Phoolan Devi, widely known as the Bandit Queen would have turned 52 this day, had she been alive. Let us have a look at the 10 things about this brave dacoit and politician.

10. Legend was born

The legendary Phoolan Devi's journey started on August 10th 1963, in Gorha Ka Purwa, Uttar Pradesh, a small village on the Yamuna River in a location where girls were treated as an unfortunate burden.

9. Plight of being a girl

Phoolan faced the destiny like every other low-caste Indian girls who are to work for the upper-caste land owning families. Phoolan devi was married at the age of eleven to a ruthless man in his thirties in exchange for a cow. After being raped by her husband for several years, she somehow managed to escape from her abusive husband.

8. Being victimised

At the age of 18, she was gang raped by high caste outlaws after the gang she belonged to was assailed by rivals. She was locked up in Behmai, an obscure Thakur town. For two weeks, a group of Thakur guys gang raped Phoolan, multiplke times until she lost her consciousness.

7. Poolan's revenge

After all the sexual tortures, Phoolan chose a path of courage and leadership and ended up being a gang leader in her own right and also waited to avenge. Phoolan Devi started as a burglar, but soon transformed into a dacoit. In 1981, Phoolan and her gang returned to the village where she had actually been raped and recognized two men who took part in that gang rape. When they rejected to tell the whereabouts of the remaining members, an agitated Phoolan Devi opened fire and killed 22 of them.

6. Phoolan as Goddess Durga

It was the biggest bloodbath by a hooligan in India's record, catching the attention of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The upper caste power had actually not just been endangered, it was embarrassed and repelled. While uppers regarded Phoolan as a callous murderer, for countless untouchables, this gun-slinging criminal had become a devi - Phoolan Devi an incarnation of the Goddess Durga.

5. When Phoolan surrendered

She finally surrendered to the Indian federal government after they accepted her demands to return her father's land, to provide a government job to her sibling, and not to offer a death sentence to her gang members, but a 8 year imprisonment.

4. Finally free

In 1983, Phoolan was accused for 48 criminal offenses including murder, plunder, arson as well as kidnapping for ransom. Phoolan was refuted trial for eleven years. Finally in 1994, a low caste preacher of state of Uttar Pradesh freed Devi of all the charges that was filed against her. The state federal government inevitably took out all fees versus her and was finally released in 1994.

3. Phoolan in the parliament

In 1996, after 2 years after her release, she stood for the eleventh Lok Sabha election for Samajwadi Party from Mirzapur area in Uttar Pradesh and won the election and served as an MP.

2. Phoolan's foes

Phoolan Devi had many foes including her bodyguards. The only thing she would rely on was her armors.

1. Death

On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was shot dead by 3 masked shooters outside of her Delhi home. She was rushed to a close by hospital but was stated dead.