Putli Bai (1929–1958)

views updated

Putli Bai (1929–1958)

Indian bandit queen. Born c. 1929 into a Muslim family of prostitutes in Agra, India; dau. of (mother) Ashgari (who ran a brothel); shot and killed while crossing the Kunwari River, trying to escape an ambush, 1958; children: daughter Tanno.

One of the most well-known and revered bandit queens in India (1950s); 1st came to public attention as a willowy dancer in mother's traditional Nauchghar (brothel of dancing girls) in town of Agra; kidnapped by the leader of a dacoit gang, eventually chose to stay with him; when he was killed, teamed with another gang leader, Kalyan Singh, known as Kalla; injured in a police gun battle, lost left arm at the elbow but could still hold a gun.

See also Women in World History.