NEWSLETTER

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SANJIT DAS



Sampat Pal Devi, 47

I am the commander of the Gulabi Gang. I started the association in the 1990s, but I named it the Gulabi Gang two years ago. We aim to empower women, promote child education with an emphasis on girls, and stop corruption and domestic violence. I visit numerous villages every day and meet the various members of the gang. We have gang meetings where we decide the plan of action if we hear of something that we oppose going on. First we go to the police and request that they do something. But since the administration is against the poor people of our country, we often end up taking matters into our own hands. We first speak to the husband who is beating his wife. If he doesn’t understand then we ask his wife to join us while we beat him with lathis. Our missions have a 100 percent success rate. We have never failed in bringing justice when it comes to domestic problems. Dealing with the administration is the tricky part since we cannot always take the law in our hands—especially with such corrupt lawmakers. We did beat up some corrupt officials but we were ultimately helpless. The goons of the corrupt officials and the political parties constantly threaten me. Once, a few goons came and threatened to shoot me down, but the women came to my rescue and threw bricks at them and they ran away. They haven’t come back since. Although most of the time I travel alone, I am not scared of anyone. My women are with me, and they are my strength. My family didn’t always support me going out and doing what I do, but when I resisted and explained to my husband, he understood and has supported me since. It isn’t easy to do this. I have no money. I travel everywhere on an old bicycle. Some of our supporters help us with small donations and charity. I want this movement to carry on and would like support from international or local agencies. I work on a grassroots level and want to set up a small-scale industry for the poor villagers that I work with. We have talented young men and women who can make organic manure, candles, Ayurvedic medicines, and pickles. They could earn a decent livelihood. If I get funded, I can set up a stitching center for women who can then support their families. The future of the Gulabi Gang is bright. It’s a people’s movement and will grow bigger and bigger in the future provided we get support from the local administration.

		Banhari Devi, 42 I am unemployed. I have no money, and I rely on my son to bring home something every evening so we can cook our daily meal. Sampat Devi came to my rescue. She is like a messiah, always looking after the poor. She struggled for me and got me the red card [Below Poverty Line Card]. I fall into a category of families below the poverty line and the card entitles me to cheap rice and wheat from the public distribution center. I joined the gang six months ago and since then I feel self-confident and much stronger. There have been instances when we went on a Gulabi Gang mission and the authorities threatened us, but being in a group gives us the confidence that we can fight injustice. When I joined the gang, Sampat Devi gave us an introduction to what the motives of the gang were and we were trained in lathi combat. The basic concept of the fight is more to defend than to attack. We are not a violent lot, but if you challenge us, we are vicious. We use peaceful means first but if things don’t work, we resort to a lathi fight. Being in the gang has changed my life. I plan to stay here till I die.
		Kamat Devi, 48 I have been an active member of the gang for two years now. I have been part of nearly all the campaigns that the gang has undertaken in its recent past. Though I don’t have any designated role in the gang, I invariably end up settling domestic fights or trying to negotiate between neighbors in the village. When we hear of a rift between neighbors, we hold meetings with Sampat Devi and try to come up with an amicable solution. It isn’t always easy, but people respect the Gulabi Gang as we are always neutral. I do not like to use force at all. I decided to learn lathi fighting as a means to defend and not attack. Although my views are a little different from most, this doesn’t create any obstacle in how I go about my work as a gang member. The other members respect my position and I can work the way I want to as long as the mission is accomplished. My husband has a small piece of land and I help him in the field. The land doesn’t produce enough and he sometimes tries to find work as a daily laborer in the city but is not always successful. I managed to get the red card and at least now I am entitled to subsidized rice and wheat. I often wonder what would have happened to us if I weren’t part of the Gulabi Gang.

Bhagwati Devi, 45

I was inspired by what Sampat Devi was doing for us. She would visit our village regularly and inquire about our well-being. I joined the gang to support her in her cause of making our lives better. We have no hierarchy in our gang. We are all treated as equals and we work toward a common goal of removing corruption from the roots of society and bringing justice to women. If the gang hears of some atrocities committed toward women, we conduct a gang meeting and discuss the best action we can take in that particular case and then act accordingly. In many cases, we first try to come to a peaceful solution, but if that doesn’t work, we use force. People are humiliated after being beaten up by us.

My husband abandoned me for a better life with another woman, but I don’t care. I have my own life and I am happy with it. The concept of a gang is very new in this region. In fact, the Gulabi Gang is the only one that exists. People have to understand that a gang doesn’t have to be made up of the antisocial elements that accompany many other so-called gangs. Ours is a team—a team of women in pink. We are growing every day, and the efforts of Sampat Devi are creating a wave of change here. Women come from places far away with their problems and want to join the Gulabi Gang.


TO BE CONTINUED
A FLUX OF PINK INDIANS | 1 | 2 | 3 |

< PREV

MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

NEXT >

POST A COMMENT [SIGN IN] Hi, in case you haven't heard, you can now sign up to become a "member" of Viceland.com, which entitles you to all sorts of amazing benefits like pictures and a nickname. Click here to make your own profile. You can still comment if you don't, but you gotta do it all 'nonymously.

Name:
Comment: