August 26, 2026

UP: CM Yogi launches ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’, women aged 60+ to get free bus travel Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday launched the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ scheme and flagged off special buses to provide free travel facilities to women aged 60 years and above in the state.Speaking at the launch event in Lucknow, CM Yogi said the scheme was aimed at making the journey of women more convenient and dignified and strengthening their self-reliance.”The maternal power that has eased the path of family and society throughout her life–our resolve to make her journey smooth and dignified is being realised in the double-engine government,” the Chief Minister said.Under the scheme, women aged 60 years and above will be provided free bus travel facilities. The Chief Minister also said that on Raksha Bandhan, mothers, sisters and daughters would be provided free bus travel along with one accompanying person.”The honour of maternal power and their convenience is our priority,” CM Yogi said.The Chief Minister said the scheme has been named after Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, whom he described as an exemplary figure of women’s self-reliance and good governance.”At a time when the country was in the grip of the chaos caused by Mughal invaders, Lokmata Ahilyabai not only achieved the goals of good governance and preserved India’s spiritual and cultural heritage but also set an exemplary standard for women’s self-reliance,” he said.CM Yogi said Ahilyabai Holkar had undertaken the restoration of several temples across the country that had been demolished or damaged by foreign invaders.”Whenever the topic of women’s self-reliance arises, we all recall the name of Lokmata Ahilyabai with deep reverence and respect,” he said.The Chief Minister also launched a sharp attack on the previous governments in the state, alleging that women faced insecurity and lack of dignity before 2017.”There was a time before 2017 when a particular slogan echoed among daughters, sisters, and mothers: ‘Dekh Sapai, Bitiya Ghabrai,” CM Yogi said, referring to the Samajwadi Party.He alleged that the period was marked by concerns over women’s safety and a lack of dedicated mechanisms such as integrated helplines, women’s beat systems and women’s help desks.”There was no respect for them, let alone self-reliance; there were no integrated helplines, no women’s beat systems, and no women’s help desks,” he said.CM Yogi further alleged that middlemen controlled pensions and scholarships and that mafia groups exercised influence over sectors including forest, sand, cattle and examination systems.”Forest, sand, cattle, and exam-cheating mafias defined the state’s identity; a mafia syndicate wielded power parallel to the actual government,” he said.The Chief Minister said his government had, for the first time since Independence, formulated a comprehensive action plan aimed at integrating women, who constitute half of society, into governance schemes.”This plan encompasses everything from a daughter’s birth to her education, employment, and entrepreneurship, while also guaranteeing her safety and dignity; indeed, every scheme, decision, and budget of our government is dedicated to fulfilling these very objectives,” he said.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe Chief Minister had earlier announced the launch of the scheme in a post on X, saying the initiative was aimed at ensuring convenience and dignity for women.”The maternal power that has eased the path of family and society throughout her life–our resolve to make her journey smooth and dignified is being realised in the double-engine government. Today in Lucknow, the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ will be inaugurated, under which mothers and sisters of the state aged 60 years and above will be provided with free bus travel facilities,” the post read.”Additionally, on Raksha Bandhan, mothers, sisters, and daughters will be provided with free bus travel facilities, including one accompanying traveller. The honour of maternal power and their convenience is our priority,” he added.The scheme comes as the Uttar Pradesh government seeks to expand measures focused on women’s welfare, mobility and self-reliance.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSinger Mary Millben Hits Back Over ‘Anti-Modi’ Politics Over Mohan Bhagwat New York Event105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | Watch123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayOptical illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals whether you are an introvert or an extrovertFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits back123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

Vamsikrishna04 mins mins
UP: CM Yogi launches ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’, women aged 60+ to get free bus travel Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday launched the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ scheme and flagged off special buses to provide free travel facilities to women aged 60 years and above in the state.Speaking at the launch event in Lucknow, CM Yogi said the scheme was aimed at making the journey of women more convenient and dignified and strengthening their self-reliance.”The maternal power that has eased the path of family and society throughout her life–our resolve to make her journey smooth and dignified is being realised in the double-engine government,” the Chief Minister said.Under the scheme, women aged 60 years and above will be provided free bus travel facilities. The Chief Minister also said that on Raksha Bandhan, mothers, sisters and daughters would be provided free bus travel along with one accompanying person.”The honour of maternal power and their convenience is our priority,” CM Yogi said.The Chief Minister said the scheme has been named after Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, whom he described as an exemplary figure of women’s self-reliance and good governance.”At a time when the country was in the grip of the chaos caused by Mughal invaders, Lokmata Ahilyabai not only achieved the goals of good governance and preserved India’s spiritual and cultural heritage but also set an exemplary standard for women’s self-reliance,” he said.CM Yogi said Ahilyabai Holkar had undertaken the restoration of several temples across the country that had been demolished or damaged by foreign invaders.”Whenever the topic of women’s self-reliance arises, we all recall the name of Lokmata Ahilyabai with deep reverence and respect,” he said.The Chief Minister also launched a sharp attack on the previous governments in the state, alleging that women faced insecurity and lack of dignity before 2017.”There was a time before 2017 when a particular slogan echoed among daughters, sisters, and mothers: ‘Dekh Sapai, Bitiya Ghabrai,” CM Yogi said, referring to the Samajwadi Party.He alleged that the period was marked by concerns over women’s safety and a lack of dedicated mechanisms such as integrated helplines, women’s beat systems and women’s help desks.”There was no respect for them, let alone self-reliance; there were no integrated helplines, no women’s beat systems, and no women’s help desks,” he said.CM Yogi further alleged that middlemen controlled pensions and scholarships and that mafia groups exercised influence over sectors including forest, sand, cattle and examination systems.”Forest, sand, cattle, and exam-cheating mafias defined the state’s identity; a mafia syndicate wielded power parallel to the actual government,” he said.The Chief Minister said his government had, for the first time since Independence, formulated a comprehensive action plan aimed at integrating women, who constitute half of society, into governance schemes.”This plan encompasses everything from a daughter’s birth to her education, employment, and entrepreneurship, while also guaranteeing her safety and dignity; indeed, every scheme, decision, and budget of our government is dedicated to fulfilling these very objectives,” he said.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe Chief Minister had earlier announced the launch of the scheme in a post on X, saying the initiative was aimed at ensuring convenience and dignity for women.”The maternal power that has eased the path of family and society throughout her life–our resolve to make her journey smooth and dignified is being realised in the double-engine government. Today in Lucknow, the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ will be inaugurated, under which mothers and sisters of the state aged 60 years and above will be provided with free bus travel facilities,” the post read.”Additionally, on Raksha Bandhan, mothers, sisters, and daughters will be provided with free bus travel facilities, including one accompanying traveller. The honour of maternal power and their convenience is our priority,” he added.The scheme comes as the Uttar Pradesh government seeks to expand measures focused on women’s welfare, mobility and self-reliance.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSinger Mary Millben Hits Back Over ‘Anti-Modi’ Politics Over Mohan Bhagwat New York Event105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | Watch123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayOptical illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals whether you are an introvert or an extrovertFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits back123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy


UP: CM Yogi launches 'Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra', women aged 60+ to get free bus travel
UP: CM Yogi launches ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’, women aged 60+ to get free bus travel

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday launched the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ scheme and flagged off special buses to provide free travel facilities to women aged 60 years and above in the state.Speaking at the launch event in Lucknow, CM Yogi said the scheme was aimed at making the journey of women more convenient and dignified and strengthening their self-reliance.“The maternal power that has eased the path of family and society throughout her life–our resolve to make her journey smooth and dignified is being realised in the double-engine government,” the Chief Minister said.Under the scheme, women aged 60 years and above will be provided free bus travel facilities. The Chief Minister also said that on Raksha Bandhan, mothers, sisters and daughters would be provided free bus travel along with one accompanying person.“The honour of maternal power and their convenience is our priority,” CM Yogi said.The Chief Minister said the scheme has been named after Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, whom he described as an exemplary figure of women’s self-reliance and good governance.“At a time when the country was in the grip of the chaos caused by Mughal invaders, Lokmata Ahilyabai not only achieved the goals of good governance and preserved India’s spiritual and cultural heritage but also set an exemplary standard for women’s self-reliance,” he said.CM Yogi said Ahilyabai Holkar had undertaken the restoration of several temples across the country that had been demolished or damaged by foreign invaders.“Whenever the topic of women’s self-reliance arises, we all recall the name of Lokmata Ahilyabai with deep reverence and respect,” he said.The Chief Minister also launched a sharp attack on the previous governments in the state, alleging that women faced insecurity and lack of dignity before 2017.“There was a time before 2017 when a particular slogan echoed among daughters, sisters, and mothers: ‘Dekh Sapai, Bitiya Ghabrai,” CM Yogi said, referring to the Samajwadi Party.He alleged that the period was marked by concerns over women’s safety and a lack of dedicated mechanisms such as integrated helplines, women’s beat systems and women’s help desks.“There was no respect for them, let alone self-reliance; there were no integrated helplines, no women’s beat systems, and no women’s help desks,” he said.CM Yogi further alleged that middlemen controlled pensions and scholarships and that mafia groups exercised influence over sectors including forest, sand, cattle and examination systems.“Forest, sand, cattle, and exam-cheating mafias defined the state’s identity; a mafia syndicate wielded power parallel to the actual government,” he said.The Chief Minister said his government had, for the first time since Independence, formulated a comprehensive action plan aimed at integrating women, who constitute half of society, into governance schemes.“This plan encompasses everything from a daughter’s birth to her education, employment, and entrepreneurship, while also guaranteeing her safety and dignity; indeed, every scheme, decision, and budget of our government is dedicated to fulfilling these very objectives,” he said.

