An event held here on Sunday to mark “Denotified and Nomadic Tribes Day” not only saw Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announce a slew of measures for the communities, but also served as a platform to showcase unity among NDA partners amid reports of tensions between the allies.
At the event, marked annually on August 31 to commemorate the repeal of the British-era Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, which criminalised nomadic, semi-nomadic and denotified tribes, Adityanath announced a housing scheme and a welfare board, and provided land to them. “I would request Minister Asim Arun to provide land and housing for these tribes. Such measures will give them true freedom,” said the CM.
The presence of NISHAD Party chief and state minister Sanjay Nishad, who recently “dared” the BJP to snap ties with his party over “trust issues”, on the stage along with the CM did not go unnoticed. Nishad lavished praise on the NDA governments in Uttar Pradesh as well as the Centre. Thanking the CM for the initiatives, he said, “The tribes that once used to run away from the police are today being recruited as policemen due to the BJP government’s efforts. The CM has ordered a survey of the tribes and assured them of benefits. This is the real Pichhda, Dalit, Advasi (PDA).” It was a reference to the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) “PDA” plank, which it defines as the focus on the Pichhda (the backwards or OBCs), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities).
Amid cracks in the ruling alliance, Nishad reiterated his support for the governments in the state and Centre and urged his community — the backward riverine castes — to back the alliance. “I had taken an oath to unseat those who had committed atrocities against tribals. The non-deserving Congress, SP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) should be out of power while capable forces like the BJP must be in power in Lucknow and Delhi,” he said.
Political significance
Adityanath’s initiatives are likely to benefit 29 communities in Uttar Pradesh, which, according to officials, number about 1.5 crore. Sources said 14 of these communities are categorised as SC, while nine are OBC groups. Six communities have been categorised as “others”.
However, NISHAD party leaders claimed there were 193 such tribes, castes and sub-castes and their actual number, currently unknown, would be far higher.
Sources said the 1961 Government of India order listed 11 communities, including Mallahs that form the core vote base of the NISHAD Party and Lodhs, as denotified and nomadic. A year later, 18 communities were included under “denotified” castes.
The communities, which are spread across the state, are said to be influential in around 130-150 of the 403 Assembly seats in UP. For instance, the Banjara community, which falls under the OBC category, is concentrated in Agra, Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Mainpuri, Meerut, Sitapur, Unnao and Etawah.
Some sub-castes falling under the Nishad community, which is largely seen to support the NISHAD Party, are concentrated in Basti, Sidharthnagar, while the OBC Mallah community is seen to be influential in Aligarh, Ballia, Etawah, Bulandshahr, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur, Mathura, Sonbhadra and Maharajganj.
Among the communities falling under the SC category, Musahars are said to be dominant in areas such as Ballia, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Varanasi, while the Nat community is seen to be influential in Allahabad, Bijnor, Fatehpur, Jhansi, Moradabad and Muzaffarnagar.