Baskadia

Phoolan Devi (10 August 1963 – 25 July 2001), popularly known as the Bandit Queen, was an Indian dacoit (bandit) who became a politician, serving as a member of parliament until her assassination. She was a woman of the Mallah subcaste who grew up in poverty in a village in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where her family was on the losing side of a land dispute which caused them many problems. After being married off at the age of eleven and being sexually abused by various people, she joined a gang of dacoits. Her gang robbed higher-caste villages and held up trains and vehicles. When she punished her rapists and evaded capture by the authorities, she became a heroine to the Other Backward Classes who saw her as a Robin Hood figure. Phoolan Devi was charged in absentia for the 1981 Behmai massacre, in which twenty Thakur men were executed, allegedly on her command. After this event, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh resigned, and calls to apprehend her were amplified. She surrendered two years later in a carefully negotiated settlement and spent eleven years in Gwalior prison, awaiting trial.

Phoolan Devi was released in 1994 after her charges were set aside; she subsequently became a politician and was elected as a member of parliament for the Samajwadi Party in 1996. She lost her seat in 1998 and then regained it the following year; she was the incumbent at the time of her death in 2001. She was assassinated outside her house by Sher Singh Rana, who was convicted for the murder in 2014. At the time of her death, she was still fighting against the reinstituted criminal charges, having lost a 1996 appeal to the Supreme Court to have the charges dropped. Phoolan Devi's worldwide fame grew after the release of the controversial 1994 film Bandit Queen, which told her life story in a way she did not approve of. Her life has also inspired several biographies and her dictated autobiography was entitled I, Phoolan Devi. There are varying accounts of her life because she told differing versions to suit her changing circumstances.

Her life , characterised by its tumultuous nature, challenges genders and caste norms prevalent in Indian society. Phoolan Devi’s story raises questions about justice, social inequality, and treatment of women in India. Despite controversy surrounding her actions, she remains a powerful symbol of resistance and empowerment for marginalised communities.

Phoolan Devi often hailed as the Bandit Queen of India, embodies a complex figure in Indian history and societal discourses, Her life ,marred by hardships and societal injustices. Emerging from a lower-caste background, Phoolan Devi faced early traumas, including a forced marriage and subsequent abuse. Her transformation into a Bandit leader, seeking retribution against those who oppressed her, raises moral dilemmas about justice. While her actions were controversial, they also highlighted the deeply rooted injustices and inequities prevented in India society, challenging long-established power structures.

In 1994, Shekhar Kapoor made a film on her life called “Bandit Queen”which became very popular in Europe. The film also remained controversial for some scenes and Phoolan Devis language. The film portrayed Phoolan Devi as a brave woman who fought against the wrong practices of society.