Print

Mail

wiki links

Former bandit joins race for MP seat in India's lower house

"I have seen violence in my early days. This [violence] has not helped any one."

-- Seema Parihar, parliamentary candidate

Seema Parihar was once one of northern India's most feared bandits. Now she wants to be a member of parliament.

Parihar, who faces charges on 29 counts of murder and kidnapping, is running in a by-election today to represent the Bhadoi district in India's Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament.

And she has a precedent for such a transformation.

India's famous "Bandit Queen," Phoolan Devi, became a member of parliament in 1996 after a long career roaming central India's desolate valleys, allegedly stealing from and killing wealthy, upper-caste landowners who she said exploited poor, landless farmers.

Devi was murdered, while still serving as a lawmaker in 2001, by one of the upper-caste Hindus she had fought against.

"I want to be another Phoolan," Parihar said in Bhadoi, about 300km southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

"She [Phoolan] had done a lot for the poor and downtrodden," Parihar said. "Unfortunately, she was killed."

Parihar surrendered to police five years ago, saying she'd had enough of a life of violence. She now preaches a message of peace.

"I have seen violence in my early days. This [violence] has not helped any one," she told a group of people at an election rally. "We want peace and justice for all. Vote for me."

Parihar, who is out of custody on bail, can run for elections because India's law only prohibits those who have been convicted from running for office. With India's backlogged legal system, that often takes years.

She is the Indian Justice Party's candidate for the Bhadoi parliamentary seat, which fell vacant after the incumbent died.

Parihar is not the only politician in Uttar Pradesh to face accusations of crime.

Traditionally politics in the state of Uttar Pradesh -- like many others in India -- has been dominated by local power brokers who often use violence to intimidate rivals' supporters.
This story has been viewed 979 times.