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| Phoolan Devi, Bandit queen, India www.weinspirelife.com |
Born in a poor low caste family and raised by her parents to respect higher caste people, Phoolan Devi had led a quiet, normal life. That peaceful life did not last long. Married off when she was barely 11 to an old man (20 years older to her), she went through a series of worst misfortunes in her life such as raping by her husband, prison life, raping by jailers, etc. The society had been extremely cruel to her far beyond her capacity to endure it. With pains and sufferings frozen into her subconscious mind, she fought it back courageously by taking to violence after her early jail life.
Above image: Phoolan Devi is being treated as a celebrated heroine by the much maligned upper castes. For instance, the Rotary Club of Delhi invited her to give speeches...............
After some initial troubles and struggles, she joined a gang led by one Vikram Mallah with whom she fell in love. After learning to handle rifles, in the next few years she looted the high caste people's houses, trains, kidnapped people for ransom, etc. She would share the spoils of the loots with the poor. Mostly she operated across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. She never spared her estranged husband who raped her repeatedly when she was just 11 years old in spite of protests. She stabbed him and left him to bleed right before the villagers. She took to vigilante justice to punish her enemies. In Behmai village at a wedding party of a family connected with Vikram's death, her gang shot 20 people dead on 14th February, 1981. Her notoriety became a talk of the people in that region. Poolan Devi told the police
that she had nothing to do with the wedding party killings. In the 1980s her name struck terror and she was called the Bandit Queen. Her hideout is the Chambal valley, a vast area that has lots of ravines and caves in the wooded areas. It is a tough task for the cops to get them because the hideouts have lots of escape routes. It is a tough, rugged terrain. Further, there were no whistle blowers to help the police department to give information. The villagers were not cooperative with the police either.
After long persuasion and discussion Phoolan Devi surrendered to the Madhya Pradesh Government in February, 1983 in the presence of prominent leaders and social reformers. She was charged with numerous crimes of dacoity, robbery and kidnapping. Considering her pathetic childhood, she was given 11 year jail term and sent to Gwalior jail, and then later to Tehar jail, Delhi. Her trial in the court was delayed for a pretty long time and in 1994 she was released on parole. After several representations from various quarters, the new government in consultation with the judiciary and police, released her from all charges so that she could start her life afresh.
Phoolan Devi joined the Samajwadi party in 1996 and in the same yrar and in 1999 she became an MP through parliamentary election. She served the poor people well as promised on her campaign trails and as a responsible parliamentarian she worked hard, though she was an illiterate.
On 25th July 2001, Phoolan Devi was shot dead by
a gunmen outside her residence in New Delhi. The accused Sher Singh Rana
surrendered to the police and admitted that he killed Phoolan Devi to avenge the
death of the high caste men she and her gang had shot dead at a wedding ceremony in Behmai.
An unfortunate woman who took to violence to avenge the people who gave her the worst problems one can ever think of and ultimately her life ended in violence when she had begun to stride the right path.
“I was born into violence, I will die in violence. This is my fate”.
........................ Phoolan Devi
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoolan_Devi
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| Phoolan Devi a celebrated heroine .people.virginia.edu |
After some initial troubles and struggles, she joined a gang led by one Vikram Mallah with whom she fell in love. After learning to handle rifles, in the next few years she looted the high caste people's houses, trains, kidnapped people for ransom, etc. She would share the spoils of the loots with the poor. Mostly she operated across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. She never spared her estranged husband who raped her repeatedly when she was just 11 years old in spite of protests. She stabbed him and left him to bleed right before the villagers. She took to vigilante justice to punish her enemies. In Behmai village at a wedding party of a family connected with Vikram's death, her gang shot 20 people dead on 14th February, 1981. Her notoriety became a talk of the people in that region. Poolan Devi told the police
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| political banditos? sanjaymehta.m |
political banditos? sanjaymehta.m |
| Left. Phoolan Devi; Tight: her killer. www.amarujala.com |
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| Phoolan devi, Bandit queen-turened politician. indpaedia.com |
An unfortunate woman who took to violence to avenge the people who gave her the worst problems one can ever think of and ultimately her life ended in violence when she had begun to stride the right path.
“I was born into violence, I will die in violence. This is my fate”.
........................ Phoolan Devi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoolan_Devi