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Uttarakhand CM Dhami joins Tapkeshwar Mahadev Shobha Yatra Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday participated in the Shobha Yatra of Tapkeshwar Mahadev Ji, which commenced from Shivaji Dharamshala in Arhat Bazaar and will pass through major routes of Dehradun before reaching the Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple.Speaking on the occasion, Dhami extended his greetings to devotees and saints associated with the annual procession and highlighted the religious significance of the event, held during the holy month of Shravan.Speaking to reporters, he said, “First of all, I extend my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all the devotees and the revered saints who organize the grand annual Tapkeshwar Mahadev procession, an event that draws a massive sea of worshippers. Taking place during the holy month of Shravan, this event involves worship, the abhishek of Lord Bholenath, and the grand procession. The Char Dham Yatra is currently underway, and its second phase is set to begin in September; while the monsoon season often brings challenges regarding roads and travel, we are now fully prepared for this next phase. We are also making comprehensive preparations for the 2027 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, ensuring that all arrangements are in place for the devotees.”The Chief Minister also spoke about the state government’s preparations for the return of Agniveers and the establishment of a dedicated Agniveer Cell in Uttarakhand.On the Agniveer Cell, Dhami said the initiative aims to provide employment opportunities to Agniveers returning after completing their service, while making use of the training and skills they acquire during their tenure in the armed forces.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”Across the entire nation, one out of every five soldiers serving the country hails from Uttarakhand. Every family here shares a bond with the armed forces, a bond that spans generations, not just the present day. I, too, am the son of a soldier and am fulfilling my responsibilities with that perspective. The objective behind establishing the Agniveer Cell is to ensure that all Agniveers returning from service find employment opportunities here in some capacity. We want their service to continue, and thanks to the excellent training and education they receive, they will be fit in every respect and capable of entering any field. We are preparing for the arrival of the first batch, and the Cabinet has already approved the dedicated Agniveer Cell. We are actively working on this; ‘Devbhoomi’ has a high concentration of soldiers, and our soldiers, along with their families, are among our top priorities,” CM said.The Shobha Yatra will culminate at the revered Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple, with devotees participating in the annual religious procession.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSinger Mary Millben Hits Back Over ‘Anti-Modi’ Politics Over Mohan Bhagwat New York Event105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? 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Uttarakhand CM Dhami joins Tapkeshwar Mahadev Shobha Yatra Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday participated in the Shobha Yatra of Tapkeshwar Mahadev Ji, which commenced from Shivaji Dharamshala in Arhat Bazaar and will pass through major routes of Dehradun before reaching the Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple.Speaking on the occasion, Dhami extended his greetings to devotees and saints associated with the annual procession and highlighted the religious significance of the event, held during the holy month of Shravan.Speaking to reporters, he said, “First of all, I extend my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all the devotees and the revered saints who organize the grand annual Tapkeshwar Mahadev procession, an event that draws a massive sea of worshippers. Taking place during the holy month of Shravan, this event involves worship, the abhishek of Lord Bholenath, and the grand procession. The Char Dham Yatra is currently underway, and its second phase is set to begin in September; while the monsoon season often brings challenges regarding roads and travel, we are now fully prepared for this next phase. We are also making comprehensive preparations for the 2027 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, ensuring that all arrangements are in place for the devotees.”The Chief Minister also spoke about the state government’s preparations for the return of Agniveers and the establishment of a dedicated Agniveer Cell in Uttarakhand.On the Agniveer Cell, Dhami said the initiative aims to provide employment opportunities to Agniveers returning after completing their service, while making use of the training and skills they acquire during their tenure in the armed forces.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”Across the entire nation, one out of every five soldiers serving the country hails from Uttarakhand. Every family here shares a bond with the armed forces, a bond that spans generations, not just the present day. I, too, am the son of a soldier and am fulfilling my responsibilities with that perspective. The objective behind establishing the Agniveer Cell is to ensure that all Agniveers returning from service find employment opportunities here in some capacity. We want their service to continue, and thanks to the excellent training and education they receive, they will be fit in every respect and capable of entering any field. We are preparing for the arrival of the first batch, and the Cabinet has already approved the dedicated Agniveer Cell. We are actively working on this; ‘Devbhoomi’ has a high concentration of soldiers, and our soldiers, along with their families, are among our top priorities,” CM said.The Shobha Yatra will culminate at the revered Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple, with devotees participating in the annual religious procession.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSinger Mary Millben Hits Back Over ‘Anti-Modi’ Politics Over Mohan Bhagwat New York Event105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | Watch123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayOptical illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals whether you are an introvert or an extrovertFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits back123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

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Maintaining the Dasgaja buffer remains a challenge. Photo credit: ANI India and Nepal are turning to drones to map a stretch of their border that, on paper, is supposed to remain empty.The area is known as Dasgaja, the no-man’s-land or buffer zone along the India-Nepal boundary. But on the ground, parts of it have been cultivated, occupied or built upon. Rivers have changed course, while thousands of boundary pillars have gone missing or been damaged.Now, the two countries want to map that mismatch from the air.At the 13th meeting of the Survey Officials’ Committee in Lucknow this month, India and Nepal agreed to use unmanned aerial vehicles to map cross-border occupation, including encroachments in Dasgaja. The joint survey is expected to begin after the monsoon, around September or October, and be completed within three years.The two sides will then jointly analyse the aerial imagery to establish how much land is being used by citizens on the other side of the recognised boundary.The move follows remarks by Nepal prime minister Balendra Shah in Parliament in May that India had encroached on Nepali land and that Nepal, too, had occupied Indian land in some places. Nepal’s foreign ministry later clarified that Shah was referring to cross-border occupation and encroachment in Dasgaja, rather than making a new territorial claim against India.What is Dasgaja?Dasgaja literally means “ten yards”. It refers to the no-man’s-land or buffer zone along the India-Nepal boundary.There is some variation in how its width is described. Indian reports generally refer to a 10-yard no-man’s-land, while a study by Nepal’s Institute of Foreign Affairs describes a 20-yard-wide buffer, with 10 yards extending from the boundary on either side.The principle is straightforward: the immediate area around the international boundary should remain free of occupation, making the border easier to identify, inspect and maintain.Why India and Nepal are turning to drones to map a border where markers, rivers and land use have complicated boundary management.In practice, that is difficult along an open border stretching about 1,880 km. The boundary runs through farmland, settlements, forests, roads and river systems, while communities on both sides maintain deep social and economic links.Nepal’s Institute of Foreign Affairs has documented people living in makeshift houses and tents within Dasgaja. Even when security forces remove such settlements, people can return.So, while Dasgaja is meant to function as a buffer on paper, parts of it have gradually become intertwined with everyday life and livelihoods along the border.An open but defined borderIndia and Nepal share an open border. There is no continuous fence separating the two countries, and people routinely cross it for work, trade, family and other activities.An open border, however, does not mean an undefined border.The international boundary is established through boundary pillars, maps and geographic coordinates. Dasgaja provides an additional buffer around that line.Maintaining the physical markers has become a persistent challenge.According to Nepal’s Department of Survey, 8,554 boundary pillars were installed along the border. Of these, 1,325 are missing and 1,956 are partially or completely damaged.A missing pillar does not automatically alter the international boundary. Its location can be reconstructed using survey records, coordinates and maps. But on the ground, the absence of a marker can make it far harder to establish where the boundary runs, particularly where fields, houses and roads are close to the line.Cross-border occupationThe drone survey goes beyond Dasgaja. India and Nepal