman. In time, it was Lakhan Pasi who, among the many Pasi rulers of that time, was credited with establishing Lucknow city. Awadh has a rich past of Pasi rulers be it Bijli Pasi or Pasi rulers in neighbouring Malihabad, Barabanki etc,” said the BJP’s Scheduled Caste (SC) Morcha president Ram Chandra Kanaujia.

But the public invocation of Lakhan Pasi by the state BJP chief stands in contrast to the narrative of the Lucknow and Lakshman connection that party leaders had been pushing. Last year, after a huge statue of Lakshman was inaugurated near Lucknow Airport, the BJP’s then Pratapgarh MP Sangam Lal Gupta wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Adityanath, urging that Lucknow be renamed either Lakhanpuri or Lakshmanpuri. He claimed that Lord Ram had gifted the city to his younger brother. The letter sparked a debate, with then SP leader and former minister Swami Prasad Maurya opposing the bid to link the city to Lakshman. Maurya claimed that Lakhan Pasi and his wife Lakhnawati were the reasons why the city came to be known as Lucknow.

Earlier, former BJP MP Lalji Tandon had brought up Lucknow’s connection to the city, claiming that the Teele Wali Masjid in the city stands atop a Hindu structure known as Lakshman Tila. Earlier this year, a local court rejected the Muslim side’s plea against a civil suit seeking the right of worship at the mosque site.

While little is known about Lakhan Pasi, according to BJP leader Kanaujia some historical records say that he ruled in the 10th or 11 Century and that the Bhool Bhulaiya in Lucknow is located where a fort of Lakhan Pasi once stood.