From a dacoit to an MP

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, JULY 25. The Samajwadi Party MP, Ms. Phoolan Devi, who was shot dead in New Delhi today, was an inter-State dacoit till her surrender in front of a large gathering of Dalits in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh in 1983. Mr. Arjun Singh was the then Chief Minister.

Many offences, including cases of murder and dacoity, were registered against Ms. Phoolan Devi in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh but she surrendered on the condition that she would neither be hanged nor kept in jail for more than eight years. She had also sought reprieve and a rehabilitation package for her family members at the time of her surrender.

Ms. Phoolan Devi was kept in the Gwalior jail and was released after more than ten years. It was after this that she began her political career by contesting and winning the Parliamentary elections from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. It is significant that the Uttar Pradesh police had made several requisitions for her while she was in Gwalior jail but the Madhya Pradesh authorities refused to transfer her to that State fearing reprisals and threat to her life.

Ms. Phoolan Devi was born in a poor landless family in a village in Uttar Pradesh. She was married off when only 11 to a man thrice her age. Unable to cope with the exploitation she encountered in her new home, Phoolan fled and returned to her father. But her travails did not end and she was asked to leave by the village community after being sexually assaulted by her cousin.

Made of sterner stuff, Ms. Phoolan Devi, defied the villagers' dictat. After this she became the target of some upper caste men and was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. This was the real turning point in her life and thus began her foray into the world of dacoity and a ruthless battle against all exploitation. It was in 1981 that her gang rounded up two dozen men belonging to the upper castes in a village and opened fire killing 20 of them.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Our investment in US-64 not improper: Left
Next     : Cong. forces adjournment over Moradabad killings