also want to map what officials describe as cross-border occupation.These are instances in which citizens of one country live on, cultivate or otherwise use land that falls on the other side of the legally recognised boundary.Nepal’s foreign ministry said this was the issue Shah was referring to when he spoke about Nepal occupying Indian territory. It specifically linked the problem to the Fixed Boundary Principle used in riverine sections of the border.What happens when a river moves but the border doesn’t?Several sections of the India-Nepal boundary run through or alongside rivers. Rivers naturally shift course through erosion, sediment deposition and the formation of new channels.That can create complicated situations when the legal boundary is tied to a position established in earlier surveys.Under the Fixed Boundary Principle, the boundary can remain fixed even when the river around it changes course.The result can be highly unusual: a farmer may continue cultivating land that a family has used for generations, only for a later survey to establish that the land now lies on the other side of the international boundary.Missing boundary pillars and shifting river courses can make an already complex frontier harder to identify on the ground.Nepal’s foreign ministry identified such riverine changes as one reason for cross-border occupation. Nepal’s Kantipur has reported that decades of river-course changes have shifted thousands of hectares of land from one side of the border to the other.Most of the border is mappedThe new drone survey is not an attempt to redraw or rediscover the India-Nepal boundary.Technical boundary work dates back to 1981, when the Joint Technical Level Nepal-India Boundary Committee was established.After years of surveying, the committee prepared 182 strip maps covering about 98 per cent of the boundary. The maps were finalised in 2007 and excluded the unresolved areas of Kalapani and Susta.India’s ministry of external affairs has also recorded that the strip maps covering 98 per cent of the boundary were authenticated in 2007.But the maps were never formally ratified by both countries as a final settlement.Nepal maintained that outstanding disputes had to be resolved, while India sought their endorsement.Even so, they remain an important technical reference.Why are boundary pillars a problem?A boundary line on a map can be difficult to identify in a field without a physical marker.That is why India and Nepal maintain thousands of boundary pillars along the frontier. But many have been damaged, destroyed or lost, particularly in areas affected by rivers and erosion.The two countries have been working to restore them. At the seventh meeting of the Boundary Working Group in July 2025, India and Nepal agreed to jointly construct new pillars and repair damaged ones as part of their technical boundary work.Established in 2014, the Boundary Working Group deals with issues including the clearing of no-man’s-land, construction and maintenance of boundary pillars, updating cross-border property records and other technical border matters.It does not cover the unresolved Kalapani and Susta disputes.The technical mechanism operates at three levels: the Boundary Working Group, the Survey Officials’ Committee and Joint Field Survey Teams. Field teams conduct ground surveys, while the SOC and BWG examine the findings and determine the next technical steps.India and Nepal are using drone technology to survey parts of their open border where physical markers and changing landscapes create uncertainty.Why use drones now?The immediate objective is simple: get a far more precise picture of what is happening on the ground.The UAVs will capture aerial images of areas where cross-border occupation is suspected. Indian and Nepali officials will then analyse the imagery jointly and compare it with existing maps, coordinates, boundary pillars and field records.Aerial imagery can show precisely where fields, houses, roads, rivers and other physical features sit in relation to the established boundary.But the most important element is not the drone. It is the joint verification.If both countries work from the same imagery and agree on the technical facts of a particular location, it becomes easier to determine what needs to happen next.The jointly verified record could eventually provide a basis for negotiating the removal of encroachments, restoration of land or, where necessary, compensation.Is this related to Kalapani and Lipulekh?The India-Nepal border has several separate disputes.Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura concern Nepal’s territorial claims in the western sector and competing interpretations of historical maps, documents and the course of the Kali or Mahakali River.Susta is another separate dispute involving changes in the course of the Gandak or Narayani River.The current technical mechanism does not cover these unresolved areas. The 2025 BWG agreement specifically kept Susta and Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura outside its technical work.The Dasgaja exercise is narrower. It deals with no-man’s-land, boundary infrastructure and cross-border occupation along the established boundary.What this drone survey really meansAt first glance, sending drones over Dasgaja may look like a relatively routine surveying exercise. It is anything but.The India-Nepal border is unusual: open to people, but fixed in law; socially intertwined, but internationally sovereign. Over decades, rivers have shifted, settlements have expanded, farms have crossed invisible lines and boundary markers have disappeared.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThat has created a gap between the border that exists on maps and the border experienced on the ground.The drones are an attempt to close that gap with evidence.They will not settle Kalapani. They will not redraw the map. And they will not, by themselves, resolve every dispute over land.But they could give India and Nepal something that has often been missing in sensitive border discussions: a shared, current and verifiable picture of what is actually happening on the ground.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorSubhadra SrivastavaSubhadra Srivastava is a journalist with The Times of India, covering geopolitics, international and national affairs. With over three years of experience, she focuses on national and global developments, conflict, diplomacy and their impact on India. Her work combines breaking news with in-depth analysis, offering readers context and clarity on the stories shaping the world.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | WatchIndia Opens DRDO Missile Technologies To Defence Firms In Major Push For Indigenous Production123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits backThese idols are often said to be unsuitable for a home temple, here’s what Hindu traditions and Vastu actually say123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

Maintaining the Dasgaja buffer remains a challenge. Photo credit: ANI India and Nepal are turning to drones to map a stretch of their border that, on paper, is supposed to remain empty.The area is known as Dasgaja, the no-man’s-land or buffer zone along the India-Nepal boundary. But on the ground, parts of it have been cultivated, occupied or built upon. Rivers have changed course, while thousands of boundary pillars have gone missing or been damaged.Now, the two countries want to map that mismatch from the air.At the 13th meeting of the Survey Officials’ Committee in Lucknow this month, India and Nepal agreed to use unmanned aerial vehicles to map cross-border occupation, including encroachments in Dasgaja. The joint survey is expected to begin after the monsoon, around September or October, and be completed within three years.The two sides will then jointly analyse the aerial imagery to establish how much land is being used by citizens on the other side of the recognised boundary.The move follows remarks by Nepal prime minister Balendra Shah in Parliament in May that India had encroached on Nepali land and that Nepal, too, had occupied Indian land in some places. Nepal’s foreign ministry later clarified that Shah was referring to cross-border occupation and encroachment in Dasgaja, rather than making a new territorial claim against India.What is Dasgaja?Dasgaja literally means “ten yards”. It refers to the no-man’s-land or buffer zone along the India-Nepal boundary.There is some variation in how its width is described. Indian reports generally refer to a 10-yard no-man’s-land, while a study by Nepal’s Institute of Foreign Affairs describes a 20-yard-wide buffer, with 10 yards extending from the boundary on either side.The principle is straightforward: the immediate area around the international boundary should remain free of occupation, making the border easier to identify, inspect and maintain.Why India and Nepal are turning to drones to map a border where markers, rivers and land use have complicated boundary management.In practice, that is difficult along an open border stretching about 1,880 km. The boundary runs through farmland, settlements, forests, roads and river systems, while communities on both sides maintain deep social and economic links.Nepal’s Institute of Foreign Affairs has documented people living in makeshift houses and tents within Dasgaja. Even when security forces remove such settlements, people can return.So, while Dasgaja is meant to function as a buffer on paper, parts of it have gradually become intertwined with everyday life and livelihoods along the border.An open but defined borderIndia and Nepal share an open border. There is no continuous fence separating the two countries, and people routinely cross it for work, trade, family and other activities.An open border, however, does not mean an undefined border.The international boundary is established through boundary pillars, maps and geographic coordinates. Dasgaja provides an additional buffer around that line.Maintaining the physical markers has become a persistent challenge.According to Nepal’s Department of Survey, 8,554 boundary pillars were installed along the border. Of these, 1,325 are missing and 1,956 are partially or completely damaged.A missing pillar does not automatically alter