India, May 25 -- One of the most effective ways of leveraging caste in Indian politics is by appealing to community identity and pride. Community identity and pride, in turn, are consolidated by the invocation of icons, symbols, heroes, and histories.

Recently, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, unveiled a statue of Dalit icon Veera Pasi in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Pasi was a hero of the 1857 uprising against the British. Many see Gandhi's move as an attempt to mobilise Dalit pride in his parliamentary constituency, for electoral gains in next year's assembly elections in the state.

Pasi, who served as the commander of Rana Beni Madhav Singh of the Shankarpur estate in Raebareli, is celebrated...