U.P.’s erstwhile dacoit den waits to board the development bus

Amidst elections, the mood is calm and lazy in rural Uttar Pradesh, but residents never shy away from a discussion on caste and basic needs

February 24, 2017 11:07 pm | Updated February 25, 2017 12:26 pm IST - CHITRAKOOT

Potholes and open drains lead you to the village square in Sidhupur in Manikpur Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district. A group of Kurmi (dominant backward caste) men, young and old, have gathered after voting on Thursday in the fourth phase of the Assembly elections. The mood is calm and lazy but rural Uttar Pradesh is never shy of a discussion on development and caste.

“Did you not see the potholes when you came in? When monsoons arrive, our children stop going to school as the school bus cannot enter the village,” says retired teacher Rajendra Singh.

The Kurmis here are unhappy with the local BSP MLA Chandrabhan Patel, blaming him for neglecting the area’s infrastructure. They say they have voted for the BJP’s R. K. Patel, a former BSP minister. Both R.K and Chandrabhan are Kurmis.

“Chandrabhan belongs to our caste but he has not done anything for our village,” says Munna Lal Patel, a farmer and ex-pradhan.

In this part of the village, which has over a 1,000 voters, young Kurmis praise the Modi government for demonetisation while lambasting the SP and BSP for “casteism.”

The debate seems to reflect a healthy democratic and political awareness. But less than a decade ago, elections here were determined by dictat — by firmans issued by Dadua, a notorious dacoit.

A Kurmi by caste, Shiv Kumar Patel alias Dadua and his gang operated in the ravines along the U.P.-MP border for almost three decades. In that time, Dadua called the shots in parts of Bundelkhand, impacting elections in Chitrakoot, Banda, Fatehpur, Rae Bareli and Kaushambi. He was patronised by all political parties, especially the SP and BSP.

However, his end came under Ms. Mayawati’s regime in 2007, when the State STF gunned him down along with his associates in an encounter.

Diktats on voting

During elections, Dadua’s gang was known to issue diktats on voting for a particular candidate. Veer Singh, Dadua’s son and present SP MLA from Chitrakoot, was elected to the zila panchayat unopposed as a result of the terror his father inspired.

“From the MP election down to the pradhan, he impacted all polling. Nobody would oppose him or file nomination against the candidate patronised by him,” says Munna Lal.

However, today things are different, the villagers say, and across the region, Dadua elicits nothing more than nostalgia. As Chitrakoot and Manikpur voted on February 23 — both recorded little over 60% turnout — no poll firmans were reported.

For villagers it seemed like a distant past when they were “trapped” between Dadua and the police. Back then it was common for villagers to be booked under Section 216 of the IPC — harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered.

“We were trapped. If the police harassed us for harbouring dacoits, Dadua’s gang tormented us if we did not help them,” recalls a Kurmi farmer.

Though they remember the times with dread, hardly any Kurmi here has anything harsh to say about Dadua. “He was a Raj Rishi. He never stole from the poor, and helped poor girls get married. He only challenged the thekedars (contractors) and the government. Also, he had no interest in womanising,” said Munna Lal.

However, in a section of the village, where the Jatavs and most backward castes live, Dadua still sends a shiver of dread, representing dominant caste oppression.

“He was not a good man. Anybody would dared to complain against him would be beaten up or even killed,” says Bhondi, a Jatav labourer.

For many of these Dalits, though Dadua is long gone, his caste brethren continue to be a source of oppression.

The Dalits here fear that if the BJP’s Kurmi candidate wins this seat they would face further oppression. They too have complaints against the BSP’s candidate — electric poles are left without wires, hand pumps are not functional and roads in disrepair. Women have to walk a few miles to fetch clean water and as the local kotedar does not supply them their due share of ration of kerosene, residents are forced to use mustard oil for lamps.

However, the Dalits here will still vote for the BSP because of their loyalty to Ms. Mayawati, alleged goondaism in the SP and their distrust of the BJP, which has increased after demonetisation.

Ab kya karey (what do we do now)?”

Manikpur witnessed a four-way battle with the BSP’s sitting MLA facing challenges from the BJP, the Congress’ Sampat Pal, a women’s activist of the Gulabi Gang fame, which works for women empowerment, RLD’s Dinesh Mishra, the brother of Banda BJP MP Bhairao Prasad Mishra and Daddu Prasad, a former BSP minister.

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