the international boundary. Its location can be reconstructed using survey records, coordinates and maps. But on the ground, the absence of a marker can make it far harder to establish where the boundary runs, particularly where fields, houses and roads are close to the line.Cross-border occupationThe drone survey goes beyond Dasgaja. India and Nepal also want to map what officials describe as cross-border occupation.These are instances in which citizens of one country live on, cultivate or otherwise use land that falls on the other side of the legally recognised boundary.Nepal’s foreign ministry said this was the issue Shah was referring to when he spoke about Nepal occupying Indian territory. It specifically linked the problem to the Fixed Boundary Principle used in riverine sections of the border.What happens when a river moves but the border doesn’t?Several sections of the India-Nepal boundary run through or alongside rivers. Rivers naturally shift course through erosion, sediment deposition and the formation of new channels.That can create complicated situations when the legal boundary is tied to a position established in earlier surveys.Under the Fixed Boundary Principle, the boundary can remain fixed even when the river around it changes course.The result can be highly unusual: a farmer may continue cultivating land that a family has used for generations, only for a later survey to establish that the land now lies on the other side of the international boundary.Missing boundary pillars and shifting river courses can make an already complex frontier harder to identify on the ground.Nepal’s foreign ministry identified such riverine changes as one reason for cross-border occupation. Nepal’s Kantipur has reported that decades of river-course changes have shifted thousands of hectares of land from one side of the border to the other.Most of the border is mappedThe new drone survey is not an attempt to redraw or rediscover the India-Nepal boundary.Technical boundary work dates back to 1981, when the Joint Technical Level Nepal-India Boundary Committee was established.After years of surveying, the committee prepared 182 strip maps covering about 98 per cent of the boundary. The maps were finalised in 2007 and excluded the unresolved areas of Kalapani and Susta.India’s ministry of external affairs has also recorded that the strip maps covering 98 per cent of the boundary were authenticated in 2007.But the maps were never formally ratified by both countries as a final settlement.Nepal maintained that outstanding disputes had to be resolved, while India sought their endorsement.Even so, they remain an important technical reference.Why are boundary pillars a problem?A boundary line on a map can be difficult to identify in a field without a physical marker.That is why India and Nepal maintain thousands of boundary pillars along the frontier. But many have been damaged, destroyed or lost, particularly in areas affected by rivers and erosion.The two countries have been working to restore them. At the seventh meeting of the Boundary Working Group in July 2025, India and Nepal agreed to jointly construct new pillars and repair damaged ones as part of their technical boundary work.Established in 2014, the Boundary Working Group deals with issues including the clearing of no-man’s-land, construction and maintenance of boundary pillars, updating cross-border property records and other technical border matters.It does not cover the unresolved Kalapani and Susta disputes.The technical mechanism operates at three levels: the Boundary Working Group, the Survey Officials’ Committee and Joint Field Survey Teams. Field teams conduct ground surveys, while the SOC and BWG examine the findings and determine the next technical steps.India and Nepal are using drone technology to survey parts of their open border where physical markers and changing landscapes create uncertainty.Why use drones now?The immediate objective is simple: get a far more precise picture of what is happening on the ground.The UAVs will capture aerial images of areas where cross-border occupation is suspected. Indian and Nepali officials will then analyse the imagery jointly and compare it with existing maps, coordinates, boundary pillars and field records.Aerial imagery can show precisely where fields, houses, roads, rivers and other physical features sit in relation to the established boundary.But the most important element is not the drone. It is the joint verification.If both countries work from the same imagery and agree on the technical facts of a particular location, it becomes easier to determine what needs to happen next.The jointly verified record could eventually provide a basis for negotiating the removal of encroachments, restoration of land or, where necessary, compensation.Is this related to Kalapani and Lipulekh?The India-Nepal border has several separate disputes.Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura concern Nepal’s territorial claims in the western sector and competing interpretations of historical maps, documents and the course of the Kali or Mahakali River.Susta is another separate dispute involving changes in the course of the Gandak or Narayani River.The current technical mechanism does not cover these unresolved areas. The 2025 BWG agreement specifically kept Susta and Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura outside its technical work.The Dasgaja exercise is narrower. It deals with no-man’s-land, boundary infrastructure and cross-border occupation along the established boundary.What this drone survey really meansAt first glance, sending drones over Dasgaja may look like a relatively routine surveying exercise. It is anything but.The India-Nepal border is unusual: open to people, but fixed in law; socially intertwined, but internationally sovereign. Over decades, rivers have shifted, settlements have expanded, farms have crossed invisible lines and boundary markers have disappeared.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThat has created a gap between the border that exists on maps and the border experienced on the ground.The drones are an attempt to close that gap with evidence.They will not settle Kalapani. They will not redraw the map. And they will not, by themselves, resolve every dispute over land.But they could give India and Nepal something that has often been missing in sensitive border discussions: a shared, current and verifiable picture of what is actually happening on the ground.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorSubhadra SrivastavaSubhadra Srivastava is a journalist with The Times of India, covering geopolitics, international and national affairs. With over three years of experience, she focuses on national and global developments, conflict, diplomacy and their impact on India. Her work combines breaking news with in-depth analysis, offering readers context and clarity on the stories shaping the world.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | WatchIndia Opens DRDO Missile Technologies To Defence Firms In Major Push For Indigenous Production123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits backThese idols are often said to be unsuitable for a home temple, here’s what Hindu traditions and Vastu actually say123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

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A deadly flash flood in Nepal’s Rasuwa district has left at least eight people dead, with 105 Indians among hundreds reported missing.Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah and offered India’s help with rescue and relief efforts after the floods.The US has reportedly asked Ukraine to pause strikes on Moscow and St Petersburg during CIA chief John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia.Jewellery brand GIVA has withdrawn its Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring Kriti Sanon after backlash over her outfit.Police have arrested rifle shooting coach Sadhik Khan in connection with the alleged poisoning death of a woman’s husband and a subsequent family suicide.Here are your top stories of the day. Nepal floods: 105 Indians among hundreds reported missing after deadly flash floodA sudden surge in the Bhote Koshi River swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Wednesday, killing over 30 people and causing extensive damage to roads, bridges, vehicles and hydropower projects. A preliminary list has 384 people missing, including 105 Indians, with many believed to be pilgrims travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra; authorities are investigating whether the flood was triggered by an event on the Tibetan side. Read full story PM Modi speaks to Nepal PM Balendra Shah, offers India’s help after floodsPrime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah and expressed condolences over the loss of lives in the floods. Modi said India was “ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal” and that Indian teams were coordinating with Nepal on rescue and relief efforts as authorities continued operations in the affected areas. Read full storyRussia planning to use nukes? Why CIA chief made ’emergency’ visit to MoscowThe US has reportedly asked Ukraine not to strike Moscow and St Petersburg while CIA Director John Ratcliffe visits Russia, with Kyiv said to have agreed to a temporary pause between August 24 and 26. Ratcliffe is reportedly in Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials amid concerns over further escalation, while the Kremlin has not officially commented on the visit. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesRead full story Kriti Sanon ad row: GIVA withdraws Raksha Bandhan campaign after backlashJewellery brand GIVA has withdrawn its Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring Kriti Sanon after criticism over the actor’s outfit. The brand apologised if the campaign had “inadvertently hurt the sentiments” of some people, while Sanon defended the advertisement and said the festival’s meaning lies in “the emotions and meaning you hold for the traditions”. Read full storyHow a rifle coach came to ‘haunt’ Andhra familyRifle shooting coach Sadhik Khan has been arrested after a woman and her parents died after jumping into the Godavari river in Rajahmundry, while her 10-year-old son survived. Police are investigating allegations in the family’s suicide notes that Khan threatened them and was involved in the alleged poisoning death of the woman’s husband, with investigators examining digital, medical and financial evidence. Read full storyGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | WatchIndia Opens DRDO Missile Technologies To Defence Firms In Major Push For Indigenous Production123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits backThese idols are often said to be unsuitable for a home temple, here’s what Hindu traditions and Vastu actually say123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

