Uda Devi Pasi | |
|---|---|
 The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri J.P. Nadda paying homage to the freedom fighter Uda Devi, at Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow on August 19, 2016 | |
| Born | 30 June 1830 |
| Died | 16 November 1857 (Aged 27) |
| Known for | Indian Rebellion of 1857 |
Uda Devi Pasi (1830-1857) was an Indian woman freedom fighter who participated in the war on behalf of Indian soldiers against the British East India Company, during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. She was a member of the women's squad of Wajid Ali Shah, the sixth Nawab of Awadh.
While upper caste histories highlight the resistance contributions of upper caste heroines like Jhansi Ki Rani, the reality was also that the battles for independence from British colonial rule also featured Dalit resistance fighters like Uda Devi Pasi.[1] Uda Devi Pasi and other female Dalit participants are today remembered as the warriors or "Dalit Veeranganas" of the 1857 Indian Rebellion.[2] She was married to Makka Pasi who was a soldier in the army of Hazrat Mahal.[3]
On seeing the rising anger of the Indian people with the British administration, Uda Devi reached out to the queen of that district, Begum Hazrat Mahal to enlist for the war. In order to prepare for the battle that was headed their way, the Begum helped her form a women’s battalion under her command.[4] When the Britishers attacked Awadh, both Uda Devi and her husband were part of the armed resistance. When she heard that her husband had died in the battle, she unleashed her final campaign in full force.[5]
- ^ Bates, Crispin; Carter, Marina (2 January 2017). Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857: Documents of the Indian Uprising. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9789385985751. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017.
- ^ Gupta, Charu (18 April 2016). The Gender of Caste: Representing Dalits in Print. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295806563. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017.
- ^ Narayan, Badri (2006). Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-3537-7.
- ^ Gupta, Charu (2007). "Dalit 'Viranganas' and Reinvention of 1857". Economic and Political Weekly. 42 (19): 1739–1745. JSTOR 4419579.
- ^ Narayan, Badri (7 November 2006). Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9788132102809. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017.