Bandit Queen in exhibition on world’s outlaws

India's bandit queen features prominently in the first ever exhibition of its kind on international outlaws which opened here today at the N...

India’s bandit queen features prominently in the first ever exhibition of its kind on international outlaws which opened here today at the National Museum of Australia.

The multimedia travelling exhibition titled ‘‘Outlawed! the world’s rebels, revolutionaries and bushrangers’’ focuses on the creation of legends from nine countries, spanning across the millennia.

It showcases rebels and revolutionaries from India (Phoolan Devi), Australia (Ned Kelly), UK (Robin Hood), New Zealand (Hone Heke), North America (Billy the Kid) among others.

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The section on Phoolan Devi exhibits her spinning wheel, which she used in jail, her certificates and awards, the various books written on her and pictures of her as a bandit queen, of her surrender and draped in a sari against the background of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue.

The exhibition traces her life history from the time she was 11 to the time her parents married her off to a much older man, how she fled from him and was abducted by a band of robbers, one of whom took her as his wife, her abduction and rape after the murder of her partner. It shows how she embarked on a reign of terror against her abusers and allegedly killed 22 villagers, her negotiated surrender and the time she spent in jail.

‘‘The exhibition highlights her exploits and generosity to the poor that earned her the respect of many low caste men and women. How from a outlaw she became a lawmaker,’’ said head of the curatorial team, Joanne Duke. (PTI)