NPR: India's Latest 'Robin Hood' Killed by Police

India's Latest 'Robin Hood' Killed by Police

India, it seems, has seen nearly as many real-life versions of Robin Hood as Hollywood studios have film versions in their archives.

The latest "Robin Hood," Shiv Kumar, also known by the alias Dadua, was killed along with several companions by police during a fierce gun battle Sunday. The Associated Press reports that Kumar, believed to be in his 60s, led one of the last remaining bands of outlaws that roam central India.

Kumar had a reputation for being fiercely loyal to the poor villagers in the region, particularly those from his Kurmi caste, a group on the lower rungs of India's complex social ladder and one of the most downtrodden in the area in which he operated.

But a man known as Veerappan, who was killed by police in 2004, was also called India's "Robin Hood." CNN reported he gained international notoriety in 2000 when he kidnapped India's most popular movie star, Rajkumar, then released him a few months later.

And in the '50s, there was the "Robin Hood of the Himalayas" in neighboring Nepal. Former Indian army clerk K.I. Singh started giving out land to Nepalese peasant farmers before the Indian army threw him in jail. He went on to become Nepal's prime minister.

When reading all this, it's hard not to think of the story of the Dread Pirate Roberts from the The Princess Bride (a pirate who retired and gave someone else the name when he was rich enough).

4:11 PM ET | 07-23-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Don't forget India's "Bandit Queen," Phoolan Devi.

Sent by Mark | 6:02 PM ET | 07-23-2007

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