Sampat Devi Pal
Commander, Gulabi Gang

Power of pink

MUMBAI: If a small girl is being married off or a corrupt official is demanding a bribe anywhere in Banda district, Uttar Pradesh, Sampat Devi Pal gets to know of it before the police. In no time, Pal and a group of pink sari-draped, lathi-wielding women reach the spot where crime might be committed. “If one person stands up, four more find the strength to do the same,” she says. That is how it all started more than a decade ago.

Pal is the founder-head of the Gulabi Gang that has been standing up for the rights of the vulnerable and fighting corruption in a region known for its crimes against women. Today, the gang’s network comprises 1,40,000 women spread across Uttar Pradesh and has even made inroads into Haryana.

Pal chose pink as the dress code because most of the other colours were identified with political parties or religious groups. Pal wanted a non-political identity. “We are not a gang of rowdies and I am not Phoolan Devi. I may not be educated, but I know how a human being should live,” she says, speaking of the driving force that guides her.

As told to Malvika Tegta