Putlibai (dacoit)
Indian female dacoit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Putli Bai (Hindi: पुतली बाई) (1926[1] or 1929 - 1958) was a dreaded female dacoit, often known by the epithet "Indian bandit queen".. She was the first female dacoit of India.[2] Her area of dacoity was the famed Chambal valley, which remained for a long time a stronghold of dacoits. Supposedly, she never wanted to be a dacoit, but became so because of excessive cruetly meted out upon her time and again, and dacoity - kind of - became her last resort.[2]
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She was born as Gauhar Bano in a small village in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh.[3] Gradually as she became famous in the world of dancing, she began to be called Putlibai. The name appears to be a reference to a typical Indian puppet, who is made to dance by a hidden artist.[4] Another conjecture is that she used to slither as smoothly as the pupils of an eye, and hence the name.[5]
Once as she was dancing in a marriage ceremony, a dreaded dacoit Sultana reached there, and forced her to go along with her, lest he would kill her brother Alladin. Unwillingly, she had to go with him. Gradually she fell in love with him.[3]