Phoolan Devi
Phoolan Devi the Bandit Queen of India
By Anthony Bruno
Another St. Valentine 's Day Massacre
On February 14, 1981, 18-year-old Phoolan Devi had only one thing on her mind: revenge. Waiting outside the remote village of Behmai on the Yamuna River in northern India, a band of about 20 dacoits (bandits) waited for her instructions. The dacoits were from three different gangs, but their goal was the same: to hunt down the treacherous Ram brothers, Sri Ram Singh and Lala Ram Singh. Sri Ram was a vicious gang leader who had spent time in prison. He was the focus of Phoolan Devi’s lust for justice because he had murdered her lover, Vikram Mallah, as she slept by his side.
Phoolan Devi wearing bandit gear
Slight in build but strong and agile, Phoolan wore a military-style khaki jacket, denim jeans, and zippered boots. Her dark, straight hair was cut short, ending at her neck. By some accounts, she was wearing lipstick and red nail polish. A wide red bandana—the symbol of vengeance— was tied around her head, covering her hairline and brows. She carried a Sten rifle and a bandolier across her chest. While she mourned for her lover, she did not want to be treated as a woman. She wanted her comrades to think of her as a man because she wanted the kind of revenge only a man could achieve in India’s caste-bound society. She had told them to call her “Phool,” the masculine version of her given name.
She and her band of dacoits had spent the night in the nearby hamlet of Ingwi. As morning broke, Phoolan, her close lieutenant Man Singh, and Baba Mustakim, a fellow dacoit leader, planned their attack on Behmai. Most of Behmai’s population was thakurs, the land-owning caste and the second highest in the Indian system. Sri Ram was a thakur, and though he had once been allied with Phoolan and Vikram, he had always looked down upon them because they were mullahs, the fishermen’s’ caste and one of the lowest.
Though just a teenager, Phoolan Devi had been victimized by the
By Anthony Bruno
Another St. Valentine 's Day Massacre
On February 14, 1981, 18-year-old Phoolan Devi had only one thing on her mind: revenge. Waiting outside the remote village of Behmai on the Yamuna River in northern India, a band of about 20 dacoits (bandits) waited for her instructions. The dacoits were from three different gangs, but their goal was the same: to hunt down the treacherous Ram brothers, Sri Ram Singh and Lala Ram Singh. Sri Ram was a vicious gang leader who had spent time in prison. He was the focus of Phoolan Devi’s lust for justice because he had murdered her lover, Vikram Mallah, as she slept by his side.
Phoolan Devi wearing bandit gear
Slight in build but strong and agile, Phoolan wore a military-style khaki jacket, denim jeans, and zippered boots. Her dark, straight hair was cut short, ending at her neck. By some accounts, she was wearing lipstick and red nail polish. A wide red bandana—the symbol of vengeance— was tied around her head, covering her hairline and brows. She carried a Sten rifle and a bandolier across her chest. While she mourned for her lover, she did not want to be treated as a woman. She wanted her comrades to think of her as a man because she wanted the kind of revenge only a man could achieve in India’s caste-bound society. She had told them to call her “Phool,” the masculine version of her given name.
She and her band of dacoits had spent the night in the nearby hamlet of Ingwi. As morning broke, Phoolan, her close lieutenant Man Singh, and Baba Mustakim, a fellow dacoit leader, planned their attack on Behmai. Most of Behmai’s population was thakurs, the land-owning caste and the second highest in the Indian system. Sri Ram was a thakur, and though he had once been allied with Phoolan and Vikram, he had always looked down upon them because they were mullahs, the fishermen’s’ caste and one of the lowest.
Though just a teenager, Phoolan Devi had been victimized by the
Bibliography: Burns, John F. “Bandit Queen Returns, as Angel of the Oppressed.” New York Times, Feb. 23, 1994: A, 4:3. Burns, John F. “India’s ‘Avenging Angel’: Candidate of Low Castes.” New York Times, May 6, 1996: A, 3:1. Devi, Phoolan. I, Phoolan Devi. London: Warner Books, 1996. McCord, Andy. “The Bandit Queen Runs.” The Nation, May 20, 1996: 4-5. Sahay, Tara Shankar. “Dacoit-Turned-MP Phoolan Devi Shot Dead in New Delhi.” Rediff.com, July 25, 2001. Sen, Mala. India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi. London: HarperCollins, 1991. Tripathi, Purnima S. “The End of Phoolan Devi.” Frontline, Aug. 4-17, 2001, vol. 18, issue 16. Weaver, Mary Anne. “India’s Bandit Queen.” Atlantic Monthly, Nov. 1996: 88-94. Anthony Bruno