Laxmi Agarwal
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Laxmi Agarwal (born 1 June 1990) is an Indian
acid attack An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tortu ...
survivor, a campaigner for rights of acid attack victims, and a TV host. Laxmi is founder and President of The Laxmi Foundation, an NGO dedicated to acid attack victims. She was attacked at the age of 15. In 2019, she was honoured with the International Women Empowerment Award from the
Ministry of Women and Child Development The Ministry of Women and Child Development, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body responsible for the formulation and administration of the rules, regulations, and laws relating to Women in India, women and Children in India, c ...
, the
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation The Ministry of Jal Shakti () is a ministry under the Government of India which was formed in May 2019 under the second Modi ministry. This was formed by merging of two ministries; ''the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga R ...
and
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
for her campaign of ''Stop Acid Sale''. In 2014, she received the
International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...
from
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
. The movie ''
Chhapaak ''Chhapaak'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Deepika Padukone in leading role of a character inspired by Agarwal alo ...
'' is based on her life and stars
Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...
in her role.


Early life and the attack

Laxmi was born in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. In 2005, Laxmi was 15 years old and an 11th-grade student. She was approached by a man working in her neighbourhood, Naeem Khan, who was 32 years old. He proposed to Laxmi but she rejected him. She did not inform anyone about this because her family would have blamed her and stopped her studies. Ten months later, Laxmi Agrawal was returning from Khan market at 10:45 in the morning when she received Naeem's wedding proposal again. She did not respond. Within no time, she was attacked with acid by Naeem and his elder brother, Kamran. Kamran called Laxmi's name from behind while riding his motorcycle. When Laxmi turned to look, Naeem threw acid directly at her face from the backseat. Laxmi fainted and after gaining consciousness, she tried to walk up and ask for help but met with multiple road accidents. A man named Arun Singh called the police, but he saw her skin melting from the acid, and he realised it might be too late to wait for assistance. Someone else splashed water on her face hoping to reduce the burns; this caused the acid to move down and burn her neck. Arun then got her in the back seat of his car. This later caused burn holes in the seat covers. He admitted her to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The police reached the hospital directly. Arun then asked Laxmi about her family and where she lived. He reached her house, informed her family, and took them from their house to the hospital. She underwent multiple operations including eye surgery. Naeem Khan was arrested and later sentenced to imprisonment for ten years.


Public interest litigation in Supreme Court

In 2006, Agarwal filed a
public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). It refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability ...
(PIL) in the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...
seeking framing of a new law, or amendment to the existing criminal laws like
Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the official criminal code of the Republic of India, inherited from British India after independence. It remained in force until it was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in December 2023 ...
,
Indian Evidence Act The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed in India by the Imperial Legislative Council in 1872 during the British Raj, contains a set of rules and related provisions governing the admissibility of evidence in Indian courts of law. The India E ...
and
Code of Criminal Procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...
, for dealing with the offence of acid attack, besides asking for compensation. She also pleaded for a total ban on the sale of acid, citing an increasing number of incidents of such attacks on women across the country. During the hearing, the Centre assured the court that it would work with the state governments to enact a law to regulate the sale of acids and formulate a policy for treatment, compensation and care and rehabilitation of such victims. However, when the Centre failed to produce a plan, the court criticised the government for lack of seriousness and warned that it would intervene and pass orders if the government failed to frame a policy to curb the sale of acid in order to prevent chemical attacks. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Agarwal's plea, thereby creating a fresh set of restrictions on the sale of acid in India. Under the new regulations, acid cannot be sold to any individual below the age of 18 years and the buyer is required to furnish a photo identity card. The court also issued directions to be followed regarding medical treatment, aftercare, rehabilitation and compensation for acid attack victims.


Personal life

Laxmi Agarwal was in a live-in relationship with social activist
Alok Dixit Alok Dixit is a journalist turned social activist, fighting for freedom of Internet in India. He is the founder member of Save Your Voice, a movement against Internet censorship in India and Stop Acid Attacks, a campaign against with the supp ...
, and the couple has separated in 2015. They have a daughter.


Hunger strike and campaign against acid violence

The acid attack survivors started a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
demanding immediate justice and rehabilitation for acid attack survivors. She wrote a poem describing her situation during the incident. While she was in the United States to receive the International Women of Courage award, she was praised by the then USA first lady Michelle Obama and others for her campaign against acid violence.


In popular culture

She starred in the 2014 short documentary ''Newborns'' directed by Megha Ramaswamy as herself. The film ''
Chhapaak ''Chhapaak'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Deepika Padukone in leading role of a character inspired by Agarwal alo ...
'' is based on Agarwal's life story and was released on 10 January 2020. In the film, her character is played by actress
Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agarwal, Laxmi 1990 births Acid attack victims Indian victims of crime Living people People from New Delhi Indian women poets 21st-century Indian poets 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers Poets from Delhi 21st-century Indian journalists 21st-century Indian women journalists Women writers from Delhi Indian women television journalists Indian television journalists Journalists from Delhi Activists from Delhi Indian women's rights activists Indian women human rights activists Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award