How a village woman's courage gave rise to Gulabi Gang, a movement that spread across states

By Bharat Dogra 

When, as a young woman, Sampat Pal first resisted an act of violence against women in her home district of Banda, Uttar Pradesh, she could hardly have imagined that she was embarking on a journey that would lead to her work being highlighted not only in India's media but even in Western media. She would go on to receive prestigious awards and repeated requests to appear on prime-time TV shows. Sampat did not ask for this fame; it simply came her way as a result of her courageous interventions against various acts of injustice.

Before I went to meet her recently, I read several writings about her and found that she has often been portrayed as an instinctively violent personality. However, my impression of her during our long conversation was that of a highly dignified, polite, and gentle woman who may quickly become angry when confronted with acts of injustice, but who at heart is concerned primarily with creating a world free from such injustices. The most important lesson of her life is not the endlessly told stories of how she taught a lesson or two to those trying to trouble innocent women or indulging in corrupt activities. Instead, the main learning is how a big movement could start with a simple village woman, based on her sincerity and courage.

While Sampat's courage in taking up cases of violence against women initially attracted several women as well as others, she also showed wisdom in consolidating these gains by forming savings groups for women. These grew in strength, and soon there were about three hundred women as firm supporters. At this stage, they contributed small savings to purchase a pink saree for each one of them, giving them a pink identity that eventually led to the name "Gulabi (Pink) Gang"—a name that somehow stuck.

The Gulabi Gang soon expanded beyond tackling cases relating to violence against women. They also played a significant role in fighting corruption in the public distribution system and in checking irregularities in development work. This social movement also raised a strong voice against the increasing consumption of alcohol and smokeless tobacco/gutkha, and fought for the removal of some liquor vends. Sampat told me that she could persuade many men to give up alcohol.

Some aspects of this journey appear to have attracted women greatly, as the number of her supporters grew by leaps and bounds, despite several obstacles being placed in her path from time to time. Some accounts mention well over two hundred thousand members in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with a support base in some other states as well. Several of these women have established a reputation for significant work in their own right, gaining a good reputation in their respective districts or work areas. Sampat Pal particularly mentioned the names of Pushpa Singh from Rae Bareilly, Uma Verma from Chhindwara, and Farida Begum from Mahoba.

After a journey of about two decades, Sampat Pal is also thinking of starting some service-based activities, although her main identity remains that of a fighter for justice and for just causes.

While most of the time she has been fighting for justice for women victims, she has not hesitated to come to the help of those men who have been wrongly accused or implicated by women in some cases. Her sense of fairness and justice is the deciding factor. Recently, in her home district of Banda, when one of the most sincere and courageous activists, Raja Bhaiya, was implicated in some cases and accusations, she was at the forefront of many distinguished persons as well as common villagers who came forward to support him in difficult times. Pointing to Raja Bhaiya's wife—a very soft-hearted village woman—and their three daughters, she asked loudly, with a flash of her famous anger showing at last: "Should we not be concerned about these women, who as family members of a badly victimized person—a sincere and good person—have suffered a lot?" Later, she was present at a public meeting that unanimously passed a resolution for ending the victimization of Raja Bhaiya, as well as the women and Dalit colleagues who have worked with him.

It is interesting and useful to note that while Sampat Pal may have lacked formal higher education, her learnings from the course of struggles, as well as her strong sense of fairness and justice, have led her to select issues and cases for support or resistance in a very thoughtful manner. This has played an important role in the fast, largely spontaneous spread of this social movement, without the availability of either organized or institutional funding or any formal support structure.

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The writer is Honorary Convener of the Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine and When the Two Streams Met. His website is bharatdogra.in