I, Phoolan Devi

Book excerpt: Enduring cruel poverty and degradation, Phoolan Devi survived the humiliation and horrifying gang rape to claim retribution for herself and all low-caste women of the Indian plains. In a three-year campaign which rocked the government, she delivered justice to rape victims and stole from the rich to give to the poor, before negotiating surrender on her own terms. Throughout her years of imprisonment without trial Phoolan Devi remained a beacon of hope for the poor and downtrodden, and in 1996, admist both popular support and media controversy, she was elected to the Indian Parliament. For over a decade journalists, biographers and film-makers have found the power and scope of Phoolan Devi's myth irresistible. Now finally she tells the story of her life through her eyes and in her own voice.