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The Bandit Queen: Martyr or Murderer?

Phoolan Devi. Photo courtesy of www.cabinet.com

By Avy Mallik

Phoolan Devi, India’s infamous criminal-turned-politician, was gunned down in front of her home in New Delhi last week. To many people, this brutal murder symbolized the violent life that Devi led, but to others, her demise is a tragic end to a tragic life.

Devi, 38, had reportedly returned home from a lower-house Parliament meeting when three gunmen stepped out of a car and riddled her with bullets, hitting her face and body five times. The chief gunman, whose name is Sher Singh Rana, turned himself in shortly afterwards. Since then, three more suspects have been arrested by the police, though it seems likely that the assassination was masterminded by Rana.

Born into a poor, low-caste family in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Devi’s perilous rise to fame began with the Indian tradition of arranged marriage. At age 11, she was married to an abusive man some 20 years her senior. After escaping her violent marriage and being shunned by her village, Devi set out on her own in the rocky, ravine landscape that characterizes the state of Uttar Pradesh. Devi either joined, or was kidnapped by (the details of her life have always been influenced by legend), a gang of dacoits, or modern-day bandits. She spent her teen years looting villages and hiding out from the police in these rocky outer lands.

Devi gained notoriety with her Robin Hood-like activities, which made her gang famous among the villages of northern India. Devi earned a fierce reputation and was referred to as the “Bandit Queen.” In 1980, she was kidnapped by rival dacoits and imprisoned in their village. Devi is said to have been raped repeatedly by the local village men. She escaped three weeks later, and on Valentines Day of 1981, she returned to the village and ordered the murder of 22 men by her gang. Not only were the men she murdered the alleged rapists, but they were high-caste landowning Hindus. It was unheard of for a low-caste, poor woman to exact any sort of punishment on the elite of rural, Hindu society.

In the following two years, Devi’s outlaw status became national news. There was a $10,400 reward on her head and she was wanted on 50 murder charges. She finally surrendered in 1983 and was jailed for 11 years, even though she was never convicted.

Even before her surrender, Devi’s story hit the international media circuit and became the subject of a best-selling book. In the early 1990s, acclaimed Indian director Shekar Kapur made a controversial film based on her life, entitled Bandit Queen.

Following her release from jail in 1994, Devi ran for parliamentary elections. She was elected in 1996 as a representative of her home district of Mirzapur, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Her success as a politician was bolstered by the overwhelming support of women and low-caste Hindus.

Pranab Majumder, a professor business at Duke University, feels that Phoolan Devi was not exactly what legend paints her to be. To Majumder, Devi was neither a martyr nor a murderer; but a cornered cat.

“Many people think of her as a modern-day Robin Hood, but that is not the case. Under any other circumstances, Devi would have led an innocuous life,” Majumder said. “Only because she was pushed into a corner did Devi come back out fighting.”

Shaily Matani, founding member of Bay Area organization — the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA) — disagreed with Majumder’s opinion. Matani believes that Phoolan Devi’s amazing strength and perseverance made her the voice of the oppressed and marginalized.

“Devi’s life highlighted the extreme difficulty poor women have in protecting themselves from exploitation,” Matani said. “Her actions broke many taboos [in Asia] about sexual assault. Her resistance spoke loudly to the western world that South Asian women are very strong.”

Matani believes that Westerners have a lot to learn from Devi. “Yes, it is unusual for someone of Devi’s stature, born in a low-caste home, to rise from the ranks,” conceded Matani. “But this is more likely to occur in India than in the U.S. How often do we see someone born in a ghetto to become elected as a member of Congress?”

Majumder points out that Devi’s rise to political power had a lot to do with her exploitation.

“Her struggles weren’t really forms of propaganda, because all those horrible events actually happened to her,” Majumder said. “Devi was elected to parliament due to a confluence of factors. She was a women, she was a fighter and she was someone the media could easily relate to.”

Whether or not people approved of her “eye-for-and-eye” form of justice, it became something low-caste people, especially women, could draw strength from. The movie Bandit Queen played no small part in forming the public’s opinion on Devi.

Said Majumder: “After the movie, Indians became much more conscious about women’s rights. Poor women could identify with her.” Majumder clarified that these women respected Devi’s quest for justice, but not the method she employed. “I doubt that anyone would want to emulate her actions,” noted the professor.

There are many unanswered questions on Devi’s murder. Some people believe that politics may have had something to do with it, since elections are coming up.

“She did not deserve to be gunned down. Her death was tragic and wrong. The criminal justice system is interested in protecting those in power only. Because she spoke out in favor of the oppressed, the authorities were interested in silencing her,” Matani said.