Phoolan an idol without a vision: Khushwant

phoolan devi was forged as an icon to fight against oppression despite her lack of vision and forced into a celebrity status, says khushwant singh. "though not a great visionary, she was projected as a symbol opposing atrocities of men", said the eminent writer and columnist. even politicians and political parties exploited her for their benefit, he said.she was portrayed as a sign against injustice but her illiteracy and lack of vision prevented her from acquiring any greater role. nevertheless, she thoroughly enjoyed her "forced celebrity status". commenting on the vip security issue, the delhi-based writer said a public figure could not totally eliminate such incidents. "one cannot be surrounded by guards and sandbags all the time," he said. he described the whole wednesday's incident as unfortunate and shocking. though singh had never met phoolan devi in person, she found herself part of his numerous columns, features and books. he had included her among women he has known, loved, despised, admired in book of unforgettable women. khushwant singh, in fact, was one of the few writers who had tried to piece together phoolan's story before she surrendered in 1983. he extensively toured her native village and met her mother, sister and other relatives for his features and articles. he even went to behmai after the massacre of 22 upper class men. though, throughout her life phoolan denied having even fired a single bullet, singh recalls meeting very angry and hostile relatives of those killed in the shootout. "there is no way she could have returned to her village or behmai. the hate and anger against her could be felt in the air if one visited the place," he said. singh said that men misused phoolan since her childhood and compelled her to become what she was. "her anger against men was understandable for the rape and atrocities they forced on her. but to kill 22 men for this can not be justified by this," he added. however, he had justified the movie character called phoolan devi's violent acts in shekhar kapoor's bandit queen. in one his 1999 columns, singh compared phoolan devi and queen elizabeth i as depicted in kapoor's 'bandit queen' and 'elizabeth' respectively. phoolan had been vilely abused by men and wreaked vengeance by the only means left to her - taking the law in one hand and a gun in the other, he had written. he, however, described the english queen as a sadist who did not have to kill herself: she ordered the beheading of noblemen she found inconvenient. " phoolan had a lot of justification for what she did; elizabeth had very little," he wrote.