Gulabi Gang Brings Justice To The Lost And Forgotten

If you’ve never heard of the Gulabi Gang then get ready for a treat!

Also known as the Pink Saris for the bright pink uniforms they wear (gulabi is Hindi for “pink”), the Gulabi Gang was formed in 2006 by Sampat Pal Devi, a nearly illiterate former health worker with a mind for justice, especially when it comes to the health, safety, and education of women.?

Located in Bundelkhand, one of the most poverty-stricken and populous sections of the Uttar Pradesh region in northern India, the Gulabi Gang “protects the powerless” from those who abuse their power.? They retaliate against violence of brutal husbands.? They fight corruption and they force reluctant police officers to register cases for underprivileged people,” among other community services, and they do so wielding laathis (bamboo sticks), often painted pink, as well.??Sampat said in a BBC article?between teaching a member of her gang how to defend herself:

“Nobody comes to help in these parts.?The officials and the police are corrupt and anti-poor.? So sometimes we have to take the law into our hands.”

The Gulabi are not always violent, however.?Sampat said:

“When I go around with a stick, it’s to make men fear me.? I don’t always use it, but it helps change the mind of men who think they are more powerful than me… Mind you, we are not a gang in the usual sense of the term. We are a gang for justice.”

Sampat Devi has been engaged in such work in the community since the 90’s, but only formed the Gulabi Gang officially and adopted a uniform after witnessing a young woman being publicly humiliated and beaten in 2006.? Having been married off at nine and sent to live with her husband at twelve, as well as having borne five children by the age of twenty (her first at fifteen), something stirred inside her.? She intervened, and was abused, herself, for her effort.? She went home and stewed, returning the next day with a group of women to publicly beat and shame the man until he pled for mercy and acknowledged his wrongdoing.? Since then, Sampat’s gang and influence has spread to more than 40,000 women across northern India.

Most of the citizens Sampat works with are dalit?(“untouchables”), of the lowest caste in a strict class hierarchy.? The judicial system about them is corrupt, the land infertile, domestic violence is through the roof and women’s rights wallow in the gutter.? Illiteracy is rampant.? None of that has stopped Sampat Pal Devi though.?

In 2007 the Gulabi Gang accomplished one of its greatest feats to date by staking out a government-run fair-price shop (along the lines of welfare in America) and intercepting a load of grain designated for the poor that was being illegally diverted to an open market.? Armed with evidence and a good dose of courage, the Gulabi pressured local officials to return the grain and place the shop owner in police custody.? When the case wasn’t registered (typical behavior in that region) angry gang members assaulted an officer with their laathis.? The respect and credibility of the gang soared throughout India after that and they are reported in a positive light by Indian media.? Their influence has since resounded around the world, and a chapter has even begun in Paris, France.

In 2008 the Gulabi also stormed an electricity office and forced officials to turn the power back on–power that had been turned off in order to force bribes and sexual favors from a slice of the population.? The Pink Saris stormed the place and had the power back on for citizens within the hour.

Day to day interactions are taken up by Sampat riding from location to location on an old rusty bicycle in order to mediate an assortment of issues between citizens, lovers, neighbors… you name it.? She is recognized for her courage, her strength, her unwavering sense of justice, and keen common sense.? Sampat Pal Devi and the Gulabi Gang are tomorrow’s mythology–living legends right in front of us, straight out of some kind of action movie.? What Quentin Tarantino could do with Sampat’s story!? And their cause is just–Sampat Pal Devi is astounding, awe-inspiring, and may serve as a model of strength and justice throughout the world.? Her tactics may just offer a ray of hope to those working in response to America’s atrocious offenses against indigenous women and peoples, as well.? ??

Let the Pink Saris continue to spread as the unfolding of a flower in the wind.? Dawn is upon us.

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Watch this video of the Gulabi Gang:

Edited/Published by: SB

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