A deadly flash flood in Nepal’s Rasuwa district has left at least eight people dead, with 105 Indians among hundreds reported missing.Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah and offered India’s help with rescue and relief efforts after the floods.The US has reportedly asked Ukraine to pause strikes on Moscow and St Petersburg during CIA chief John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia.Jewellery brand GIVA has withdrawn its Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring Kriti Sanon after backlash over her outfit.Police have arrested rifle shooting coach Sadhik Khan in connection with the alleged poisoning death of a woman’s husband and a subsequent family suicide.Here are your top stories of the day. Nepal floods: 105 Indians among hundreds reported missing after deadly flash floodA sudden surge in the Bhote Koshi River swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Wednesday, killing over 30 people and causing extensive damage to roads, bridges, vehicles and hydropower projects. A preliminary list has 384 people missing, including 105 Indians, with many believed to be pilgrims travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra; authorities are investigating whether the flood was triggered by an event on the Tibetan side. Read full story PM Modi speaks to Nepal PM Balendra Shah, offers India’s help after floodsPrime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah and expressed condolences over the loss of lives in the floods. Modi said India was “ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal” and that Indian teams were coordinating with Nepal on rescue and relief efforts as authorities continued operations in the affected areas. Read full storyRussia planning to use nukes? Why CIA chief made ’emergency’ visit to MoscowThe US has reportedly asked Ukraine not to strike Moscow and St Petersburg while CIA Director John Ratcliffe visits Russia, with Kyiv said to have agreed to a temporary pause between August 24 and 26. Ratcliffe is reportedly in Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials amid concerns over further escalation, while the Kremlin has not officially commented on the visit. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesRead full story Kriti Sanon ad row: GIVA withdraws Raksha Bandhan campaign after backlashJewellery brand GIVA has withdrawn its Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring Kriti Sanon after criticism over the actor’s outfit. The brand apologised if the campaign had “inadvertently hurt the sentiments” of some people, while Sanon defended the advertisement and said the festival’s meaning lies in “the emotions and meaning you hold for the traditions”. Read full storyHow a rifle coach came to ‘haunt’ Andhra familyRifle shooting coach Sadhik Khan has been arrested after a woman and her parents died after jumping into the Godavari river in Rajahmundry, while her 10-year-old son survived. Police are investigating allegations in the family’s suicide notes that Khan threatened them and was involved in the alleged poisoning death of the woman’s husband, with investigators examining digital, medical and financial evidence. Read full storyGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | WatchIndia Opens DRDO Missile Technologies To Defence Firms In Major Push For Indigenous Production123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits backThese idols are often said to be unsuitable for a home temple, here’s what Hindu traditions and Vastu actually say123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

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The Nishad community finds itself at the centre of the fish row in Ayodhya ahead of 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. At a time when many Hindu devotees traditionally give up non-vegetarian food during ‘Sawan’, fish has acquired an unlikely political importance in Uttar Pradesh.The row began earlier this month with Uttar Pradesh minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad’s remark that fish cooked without garlic and onion could be considered vegetarian. It escalated on August 23, when a video purportedly showing fish being prepared at a Nishad community event in Ayodhya, attended by UP Congress president Ajay Rai, surfaced on social media.But behind the sparring over what was – or was not – on Rai’s plate lies a larger electoral calculation. The Nishad vote has shifted political loyalties before, and with the BJP seeking to retain its non-Yadav OBC coalition and the opposition trying to prise open that support, the community could once again become an important factor in the 2027 contest.The ‘fish on your plate’ rowThe controversy began earlier this month when Sanjay Nishad said at a programme: “Bina lahsun-pyaz ki bani machhli shakahari hai.”The remark came during Sawan, a month when many Hindu devotees observe dietary restrictions, and quickly attracted attention because of the community he represents. Nishads have historically depended on rivers and water bodies for fishing, fish-rearing, boating and related livelihoods, making food and fishing practices part of a broader social and economic identity.Then came Ayodhya.On August 23, UP Congress president Ajay Rai travelled to Tarun, around 30 km from Ayodhya, after visiting Hanumangarhi, reciting the Hanuman Chalisa and offering prayers at the Ram temple. He attended a programme organised by members of the Nishad community. A video showing fish being prepared at the venue subsequently surfaced.Sanjay Nishad said fish preparation mattered. The timing and location gave the BJP an opening.BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary described the alleged fish feast as “highly condemnable and unforgivable”, while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused Rai of “duplicity” for visiting a temple and then attending a fish feast during Sawan.”You saw the conduct of the Congress state president yesterday. He goes to Hanumangarhi for darshan and, after coming out, enjoys a fish feast and then shouts ‘Ram-Ram’,” Adityanath said.Rai denied eating fish and challenged the CM to produce evidence. “If he can produce any pictures, I will be ready to resign immediately,” he said.Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera defended the hosts, saying they belonged to the Nishad community and had their own traditions of eating and drinking.Later, cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar entered the controversy, backing Nishad’s earlier claim and asking Congress to clarify whether the fish allegedly served at the event had been cooked with garlic and onion.”Sanjay Nishad machhli ke mahir hain, unhe zyada jaankari hai, hum thode kam hain,” Rajbhar said.The political argument, however, goes well beyond the menu at one event. The larger story is the political importance of the community that hosted it.Ajay Rai dared CM Yogi Adityanath to provide evidence. Nishads — the ‘jal kisans’The Nishads are a cluster of riverine communities whose traditional livelihoods have been closely tied to rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Community organisations have increasingly used the term ‘jal kisan’, or water farmers, to describe this relationship.Fishing, fish-rearing, boating and the sale of fish have historically been central to these communities’ economic lives. Questions over access to water bodies, fishing rights, sand mining and regulation of traditional occupations therefore have a direct political resonance.The term Nishad is also used as an umbrella for several communities and sub-castes, including Mallah, Kewat, Bind, Kashyap, Dhimar, Batham, Kahar, Manjhi and Turaha. Not all of these communities necessarily identify themselves as Nishad in the same way.Organiser of the event defended the decision to keep fish in the menu. In Uttar Pradesh, Nishads are classified among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).Political estimates put the core Nishad population at around 4.5-5 per cent of the state’s electorate. Estimates that include a wider set of related riverine communities put their combined share considerably higher.There is no recent official caste census providing a definitive figure, but the community’s electoral importance comes less from its statewide percentage than from its concentration.Nishad voters have a significant presence across the Ganga-Yamuna belt and eastern Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Ballia, Mau, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Jaunpur and Prayagraj, besides parts of Sultanpur and Fatehpur.The community is considered electorally influential in more than 160 Assembly constituencies, with around 80 seats often identified as having a particularly substantial Nishad presence.That geographical concentration explains why a community accounting for a relatively small share of the state’s electorate can command such political attention.Estimated data based on reports. Nishadraj and Ekalavya: The epic roots of identityThe Nishad political identity is also deeply connected to stories from the Hindu epics.In the Ramayana, Nishadraj Guha, the boatman-king, is described as an ally of Ram during his exile. Guha receives Ram, Sita and Lakshman and helps them cross the Ganga.The 51-foot-high statue of Lord Ram and Nishadraj at Shringverpur Dham, 40 km from Prayagraj. For the Nishad community, the story has long been invoked as a marker of their place within the Ram narrative — not as an identity created by contemporary politics, but as an older cultural association that acquired renewed