Trouble is brewing in Gorakhpur over the installation of a statue of former bandit queen Pholan Devi. The Nishads - a most backward caste which has been struggling for its  political identity in state politics, is adamant on installing the statue  on gram samaj land in a village on the Gorakhpur-Varanasi national highway. However, the Gorakhpur administration has denied permission for the same.
Various outfits of Nishad community have closed ranks to fight for installing Phoolan Devi’s statue, who they consider their icon. Nishad Vikas Sangh has announced to install 11 statues of Phoolan Devi in various districts of UP with sizeable Nishad populace while another
has announced to install Phoolan Devi’s statues in 265 Assembly segment of UP.
The Rashtriya Nishad Exta Parishad and Nishad Vikas Manch  and several, other organisations of the community are up in arms over the refusal of the Samajwadi government to install a 20-feet statue of late Phoolan Devi in Gorakhpur.
The statue was scheduled to be installed at the Bagha Gadha village near the   Nausar Chauraha in Gorakhpur on Monday August 1, to mark her 15th death anniversary. The district administration however refused to allow the installation on the grounds that the prior
permission for the same was not obtained.
Negotiations between the organisations of Nishad community and the district administration continued for several days after which the administration confiscated the 20-feet-tall statue.  The statue is lying in the village and the administration has deployed the police for maintaining law and order.
Sanjay Nishad, president of the Rashtriya Nishad Ekta Parishad, alleged that the state government had deliberately stalled the function because it did not want the Nishad community to unite on the death anniversary of Phoolan Devi.
“Almost all parties have used the   MBC Nishad community as their vote bank but have not done anything substantial for the community. The Samajwadi Party used Phoolan Devi to get Nishad votes by giving her ticket to the lok Sabha but after her death, the Samajwadi have not
done anything for her family or for the community. Now that we want to revive her legacy, the ruling party is creating hurdles’’, said Sanjay Nishad.
The Nishad leader said that the statue of Phoolan Devi would now be installed in 265 Assembly constituencies in UP. It is noteworthy that the BJP has set a goal of winning 265 seats in the 2017 state assembly elections.
lautan Ram Nishad of Nishad Vikas Sangh said a dharna in protest against the government’s refusal to allow the installation of the statue.
Meanwhile, official sources in Gorakhpur said that the statue had been seized because it was being installed without proper permission. Phoolan Devi, a bandit in the ravines of UP, had hit the headlines when she massacred 22  persons from the Rajput  community in Behmai village of Kanpur Dehat in February 1981 to avenge her sexual exploitation by a Thakur gang led by lala Ram and Sri Ram.
In 1994, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav withdrew the cases against Phoolan and she was released from jail after detention in 11 years without trial. later she was nominated as the SP candidate from Bhadoi lok Sabha seat and she won the election. Phoolan Devi emerged as an icon for the Nishad community (boatmen). She was assassinated on July 25 in 2001 in front of her official residence in Delhi. Fifteen years after her death, her statue has  revived an intense caste war between OBCs and MBCs in eastern UP. After her death
the community was not given adequate representation by the SP and other political parties.
The Nishad community constitutes about 4.5 per cent of the UP population and are known to be among the Most Backward Castes (MBC).
The Nishad community has a sizeable population in Bundelkhand, central and east UP and has a significant presence in over 100 assembly seats. The community for last over one decade is fighting for its inclusion in the scheduled caste category. The SP government including the
present Akhilesh Yadav government has recommended for the inclusion of  the Nishad and 14 other MBCs caste in SC list, the Centre has rejected the recommendation for three times.