(This story was first published on 10 August 2020 and has been reposted from The Quint’s archives in light of Phoolan Devi's death anniversary.)
On a cold February morning in 1983, 20-year-old Phoolan Devi walked onto a temporarily erected stage, in the outskirts of Bhind, and surrendered before the then state Chief Minister Arjun Singh. She was facing multiple charges of murder and kidnapping. Less than two decades later, she went on to become one of the first women from an oppressed community to be elected to India’s Parliament.
Despite the serious criminal charges, how did this highly controversial yet extraordinary woman become a feminist icon? On her birth anniversary, we trace her story.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)