In 1983, Devi surrendered to the Indian government (then under Prime Minister Indira Ghandi) and was accused of 48 criminal offenses. She was imprisoned for 11 years until she was pardoned in 1994 at age 31. In August 1980, Shri Ram arranges to have Vikram assassinated, and abducts Phoolan, bringing her to the village of Behmai. Phoolan is repeatedly raped and beaten by Shri Ram and by the rest of the gang members, as punishment for her "disrespect" for his previous advances, and for her audacity at being equal. The final humiliation and punishment is that she is stripped naked, paraded around Behmai, beaten, and sent to fetch water from the well (in full view of the village). a b c d e Snyder, Michael (13 November 2017). "The life and legend of India's Bandit Queen". Roads & Kingdoms. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022 . Retrieved 18 December 2022.

Phoolan Devi, Marie-Thérèse Cuny and Paul Rambali, I, Phoolan Devi: The Autobiography of India's Bandit Queen, Little, Brown and Company, 1996. ISBN 0-31-687960-6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Sen, Mala (1995) [1991]. India's Bandit Queen: The true story of Phoolan Devi. London: Pandora. ISBN 978-0-04-440888-8.The book has many references to CID (it is a popular crime show on Sony TV and one of my favorites). As someone who watched 1000+ episodes, it’s a treat to see it inspire women ( let’s ignore that the inspiration is not something the makers intended). Man arrested for murder of 'Bandit Queen' ". The Daily Telegraph. 27 July 2001. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019 . Retrieved 17 December 2022. On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was assassinated by 3 masked shooters outside of her Delhi home. She was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead.

Main accused in Phoolan Devi's killing convicted". News Karnataka. Indo-Asian News Service. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. When Preity mentioned she was fairly certain she'd seen Farah buying hashish, Geeta felt it best to nudge them to more prosaic matters. "Varunbhai is not going to like this." Devi became a female rights activist and was elected a member of India's Parliament from 1996 to 1999—the first low-caste woman to hold that distinction. In what ways does the past seem to control, or at least influence, the present in The Bandit Queens? How do the characters try to repress or escape the pain of their pasts? Now Tejashwi, Chirag also come out in praise of Phoolan Devi". The Indian Express. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022 . Retrieved 7 May 2023.

In July 1979, a gang of bandits led by Babu Gujjar kidnapped Phoolan Devi from her family's home, for reasons she explained in multiple ways. [C] Gujjar took her as his property and raped her repeatedly. His second in command, Vikram Mallah, became fond of Phoolan Devi and objected to her mistreatment; he killed Gujjar and became leader of the gang. [10] He trained Phoolan Devi to use a rifle. Over the following year, the gang robbed trains and vehicles, and looted higher caste villages, sometimes disguising themselves using stolen police uniforms. [4] :247 [16] Vikram Mallah and Phoolan Devi fell in love. [17] :332 The gang lived in the ravines, constantly moving between places such as Devariya, Kanpur, and Orai. [2] :113 They found and punished Puttilal. [2] :99 As news of Phoolan Devi's exploits spread, she became popular with the poor, who called her Dasyu Sundari (Beautiful Bandit), and she was celebrated by most of the Indian mainstream media as a Robin Hood figure, who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. [12] [18] [19] She was seen as an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga, and a doll was produced of her in police uniform wearing a bandoleer. [12] [20] Behmai case hearing begins again". The Shillong Times. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022 . Retrieved 7 May 2023. A former leader of the gang, Sri Ram Singh, [ when?] was released from prison together with his brother Lalla Ram Singh; they were Thakur men (Thakurs being a subcaste of the higher Kshatriya caste) and thus a higher caste than the other members. After they rejoined the bandits, a power struggle ensued and Sri Ram murdered Vikram Mallah. Without the latter's protection, Phoolan Devi was a prisoner of Sri Ram; he took her to the remote village of Behmai where she was repeatedly raped by Thakurs. In a final indignity, she was forced to collect water for him from the well whilst naked, in front of the villagers. [10] [21] [2] :57,125–126 Behmai massacre [ edit ]

I loved watching Geeta’s confidence build as she sought to improve not just her own lot in life, but that of other women. This was a wonderful, character rich story - the women are fully fleshed out. Shroff does an excellent job of placing the reader in this small Indian village, with a mix of language, caste delineation, customs and folklore.The author explained that she used this book to explore various elements present in Indian society: domestic abuse/gender/religious/castes ostracization, and patriarchy. The author is an attorney in California. Some terms used by the characters contradict the setting and characterization. There is less probability of them knowing such information. It could all be pretty heavy, but somehow Shroff manages to balance the overwhelming weight of patriarchy (domestic abuse is a regular subject) with humor and hilarity. There are antics, there are jokes, there is a lot of coarse language. I suspect some readers will find all of this unrealistic when applied to women of color from a developing region, but if you are finding yourself having those responses I would recommend you sit with that for a while. When she was 11, Phoolan’s family married her to an older man. After being abused by her husband for several years, she managed to escape him and fall into the company of a gang of bandits. Devi participated in gang activities until she was kidnapped and taken to Behmai where she was repeatedly tormented and publicly humiliated over the course of 3 weeks. She was 17 years old.

The saddest part is that such stereotypes are encouraged and cemented by authors of Indian origin, which adds a false layer of credibility to the narrative and makes them ‘ more authentic’. This view doesn’t consider that the author’s personal perceptions and ideology are the foundation of the plot. Hetero, we have a bundle of stereotypes presented as an entire country. Vlessing, Etan (29 April 2019). "Hot Docs: Lisa Ray to voice star in Bandit Queen doc Phoolan (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022 . Retrieved 5 May 2023. Profile of Sher Singh Rana". The Times of India. 27 July 2001. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019 . Retrieved 9 August 2012. Shroff expresses herself further in The Author’s Note, which I hope readers will take the time to read.Sen, Meheli; Basu, Anustup (2013). Figurations in Indian Film. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-34978-1. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023 . Retrieved 21 December 2022. or claustrophobic. Families have known each other for generations, reputation is one’s currency, gossip runs amok, and it’s all but impossible to keep secrets—especially ones about murder. The close- knit bonds within such a village, however, are also what drive these characters to their ultimate actions and choices. Battle of one-upmanship among two Nishad parties worries SP". The Pioneer. 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021 . Retrieved 26 October 2023. With Geeta's dangerous reputation becoming a double-edged sword, she has to find a way to protect the life she's built—but even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry. What happens next sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything, not just for Geeta, but for all the women in their village. From the description, I expected The Bandit Queens to be a mostly humorous novel about an outcast Indian woman. Geeta’s abusive husband ran off five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did. The village mostly steers clear of her, given her reputation as an evil woman, a witch. This same reputation leads other women to come to her looking to get rid of their own no good husbands.