The Nishads are an ancient caste, with them marking a presence in the Rig Veda. They find multiple mentions in the Ramayana and the Mahabharat as well.
The word ‘ni’ means water and ‘shad’ means ruler. Hence Nishads are the ‘rulers of the waters’. Yet, the British marked them as a ‘caste of boatmen and fishermen, who also engaged in banditry and thefts’.
Since they have traditionally lived near water, they are found in all states which have rivers or coasts. Thus, Nishads are also found in Goa as Nayaks, in Kerala as Menugara and in Meghalaya as Jhalo.
Maharsishi Ved Vyas, the creator of the Mahabharata, was also a Nishad. In their previous lives, Nishads were believed to be turtles, and it was by touching the toes of Lord Vishnu that they were blessed with human form.
Nishads claim a natural affinity with Brahmins. For it was their ancestors who helped Raja Ram cross rivers when he started on his journey into the forest upon banishment.
Under the umbrella term Nishad, they bear many titles. Phoolan Devi, for instance, was a Nishad and the caste she used was Mallah (boatmen). Kewat, Sahani, Kashyap, Raikwar are some of the other names they use.
In Uttar Pradesh, they are under the Other Backward Castes category- a category they want changed to Scheduled Castes. They believe this would help their low social and economic parameters. This flagging of a caste identity to further the social and economic goals of a community is a comment on the larger failure of the development agenda which then pushes castes to hold on to their religious identities to make a political mark for themselves, and thus seek better opportunities through the political power they then won.
The Nishad vote bank accounts for 12 per cent and they are spread over one dozen Lok Sabha constituencies. However, their vote is split internally. There is the Nishad Party of Sanjay Nishad and there is the Vikashsheel Insaan Party of Mukesh Sahani- also of the same caste. Both are pitching themselves as key players in the forthcoming elections.
Parties recognise their importance. Thus, the BJP sent Jai Prakash Nishad to the Rajya Sabha while SP sent Vishambhar Prasad Nishad to the house. The chairperson of the SP’s Backward Classes Morcha is also a Nishad- Rajpal Kashyap. The Congress had undertaken a ‘nadi adhikar yatra’ in the beginning of the year to understand the issues of the community.
