Mission 2019: Dacoit being promoted as Kurmi leader

Lucknow: With general elections round the corner, fringe groups have started promoting icons related to their communities.

Dreaded dacoit Dadua, who has a temple dedicated to his memory in Fatehpur, is now being promoted as an icon of the Kurmi community.

A relatively unknown Sardar Sena recently held a programme at the temple in memory of Dadua, aka Shiv Kumar Patel.

Salone Umrao, the vice-president of the Sardar Sena, said that Dadua had been given the image of a dacoit by the media whereas he was actually “Robinhood” for the community.

“He was a revolutionary who fought against the system that heaped atrocities on the weaker and poor sections. He confronted the rich and helped the poor and that is why, even 11 years after he was shot dead, people respect and revere him,” he said.

Dadua, one of the most dreaded dacoits, lived in the jungles of Bundelkhand and impacted the local politics.

He led the massacre in Ramu ka Purwa where he executed nine people on June 20, 1986 after he suspected one of the victims, Shambhu Singh, to be a police informer.

Dadua’s nephew Baal Kumar is a former Samajwadi Party MP while his son Veer Singh is a former SP MLA. However, Sardar Sena claims that it has no political affiliation.

“Our loyalty is to our leader Dadua and any political party that gives him respect and agrees to carry forward his battle for social justice will get our support,” he said.

The Sardar Sena now plans to hold programmes in Kurmi dominated districts like Chitrakoot, Banda, Kaushambhi, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh, Kanpur and Mirzapur in memory of Dadua who was shot dead in July 2007 during the Mayawati regime.

The Sardar Sena also plans to beautify and expand the Dadua temple in Fatehpur. The temple was built in 2016 in Dhata town and despite stiff opposition from the local administration, the state government did not prevent the installation of the statue.

“The BSP, in the initial days, happily took the support of Dadua to win elections but when it got a majority in 2007, it ordered his killing. We will never forgive the BSP for this betrayal,” said Salone Umrao.

Uttar Pradesh has a sizeable Kurmi population and Kurmis are second most powerful caste group after Yadavs among the OBCs. The Kurmi constitute 9 per cent of the state’s population and 24 per cent of the OBC population.

So far, it is only the Apna Dal, a Kurmi-centric party, that has been working for the community but Sardar Sena feels that despite being in power, Apna Dal has not done anything for the community.

“We will wait and watch and extend our support to a party that assures us of working for the Kurmi community. We will take the decision after elections are announced,” said the Sardar Sena leader.