Born to the untouchable caste of people in the village of Ghura Ka Purwa, India, in 1963, Phoolan Devi was raised by parents of polar opposites. Her mother taught her to stand up for herself and have pride of self; her father was devout to his religion and wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs. Her family made bad investments, and was cheated by her uncle, and due to their money issues, they were forced to work her uncle’s farm.
By age eleven, Phoolan was married off to a man in his forties. Even though she was a child, she was forced to do whatever her husband wanted her to do. Because his abuse was so brutal, Phoolan would run away only to be caught again several times. Finally, Phoolan was abandoned and she returned home.
Village Drama
Due to unwanted attention from the villagers, and because of her ‘used’ status and abandonment by her husband, the son of one of the leaders, or Sarpanch, of the village raped Phoolan in her home. She reported it to a neighboring gang that wanted to overthrow the Sarpanch. This enacted the revenge she sought for, but destroyed any respect her family might have had.
All of this attention was too much for Phoolan, so she left her village again, swearing never to return. The son of the Sarpanch was so infuriated that she escaped, that twice she was faced with imprisonment and the fear that her parents would be harmed.
The Queen of the Bandits
In Ghura Ka Purwa after she met bail, Phoolan‘s life became even more complicated. While living with her parents, the villagers made it unbearable to handle the verbal abuse. One night, a gang of men cam and took her from her home. The gang leader repeatedly tried to rape her, and his deputy killed him to protect her. The deputy then took the leadership of the gang, and Phoolan fell in love with him, married him and embraced the gang lifestyle.
The gang fought caste wars, meaning they fought the upper castes because they were of the mallah or untouchable class. Her second husband gave Phoolan the chance to enact her revenge on those whom hurt her. This list included her first husband, the Sarpanch and his son, and a police officer who helped rape her years before.
As a turf war erupted, the leader Phoolan loved was shot and killed. She was sedated, stolen and raped by the rival gang for weeks. When she was able to escape, she swore to harden herself, making herself like a man, and fighting until her death in the name of justice. Phoolan formed her own gang, and went on a spree to kill any abusing men and punish any one who was hiding a abuser. Her spree ended after twenty-two men were dead, and she went on the run. After two years, she surrendered and she was held in jail for eleven years.
After her release from jail in 1996, Phoolan was elected into the Lower House of Parliament. Her campaign was for women’s rights and lower caste issues. Even though she was uneducated, Phoolan tried her best to stop the brutality against women and lower caste issues. In 2001, at the age of thirty-seven, Phoolan was assassinated outside of her highly secure compound. Because of her desire for justice, Phoolan Devi is still seen as an iconic hero to the oppressed masses in contemporary Indian culture.
Sources:
- Sen, Mala. (1993). India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi. London, England: Pandora.
- Stradling, Jan. (2008). Bad Girls: The Most Powerful, Shocking, Amazing, Thrilling & Dangerous Women of all Time. New York, New York: Metro Books.
Maureen Zieber - I currently hold a Bachelor's Degree in World History, and Women's Studies, with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Delaware, ...