political meaning during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.The community also invokes Ekalavya from the Mahabharata, who is traditionally identified as belonging to the Nishad community. His story – of a skilled archer seeking to learn from Dronacharya and ultimately giving his thumb as guru dakshina – has come to represent a different strand of Nishad memory: talent, exclusion and the struggle for recognition.The two figures capture contrasting elements of the community’s epic imagination: Nishadraj represents proximity to and loyalty towards Ram, while Ekalavya represents ability denied recognition.These narratives have subsequently been woven into the community’s assertion of a distinct historical and social identity.The Ram Janmabhoomi movementSections of the community found their cultural resonance in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.As the campaign for a Ram temple in Ayodhya gathered momentum in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nishad organisations and leaders participated in the wider mobilisation. The story of Nishadraj Guha gave the movement an immediate cultural connection for sections of the community, while the broader call for ‘Ram Rajya’ resonated with those who saw the temple campaign as a civilisational and cultural cause.The political landscape changed sharply after BJP leader LK Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra in 1990, which transformed the temple issue into a mass political movement. The demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, further entrenched Ayodhya as a defining issue in BJP politics.Source: Centre for Study of Developing Societies Lokniti. As the BJP expanded its support among non-Yadav OBC communities, sections of the Nishad community also moved towards the party.But that support did not become a permanent political contract.From support to sense of being left behindAmong sections of Nishad political opinion, a recurring grievance emerged: the community had supported the Ram movement but did not receive a commensurate political return.The complaint has, at various points, extended to BJP leaders associated with the Ram movement, including Advani and former UP CM Kalyan Singh, with Nishad voices arguing that their support for the Ram cause did not translate into adequate representation or resolution of longstanding demands regarding representation and farming on the riverside.In the coming years, the same community that participated in the Ram movement subsequently moved towards the Samajwadi Party, created its own political organisation and entered into an alliance with the BJP.That fluidity became particularly visible in the 1990s.Phoolan Devi and politics of representationBefore the emergence of the Nishad Party, the strongest political association for sections of the community came through the social-justice politics of the Samajwadi Party.Phoolan Devi became the most recognisable symbol of that phase.A Mallah woman from Uttar Pradesh, Phoolan Devi contested the Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat on an SP ticket in 1996 and won. She retained the seat in 1999.SP has given key post to Phoolan Devi’s sister ahead of 2027 polls.Her rise gave the community an unusually prominent political figure and turned caste identity into a language of representation.Her political legacy continues to be invoked in Uttar Pradesh.Nishad Party enters equationThe next major shift came in 2016, when Sanjay Nishad founded the Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal, popularly known as the Nishad Party.The party sought to consolidate riverine communities and give political expression to demands involving reservation, representation, fishing rights and livelihoods.Its first major electoral breakthrough came in an unlikely place.In the March 2018 Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll, Praveen Nishad, Sanjay Nishad’s son, contested as an SP-backed candidate and defeated the BJP.The result was politically significant because Gorakhpur had been Yogi Adityanath’s parliamentary stronghold for five consecutive terms.The defeat demonstrated that the BJP’s support among non-Yadav OBC communities could be disrupted when Nishad mobilisation combined with the SP’s wider social coalition.But the equation soon changed again.Before the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Nishad Party moved into the BJP-led NDA. Praveen Nishad joined the BJP and contested the Sant Kabir Nagar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket, winning the election.The BJP-Nishad Party alliance became an important part of the BJP’s strategy to consolidate non-Yadav OBC support in eastern Uttar Pradesh.2019 and 2022: Alliance and the unfinished bargainThe BJP and Nishad Party continued their alliance into the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.The BJP won 255 seats, while the Nishad Party won six. The NDA retained power with 273 seats in the 403-member assembly.For the BJP, the alliance helped reinforce its eastern Uttar Pradesh coalition.For Sanjay Nishad, however, being part of the government brought a different problem: once an ally enters government, its demands are increasingly judged against what it can actually secure from that government.The biggest unresolved issue remained the demand for Scheduled Caste status for sections of the Nishad community.Sanjay Nishad has repeatedly pressed the BJP government on the demand.On August 18, 2026, just months before the 2027 elections, he escalated the issue again, saying he was prepared to give up his ministerial position if necessary.His friction with the BJP had also become visible after the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when he blamed BJP leaders for his son Praveen Nishad’s defeat in Sant Kabir Nagar.Praveen, who contested the seat on a BJP ticket, lost to the Samajwadi Party’s Laxmikant Pappu Nishad.The result was another reminder that a BJP-Nishad Party alliance does not necessarily translate into a uniform Nishad vote.SP and Congress try to prise open BJP’s baseThat fluidity is what the opposition is trying to exploit ahead of 2027.In March 2026, it appointed Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti as chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission. The move came alongside the BJP’s continuing alliance with the Nishad Party.The SP responded by appointing Phoolan Devi’s sister, 67-year-old Rukmini Devi, as president of the party’s Uttar Pradesh women’s wing. The appointment was seen as part of Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA — Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak — outreach ahead of the 2027 election.Rukmini Devi subsequently attacked Sanjay Nishad, questioning what he had delivered for the community while being part of the government.The appointments show that the competition for the Nishad vote is not merely about alliances. It is a contest over who represents the community’s political memory.Congress, on the other hand, has a more difficult task because its organisational presence among Nishads is weaker.Its August outreach in Tarun was therefore significant. Ajay Rai’s visit to the Nishad community programme was an attempt to establish a direct connection with the community.The party’s subsequent defence of the event, that the hosts were Nishads with their own food traditions, also allowed Congress to frame the controversy around community identity and traditional livelihoods rather than solely religious conduct.For the SP and Congress, the broader argument is that the Nishad vote is not synonymous with the Nishad Party.The VIP factorThe Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Bihar-based Nishad leader Mukesh Sahani, adds another layer to this contest.VIP entered Uttar Pradesh politics in the 2022 assembly election, seeking support among Nishads and other Extremely Backward Classes, particularly in Purvanchal.The party did not emerge as a major electoral force, but its campaign showed how smaller caste-based parties can complicate a close contest.VIP contested more than 100 seats, primarily in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and said its candidates polled more votes than Congress candidates in 15 constituencies, including Bairia, Bansdih, Phephna, Alapur, Jalalpur, Ghanghata, Balha, Shahganj and Kerakat.Its relationship with the BJP has been politically fluid rather than a straightforward alliance in Uttar Pradesh.Sahani has been a vocal critic of the BJP at various points. However, in neighbouring Bihar where the Nishads remain relevant across the seats in the Ganga area, his political trajectory has repeatedly shifted. VIP contested as part of the opposition Mahagathbandhan in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, switched to the NDA for the 2020 Bihar assembly election (winning 4 seats and entering the cabinet), but was dropped from the NDA in 2022 after contesting against the BJP in UP. In last year’s Bihar polls, his party failed to secure any seat.However, in upcoming polls in UP, a few thousand votes in its favour can alter the results in close constituencies.The 2027 questionThe fish controversy may fade, but the political question it has exposed is unlikely to disappear.The BJP has the advantage of a long association with the Ram movement, an established organisational network and an alliance with the Nishad Party.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe SP is seeking to revive the community’s social-justice connection through Phoolan Devi’s political legacy and the PDA framework.Congress is attempting to build a direct relationship with Nishad voters, while smaller parties such as VIP can potentially fragment the vote.For the Nishads themselves, however, the choice is unlikely to be framed around a single issue.Their political history has moved from the epic memory of Nishadraj and Ekalavya, to participation in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, to the social-justice politics associated with Phoolan Devi, to the rise of the Nishad Party, its alliance with the BJP and subsequent friction over representation and reservation.The lesson from that history is clear: the Nishad vote has never been permanently owned by one party.In 2027, the contest will be over whether Ram and the BJP’s organisational alliance can outweigh demands for reservation, representation and livelihoods – and whether the opposition can convert those demands into votes.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorPallaviNews desk journalist, digital, at The Times of India, with a focus on Indian politics. Over a decade of chasing stories, taming headlines and arguing with commas like they’re part of the opposition. Tracks elections, policy pivots, party drama and the fine print of power, where every word can tilt the narrative. Believes good journalism is clarity under pressure, ideally filed before the next breaking alert crashes in. Powered by deadlines, context, sharp edits and a steady supply of strong tea.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | WatchIndia Opens DRDO Missile Technologies To Defence Firms In Major Push For Indigenous Production123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits backThese idols are often said to be unsuitable for a home temple, here’s what Hindu traditions and Vastu actually say123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

