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Hello from Wonder Media Network.

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I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is

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Encyclopedia Wamanica.

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In case you're just tuning in, here's the deal.

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Every week day for a year, we're

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taking five minutes to tell the story of a

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woman from throughout history and around

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the world who you may or may not know

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about but definitely should. Each

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month is themed, and this month

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we're talking about villainesses. Today

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we're talking about a famous Indian bandit

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turned politician and celebrity. She

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lived an incredible life of crime for eighteen

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years before transforming into a

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politician and activist. Let's

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meet our villainess of the day, Sima

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Parihar. Sima

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was born in nineteen seventy to a poor

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family in the region of Uttar Pradesh,

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India. When she was thirteen years old,

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she was kidnapped from her village by two bandits.

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Soon after, and perhaps with little choice

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in the matter, Sima became a bandit herself.

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Three years later, in nineteen eighty

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six, Sima married another infamous

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outlaw, though she eventually left

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him for one of the men who originally kidnapped

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her. Soon

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Sima was running her own gang in the

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regions around the behind Jungle and

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the Chambal River. During

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her time as gang leader, Sima earned

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the nickname Bandit Queen. She

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said she was inspired by another historic Indian

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bandit named Fulan Devi, a

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woman whose legacy is almost mythical. Over

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eighteen years, Seema allegedly

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killed seventy people, abducted

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nearly two hundred people, and looted

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many homes. But

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in the year two thousand, Sima grew

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tired of the criminal life and turned herself

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in. She was put in jail and

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faced twenty nine charges, including

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eight counts of murder and six counts of kidnapping.

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The following year, Indian political

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parties started reaching out to Sima while

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she was in jail awaiting trial, to see

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if she might be interested in running for office.

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Though a courting a former criminal to run for

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public office may sound somewhat unusual,

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it's actually not without precedent. Full

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On Devi, the woman who Sema modeled herself

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after, had become a popular politician

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after leaving her own life of crime years

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before. In two

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thousand and six, Seema joined the Indian

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Justice Party, and a year later

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she ran for office. She lost

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by only eight hundred and twenty four votes

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as for the pending criminal charges. By

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October two thousand and eight, Seema

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had been acquitted of fifteen of the charges

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and was on bail for the fourteen pending

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cases. Sima

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then went full on into political activism.

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She's well known for her work around anti corruption

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and voter turnout. In twenty

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eleven, she was appointed head of the

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Women's wing of the National Corruption

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Eradication Council. Seema's

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fame also grew for her involvement

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in an entirely different industry. She

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played herself in her own Bollywood

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biopic. The film

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Wounded the Bandit Queen was

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unlike anything that had happened in Indian cinema.

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The film was shot in the Chamball Valley,

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where Sema actually worked as a bandit

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and started the real life protagonist. It

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was released a critical acclaim in two thousand

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and six. But her movie wasn't

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Seema's only foura into show business.

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In twenty ten, Sema was on the

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fourth season of the Indian reality

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TV show Big Boss. For those

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of us in the US, Big Boss is

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the same concept as the popular US

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reality show Big Brother. She

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kidnapped three hundred people murdered around

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seventy and looted approximately Petty

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Holmes. Yep, we are talking about Sema Buddy

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Hag who was seen in Big Boss four. Seema

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almost didn't make it on her season. She

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was actually in jail prior to filming

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and had to file a petition in High Court

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in order to get permission to appear on the show.

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The petition was initially rejected before

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the court reconsidered. The pre

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filming drama and subsequent time on

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the very popular Big Boss helped

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to cement Sema Parry hearts celebrity

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status in India. As a former bandit

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turned politician turned activists

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turned celeb one can only imagine

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what she'll do next. As

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always, we're taking a break for the weekend, but

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tune in on Monday for the story of Another

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villain s special thanks

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to my favorite sister and co creator Liz

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Kaplan. Talk to you on

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Monday. This

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episode of Encyclopedia Wamanica

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