Bandit queen in politician's avatar

The suavity and the ready smile belie her violent past. But the self-confidence is hard to miss as Seema Parihar, widely believed to have donned the bandit queen mantle after Phoolan Devi, on Saturday followed her 'predecessor’s' footsteps into politics.

Her choice: Indian Justice Party despite being 'wooed' — so she claims — by mainstream political parties like SP, BSP and BJP. She is to be the party’s star campaigner for the upcoming UP elections, but she is not sure about the biggest election issue. She never went to school but claims she reads the newspapers daily to keep abreast with current affairs.

Her agenda is fighting against repression and criminalisation of politics. This when Seema has six cases pending against her, including those for attempt to murder (Section 307, IPC) and kidnapping with intention to murder (Section 364).

Though she claims she never did anything wrong in her life, she says: "The first time Lalaram (her abductor and later husband) handed me a Johabari rifle, I fired a shot and dropped it saying I would never use it. It took me three to four years to get used to it." Did her caste — Seema, unlike Phoolan is a thakur — accord her any special status in the jungles? She says, "There you are given posts according to your work." Did she hold any? "I want to forget about those days," she says.

The dichotomy is apparent. Talking about her relations with the dreaded dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar, Seema says, "I threw him out of the gang because of misdemeanour." Breaking into the conversation when Seema is asked about how her life in Chambal's ravines has equipped her to handle social and political pressures, her close party associate Ramu Singh says, "What are you saying! She has run a whole gang herself and now she will bow to political pressures!"

Clad in a black jeans and black denim shirt neatly tucked in — "nobody ever taught me to wear a sari. I tied it once but can't walk, keeps clinging to my legs" — Seema looks every bit the quintessential woman in a man’s world, her gold nose pin and earrings notwithstanding. The long red sindoor tilak covering almost her whole forehead is obviously a throwback to the Chambal days.

She says she does not understand why she is perpetually compared with Phoolan, but much like the latter, she fears for her life. "Lalaram’s nephews think I got him killed. They are after my life. Police are also after me. Ghaziabad police recently gunned down my brother. But I don’t want to avenge his death the violent way. I will follow the civilised process of seeking redress," she adds.

Seema’s seven year-old son Sagar studies in a school in her native Tibbiapur. She takes a while to remember what standard he's in. "Class II," she finally says, adding that he has never inquired about her past.

"People are too scared of her to gossip. May be that’s why Sagar still does not know about her past," Singh says.


Source: TOI
 

pankaj_jain_22

New member
hi, thats a good article.but can anybody please provide me a comprehensive report on the topic- 'Criminalisation of indian politics and politicization of criminals in india'.
 
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