The Nishad community finds itself at the centre of the fish row in Ayodhya ahead of 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. At a time when many Hindu devotees traditionally give up non-vegetarian food during ‘Sawan’, fish has acquired an unlikely political importance in Uttar Pradesh.The row began earlier this month with Uttar Pradesh minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad’s remark that fish cooked without garlic and onion could be considered vegetarian. It escalated on August 23, when a video purportedly showing fish being prepared at a Nishad community event in Ayodhya, attended by UP Congress president Ajay Rai, surfaced on social media.But behind the sparring over what was – or was not – on Rai’s plate lies a larger electoral calculation. The Nishad vote has shifted political loyalties before, and with the BJP seeking to retain its non-Yadav OBC coalition and the opposition trying to prise open that support, the community could once again become an important factor in the 2027 contest.The ‘fish on your plate’ rowThe controversy began earlier this month when Sanjay Nishad said at a programme: “Bina lahsun-pyaz ki bani machhli shakahari hai.”The remark came during Sawan, a month when many Hindu devotees observe dietary restrictions, and quickly attracted attention because of the community he represents. Nishads have historically depended on rivers and water bodies for fishing, fish-rearing, boating and related livelihoods, making food and fishing practices part of a broader social and economic identity.Then came Ayodhya.On August 23, UP Congress president Ajay Rai travelled to Tarun, around 30 km from Ayodhya, after visiting Hanumangarhi, reciting the Hanuman Chalisa and offering prayers at the Ram temple. He attended a programme organised by members of the Nishad community. A video showing fish being prepared at the venue subsequently surfaced.Sanjay Nishad said fish preparation mattered. The timing and location gave the BJP an opening.BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary described the alleged fish feast as “highly condemnable and unforgivable”, while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused Rai of “duplicity” for visiting a temple and then attending a fish feast during Sawan.”You saw the conduct of the Congress state president yesterday. He goes to Hanumangarhi for darshan and, after coming out, enjoys a fish feast and then shouts ‘Ram-Ram’,” Adityanath said.Rai denied eating fish and challenged the CM to produce evidence. “If he can produce any pictures, I will be ready to resign immediately,” he said.Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera defended the hosts, saying they belonged to the Nishad community and had their own traditions of eating and drinking.Later, cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar entered the controversy, backing Nishad’s earlier claim and asking Congress to clarify whether the fish allegedly served at the event had been cooked with garlic and onion.”Sanjay Nishad machhli ke mahir hain, unhe zyada jaankari hai, hum thode kam hain,” Rajbhar said.The political argument, however, goes well beyond the menu at one event. The larger story is the political importance of the community that hosted it.Ajay Rai dared CM Yogi Adityanath to provide evidence. Nishads — the ‘jal kisans’The Nishads are a cluster of riverine communities whose traditional livelihoods have been closely tied to rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Community organisations have increasingly used the term ‘jal kisan’, or water farmers, to describe this relationship.Fishing, fish-rearing, boating and the sale of fish have historically been central to these communities’ economic lives. Questions over access to water bodies, fishing rights, sand mining and regulation of traditional occupations therefore have a direct political resonance.The term Nishad is also used as an umbrella for several communities and sub-castes, including Mallah, Kewat, Bind, Kashyap, Dhimar, Batham, Kahar, Manjhi and Turaha. Not all of these communities necessarily identify themselves as Nishad in the same way.Organiser of the event defended the decision to keep fish in the menu. In Uttar Pradesh, Nishads are classified among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).Political estimates put the core Nishad population at around 4.5-5 per cent of the state’s electorate. Estimates that include a wider set of related riverine communities put their combined share considerably higher.There is no recent official caste census providing a definitive figure, but the community’s electoral importance comes less from its statewide percentage than from its concentration.Nishad voters have a significant presence across the Ganga-Yamuna belt and eastern Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Ballia, Mau, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Jaunpur and Prayagraj, besides parts of Sultanpur and Fatehpur.The community is considered electorally influential in more than 160 Assembly constituencies, with around 80 seats often identified as having a particularly substantial Nishad presence.That geographical concentration explains why a community accounting for a relatively small share of the state’s electorate can command such political attention.Estimated data based on reports. Nishadraj and Ekalavya: The epic roots of identityThe Nishad political identity is also deeply connected to stories from the Hindu epics.In the Ramayana, Nishadraj Guha, the boatman-king, is described as an ally of Ram during his exile. Guha receives Ram, Sita and Lakshman and helps them cross the Ganga.The 51-foot-high statue of Lord Ram and Nishadraj at Shringverpur Dham, 40 km from Prayagraj. For the Nishad community, the story has long been invoked as a marker of their place within the Ram narrative — not as an identity created by contemporary politics, but as an older cultural association that acquired renewed political meaning during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.The community also invokes Ekalavya from the Mahabharata, who is traditionally identified as belonging to the Nishad community. His story – of a skilled archer seeking to learn from Dronacharya and ultimately giving his thumb as guru dakshina – has come to represent a different strand of Nishad memory: talent, exclusion and the struggle for recognition.The two figures capture contrasting elements of the community’s epic imagination: Nishadraj represents proximity to and loyalty towards Ram, while Ekalavya represents ability denied recognition.These narratives have subsequently been woven into the community’s assertion of a distinct historical and social identity.The Ram Janmabhoomi movementSections of the community found their cultural resonance in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.As the campaign for a Ram temple in Ayodhya gathered momentum in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nishad organisations and leaders participated in the wider mobilisation. The story of Nishadraj Guha gave the movement an immediate cultural connection for sections of the community, while the broader call for ‘Ram Rajya’ resonated with those who saw the temple campaign as a civilisational and cultural cause.The political landscape changed sharply after BJP leader LK Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra in 1990, which transformed the temple issue into a mass political movement. The demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, further entrenched Ayodhya as a defining issue in BJP politics.Source: Centre for Study of Developing Societies Lokniti. As the BJP expanded its support among non-Yadav OBC communities, sections of the Nishad community also moved towards the party.But that support did not become a permanent political contract.From support to sense of being left behindAmong sections of Nishad political opinion, a recurring grievance emerged: the community had supported the Ram movement but did not receive a commensurate political return.The complaint has, at various points, extended to BJP leaders associated with the Ram movement, including Advani and former UP CM Kalyan Singh, with Nishad voices arguing that their support for the Ram cause did not translate into adequate representation or resolution of longstanding demands regarding representation and farming on the riverside.In the coming years, the same community that participated in the Ram movement subsequently moved towards the Samajwadi Party, created its own political organisation and entered into an alliance with the BJP.That fluidity became particularly visible in the 1990s.Phoolan Devi and politics of representationBefore the emergence of the Nishad Party, the strongest political association for sections of the community came through the social-justice politics of the Samajwadi Party.Phoolan Devi became the most recognisable symbol of that phase.A Mallah woman from Uttar Pradesh, Phoolan Devi contested the Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat on an SP ticket in 1996 and won. She retained the seat in 1999.SP has given key post to Phoolan Devi’s sister ahead of 2027 