The Bandit Queen - Phoolan Devi

Phoolan Devi was “walking tall, taunting them all, answering the call…with her rifle by her side.” So goes a popular Indian song honoring the country’s “Bandit Queen.” Phoolan, born to a lower caste family in India, suffered humiliation and abuse as a child at the hands of a higher caste landlord and a village that wouldn’t accept her refusal at age ten to marry a man 20 years older. Phoolan was kidnapped by a group of bandits in Uttar Pradesh, who repeatedly raped her and threatened to cut off her nose. Her family could get no help from the authorities for their rebellious daughter.

Eventually, Phoolan, a woman of charisma and strength, took charge of the gang and executed the men who had raped her. Under Phoolan’s leadership, the gang became modern-day Robin Hoods, giving stolen goods to elderly and impoverished Indians and garnering the adoration of millions of oppressed Indians. Statues of Phoolan and songs about her exploits made her a national figure, and Indians supported her even after she carried out a revenge shooting in 1981 of 22 higher caste village men who had abused her. Phoolan surrendered in 1983 in front of thousands and spent 11 years in prison. Released in 1994, she became a Buddhist convert and in 1995 launched a new political party in support of the lower castes.

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