BANDA DISTRICT, India – Director Winkitiki and the folks at Vivid Alt have unleashed The Bad Luck Betties, about a group of hard-ass bad girls, but those chicks are creampuffs compared to the real-life Gulabi Gang.
Operating in the Banda district of north-central India, a place where life has been described as short, brutal and cruel, the Gulabi Gang is made up of women and is recognized by their electric-pink saris.
The gang was formed two years and now numbers 500 women. The word Gulabi means "pink," but don't let the fruity color fool you. These are some serious chicks. And their bold acts of banditry and violence have given them folk-heroine status and public support among the locals.
One of the gang's more daring exploits has been to hijack trucks filled with food meant for the poor that was being sold for profit at the local market by corrupt officials.
More recently, when the region's electricity was cut off by officials to exact bribes from residents, the gang took action, taking over the office of the power station, threatening workers with sticks and finally stealing the keys and effectively shutting down the operation. Within an hour, the power was back on.
The gang has also been responsible for stopping child marriages, forcing police—by slapping them—to respond to cases of domestic violence and getting roads built by threatening do-nothing officials with violence.
The gang was organized by 46-year-old Sampat Devi Pal. British publication The Guardian noted that Pal carries a big stick, but Pal said of the weapon, "We always carry them, but only for protection."
Beware the pink, people. These chicks don't play.