polls.Her rise gave the community an unusually prominent political figure and turned caste identity into a language of representation.Her political legacy continues to be invoked in Uttar Pradesh.Nishad Party enters equationThe next major shift came in 2016, when Sanjay Nishad founded the Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal, popularly known as the Nishad Party.The party sought to consolidate riverine communities and give political expression to demands involving reservation, representation, fishing rights and livelihoods.Its first major electoral breakthrough came in an unlikely place.In the March 2018 Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll, Praveen Nishad, Sanjay Nishad’s son, contested as an SP-backed candidate and defeated the BJP.The result was politically significant because Gorakhpur had been Yogi Adityanath’s parliamentary stronghold for five consecutive terms.The defeat demonstrated that the BJP’s support among non-Yadav OBC communities could be disrupted when Nishad mobilisation combined with the SP’s wider social coalition.But the equation soon changed again.Before the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Nishad Party moved into the BJP-led NDA. Praveen Nishad joined the BJP and contested the Sant Kabir Nagar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket, winning the election.The BJP-Nishad Party alliance became an important part of the BJP’s strategy to consolidate non-Yadav OBC support in eastern Uttar Pradesh.2019 and 2022: Alliance and the unfinished bargainThe BJP and Nishad Party continued their alliance into the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.The BJP won 255 seats, while the Nishad Party won six. The NDA retained power with 273 seats in the 403-member assembly.For the BJP, the alliance helped reinforce its eastern Uttar Pradesh coalition.For Sanjay Nishad, however, being part of the government brought a different problem: once an ally enters government, its demands are increasingly judged against what it can actually secure from that government.The biggest unresolved issue remained the demand for Scheduled Caste status for sections of the Nishad community.Sanjay Nishad has repeatedly pressed the BJP government on the demand.On August 18, 2026, just months before the 2027 elections, he escalated the issue again, saying he was prepared to give up his ministerial position if necessary.His friction with the BJP had also become visible after the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when he blamed BJP leaders for his son Praveen Nishad’s defeat in Sant Kabir Nagar.Praveen, who contested the seat on a BJP ticket, lost to the Samajwadi Party’s Laxmikant Pappu Nishad.The result was another reminder that a BJP-Nishad Party alliance does not necessarily translate into a uniform Nishad vote.SP and Congress try to prise open BJP’s baseThat fluidity is what the opposition is trying to exploit ahead of 2027.In March 2026, it appointed Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti as chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission. The move came alongside the BJP’s continuing alliance with the Nishad Party.The SP responded by appointing Phoolan Devi’s sister, 67-year-old Rukmini Devi, as president of the party’s Uttar Pradesh women’s wing. The appointment was seen as part of Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA — Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak — outreach ahead of the 2027 election.Rukmini Devi subsequently attacked Sanjay Nishad, questioning what he had delivered for the community while being part of the government.The appointments show that the competition for the Nishad vote is not merely about alliances. It is a contest over who represents the community’s political memory.Congress, on the other hand, has a more difficult task because its organisational presence among Nishads is weaker.Its August outreach in Tarun was therefore significant. Ajay Rai’s visit to the Nishad community programme was an attempt to establish a direct connection with the community.The party’s subsequent defence of the event, that the hosts were Nishads with their own food traditions, also allowed Congress to frame the controversy around community identity and traditional livelihoods rather than solely religious conduct.For the SP and Congress, the broader argument is that the Nishad vote is not synonymous with the Nishad Party.The VIP factorThe Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Bihar-based Nishad leader Mukesh Sahani, adds another layer to this contest.VIP entered Uttar Pradesh politics in the 2022 assembly election, seeking support among Nishads and other Extremely Backward Classes, particularly in Purvanchal.The party did not emerge as a major electoral force, but its campaign showed how smaller caste-based parties can complicate a close contest.VIP contested more than 100 seats, primarily in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and said its candidates polled more votes than Congress candidates in 15 constituencies, including Bairia, Bansdih, Phephna, Alapur, Jalalpur, Ghanghata, Balha, Shahganj and Kerakat.Its relationship with the BJP has been politically fluid rather than a straightforward alliance in Uttar Pradesh.Sahani has been a vocal critic of the BJP at various points. However, in neighbouring Bihar where the Nishads remain relevant across the seats in the Ganga area, his political trajectory has repeatedly shifted. VIP contested as part of the opposition Mahagathbandhan in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, switched to the NDA for the 2020 Bihar assembly election (winning 4 seats and entering the cabinet), but was dropped from the NDA in 2022 after contesting against the BJP in UP. In last year’s Bihar polls, his party failed to secure any seat.However, in upcoming polls in UP, a few thousand votes in its favour can alter the results in close constituencies.The 2027 questionThe fish controversy may fade, but the political question it has exposed is unlikely to disappear.The BJP has the advantage of a long association with the Ram movement, an established organisational network and an alliance with the Nishad Party.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe SP is seeking to revive the community’s social-justice connection through Phoolan Devi’s political legacy and the PDA framework.Congress is attempting to build a direct relationship with Nishad voters, while smaller parties such as VIP can potentially fragment the vote.For the Nishads themselves, however, the choice is unlikely to be framed around a single issue.Their political history has moved from the epic memory of Nishadraj and Ekalavya, to participation in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, to the social-justice politics associated with Phoolan Devi, to the rise of the Nishad Party, its alliance with the BJP and subsequent friction over representation and reservation.The lesson from that history is clear: the Nishad vote has never been permanently owned by one party.In 2027, the contest will be over whether Ram and the BJP’s organisational alliance can outweigh demands for reservation, representation and livelihoods – and whether the opposition can convert those demands into votes.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorPallaviNews desk journalist, digital, at The Times of India, with a focus on Indian politics. Over a decade of chasing stories, taming headlines and arguing with commas like they’re part of the opposition. Tracks elections, policy pivots, party drama and the fine print of power, where every word can tilt the narrative. Believes good journalism is clarity under pressure, ideally filed before the next breaking alert crashes in. Powered by deadlines, context, sharp edits and a steady supply of strong tea.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos105 Indians Missing In Nepal Flash Floods; Tibet-Side Surge Leaves Eight Dead | Watch‘Big Reveal’ Or Big Scam? August 25 Insta Account Make Hype Sparks ₹8.5 Crore Scam Row’Hijab On Heads, Not Minds’: Owaisi Calls Allahabad High Court Ruling ‘Attack On Islam’‘Do We Need A 4th-Party Audit?’: PM Modi Raps Secretaries, Flags Quality Issues In Public ProjectsAhmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Cost Revised To Rs 2 Lakh Crore, Nearly 2x Of Original EstimateGovt Seeks 2 Years To Frame OBC Creamy Layer Criteria For PSU, Private Staff KidsPakistan Tried Chinese Satellites For Op Sindoor Evidence But Failed, Says Ex-CDS Anil ChauhanPak’s Nuke Storage Area Kirana Hills Hit In Op Sindoor? Ex-cds Anil Chauhan Reveals Shocking DetailsBihar BPSC Protest Explodes In Patna As Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons | WatchIndia Opens DRDO Missile Technologies To Defence Firms In Major Push For Indigenous Production123PhotostoriesRaksha Bandhan 2026: 10 beautiful mehendi designs to elevate your Rakhi lookTired of lemons going dry or mouldy? Here’s how to store them the right wayFrom washing dishes for Rs 1,800 to being asked to return to work after a miscarriage and later being fired after pregnancy: When Smriti Irani opened up about her struggles5 jewellery gifts your sister will love showing off this Raksha BandhanWhat is skin cycling: Trend or science?What happens when you place tissue paper in an electric sandwich maker: 3 smart ways to clean itRaksha Bandhan 2026: Gift ideas for your sibling based on their birth numberPut aluminium foil in your freezer: The surprisingly useful kitchen hack people swear byFrom denying ex-GF Himanshi Khurana’s conversion allegations and calling her a ‘Fame Digger’ to referring to Paras Chhabra as a ‘fat Pig’: Asim Riaz hits backThese idols are often said to be unsuitable for a home temple, here’s what Hindu traditions and Vastu actually say123Hot PicksSchool holidays todayBank holiday todayBSE holiday todayKerala name changeICSI CS june resultNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuVenkata Narasamamba VasamsettyNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingAndhra Pradesh Woman Deportation CaseSuresh GowdaHyderabad AccidentIIT Delhi Student DeathBihar Dolphin NewsMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentKangana RanautMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

Vamsikrishna 0