Who is Phoolan Devi

Late bandit turned politician Phoolan Devi was born in extreme poverty in rural India. Disadvantaged not only by poverty but her low caste and her gender, she experienced heartbreaking and almost unimaginable pain and hardship in her short life.

She was married at only eleven to a cruel and abusive man three times her age -an event she believes ruined her life. During her marriage she was treated little better than a slave, beaten and raped regularly. The marriage ended when her husband abandoned her. Sadly this was not the end of her suffering. Her abandonment brought 'dishonour' to both her and her family. As a result of this, her low caste and refusal to accept her mistreatment she was a target for constant abuse and harassment from the higher caste men in her village. The harassment culminated in her being framed for stealing and jailed for twenty days.

At age twenty she was kidnapped and abused by a gang of dacoits (bandits). Despite her harsh treatment she eventually became a fully fledged and enthusiastic dacoit herself. Like Robin Hood she stole from the highest and gave to the lowest. In fact the overriding motive in her criminal exploits was to seek justice for herself and those like her by any means necessary.

She became the lover of one of the dacoits and together they led they gang until her lover was killed by two higher caste members of the gang. This lead to perhaps the most traumatic event of Devi's life when she was subjected to a barbaric, public and brutal series of rapes, assaults and public humiliations by her fellow dacoits.

Characteristically Phoolan took revenge in spectacular style, returning to the scene of her humiliation with the gang she now led and shot dead twenty of the men who'd participated in the assault.

To say Phoolan was by now causing great embarrassment to the authorities is something of an understatement. Having become the subject of the most extensive (wo)manhunt India has ever seen Devi proved adept at evading capture. So much so that in the end the authorities allowed her to give herself up on her own terms.

Despite this Phoolan was never brought to trial as a result of disagreements between the states where her crimes were committed and changes of national government. She served eleven years whilst awaiting trial.

Phoolan's political career which started in 1996 was never as spectacular as her early life with many feeling disappointed in her. However it is worth remembering that Phoolan was never educated, remained illiterate throughout her life and understandably was deeply troubled. Her strong and fierce temper also alienated many of her supporters.

Phoolan Devi was shot dead on 25/07/01 by three men claiming to be avenging the twenty villagers killed by Phoolan's gang.