Primary+Sources+on+Phoolan+Devi

Primary Sources about Phoolan Devi

__ **SOURCE 1** __ **Phoolan's comments on her inspirations from an interview with Akasa media in Japan - January 1999** "Inspiration comes from inside my heart, not from anyone or anything external. When I was a child, I spent all of my time inside the house, so I didn't know much about the outside world. And at the age of 16 I was kidnapped by the bandits, and then for four years I lived in the Chambral Valley. Then I was in jail. So I was not in touch with people, I had no chance to learn about people who I could look up to. So it's all from the inside."

Contrary to the common views that Phoolan was inspired and motivated by the goddess Durga - the symbol of vengeance, Phoolan Devi reveals here that the force behind her fight for justice and equality came from within herself. As well as revealing Phoolan's strength of character, this source also gives an inside view into what iher life would have been like. Kidnapped at aged 16 to become a bandit and sent to jail after 4 years, Phoolan Devi's early life was very much devoid of other people. This information gives an interesting side to her personality - which, despite having not had the 'chance to learn about people', appeared so charasmatic and forceful in public. This source also gives historians an insight into what motivated her actions and inspired her legacy. Her own tragic experiences built up the pain and anger in her heart, which must have been the true source of her inspiration.

**__SOURCE 2__** **Remarks made before an interview with Phoolan Devi on behalf of Akasa media in Japan - January 1999** //'When I first met Ms. Devi I was struck by her diminutive stature, she was physically a tiny person. With a big presence. She had a gentle, melodic voice, an easy smile, and a pronounced sparkle in her eyes. Devi was a little plump and dressed in a lavender blouse and a matching pastel sari, with a pale yellow jacket over it all - it was hard to imagine her wielding a gun. As a first impression, she didn't look hardened. Sturdy, but not hardened. There were glimpses of feistiness. '// This source reveals much, not just about Phoolan Devi's appearance, but also about her personality. Similar to the description given her by Roy Moxham (who had helped Phoolan financially and politically) as well as her appearance in numerous photographs, this source shows Phoolan to be a person of no great physical appearance, but a 'gentle' person; 'sturdy', but decievingly unhardened by her traumatic experiences. It is no wonder then, considering the smallness of her appearance, that many were disappointed in 1983 - when they caught their first glimpse of the fierce 'Bandit Queen' at her surrender. At the end of his comment, the reporter adds that he saw 'glimpses of feistiness' in Phoolan. This 'feistiness' was an obvious indication, however subtle, of the strength of character that Phoolan had built up through her endurance of her early life. This source, among others describing Phoolan's appearance and demeanour, is important to historians in gaining a greater understanding of Phoolan Devi herself and of what it meant to experience what she did.

**__SOURCE 3__** Letter from Phoolan during her time at Gwalior jail to Mala Sen, her biographer - From //India's Bandit Queen// by Mala Sen  Dearest, most respected didi, I touch your feet and hope this letter finds you and your family well. Since my brother's arrest I have felt no peace. I don't feel like eating or drinking and I feel so much anxiety in my heart that I just cry night and day. Sometimes I think that I should do something to myself to find relief from this pain but, as you know, these thoughts come and go. Didi, ever since I came into this world I have seen only sorrow and grief - maybe there is no happiness in my fate. Maybe I shall always suffer. You will have to help me before you go home because I need it badly. Since the new government came to power, I have not been given any kind of hearing. Nobody is willing to listen to me. If I was outside today, I would cling to you. I would hold you tight. I feel so uncertain. I know that society will never look upon me with any repsect or understanding. Maybe it would have been better to die like a god in the ravines than to fester in this hole like a rat. How will you come and see me? Please try. I feel so cornered and worried. I must see you. I send my namaste to you and all you friends. Your sister, Phoolan Devi

This source is a letter written from Phoolan Devi to her biographer Mala Sen (whom she affectionately calls her sister 'Didi'), expressing her anxiety and concern after the arrest of her brother. During the letter, Phoolan gives reference to the 'new government', saying that since it has come to power she has had no 'kind of hearing'. The government at the time were high-caste people, and had no sympathy for the lowly bandit. They refused to give her a trial ('no kind of hearing') and it was not until 1994 that Phoolan was released by a new government. This section gives historian's a different viewpoint on the Indian Government during that period. This letter not only gives us an insight into her world but also reveals Phoolan's emotions and personality. Her suffering is evident in her words - 'I feel so cornered and worried', and her close relationship with her sister is revealed when she says - 'I must see you'. This source allows historians to better understand Phoolan Devi herself and the world at the time, as well as the plight of other's living in similar circumstances.

**__SUMMING UP__**

Primary sources are first-hand testimony or direct evidence that gives historians a greater knowledge and deeper understanding of a certain subject. These three pieces of evidence about Phoolan Devi - two sections from an interview and a letter - reveal a great deal of information about Phoolan Devi as a person, the world she lived in, things she experienced, and the legacy she left behind. Although each source is from Phoolan herself, they all provide subtle differences in viewpoints. The first and second sources are both from a public interview - making them not fully reliable as Phoolan's words would have been monitored and thus not completely natural. The third, in contrast is extremely personal and provides a much deeper understanding of Phoolan's emotions. Together, these sources help historians understand what inspired Phoolan Devi to do the things she did and how difficult it would have been. They give us a 'first-hand' view into the lives of low-caste females in Indian society and their struggle for life and justice. Most importantly, these sources allow us to see the consequences that result from the misuse of power and to see the adjustments we can make in our own lives today.