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Laxmi Agarwal
Laxmi in Washington receiving award.
Born	(1990-06-01) June 1, 1990 (age 34) New Delhi
Known for	Stop Sale Acid
Spouse	Alok Dixit (m. 2014)
Children	1 (daughter named Pihu)

Laxmi Agarwal (born 1 June 1990) is an Indian acid attack survivor, a campaigner for rights of acid attack victims and a TV host.

Agarwal was attacked in 2005 at an age of 15, by a 32-year-old man, whose romantic advances she had rejected. Her story, among others, was told in a series on acid attack victims by Hindustan Times.

She has since established grassroots campaigns for tackling the surge of acid attacks; one of her petitions had led the Supreme Court to order the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to enable easier prosecutions of acid attack perpetrators. She has been an erstwhile director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the acid attack survivors in India.

In 2019, she was conferred with the International Women Empowerment Award from Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Unicef for her campaign of Stop Sale Acid. In 2014, she was conferred with the International Women of Courage award by First Lady Michelle Obama. A movie is being made starring actress Deepika Padukone, which is inspired by her journey as an acid attack survivor.

Early life

Laxmi was born in New Delhi in a middle-class family. She was approached by a man Naeem Khan in his early thirties whose advances she rejected. This resulted in an acid attack on her.

Public interest litigation (PIL) in Supreme Court

Laxmi, whose face and other body parts were disfigured in the acid attack, had a PIL in 2006. A minor then, Laxmi was attacked with acid by three men near Tughlaq road in New Delhi as she had refused to marry Nadeem Khan aka Guddu, of the trio. Her PIL sought framing of a new law, or amendment to the existing criminal laws like IPC, Indian Evidence Act and CrPC for dealing with the offence, besides asking for compensation. She had also pleaded for a total ban on sale of acid, citing increasing number of incidents of such attacks on women across the country.

During a hearing in April, the Centre had assured the Supreme Court of India that it will work with the state governments to formulate a plan before the next hearing on 9 July. However, it failed to do so, which angered the court. However, when the Centre failed to produce a plan, the Supreme Court warned that it will intervene and pass orders if the government failed to frame a policy to curb the sale of acid in order to prevent chemical attacks. "Seriousness is not seen on the part of government in handling the issue," the bench headed by Justice RM Lodha had said. Earlier, in February, the court had directed the Centre to convene in six weeks a meeting of Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories to hold discussion for enacting a law to regulate the sale of acids and a policy for treatment, compensation and care and rehabilitation of such victims.

Meanwhile, in 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Laxmi and Rupa’s plea, thereby creating a fresh set of restrictions on the sale of acid. Under the new regulations, acid could not be sold to any individual below the age of 18 years. One is also required to furnish a photo identity card before buying acid. Laxmi claims that not much has changed on the ground, despite all the regulations. "Acid is freely available in shops. Our own volunteers have gone and purchased acid easily. In fact, I have myself purchased acid," she said. "We have launched a new initiative called ‘Shoot Acid’. By means of the Right to Information Act, we are trying to acquire data concerning the sale of acid in every district. We intend to present the information collected through this initiative before the Supreme Court to apprise them of the situation on the ground."

Personal life

Laxmi was in a relationship with social activist Alok Dixit. However, she has been separated from her partner since 2015. When they were together, Alok decided not to get married and instead opted to be in a live-in relationship. "We have decided to live together until we die. But we are challenging the society by not getting married. We don’t want people to come to our wedding and comment on Laxmi's looks. The looks of a bride are most important for people. So we decided not to have any ceremony," said Alok. Their families have accepted the relationship and also their decision not to have a ceremonial wedlock.

Hunger strike and campaign against acid violence

Laxmi, along with other acid attack survivors started a hunger strike demanding immediate justice and rehabilitation for acid attack survivors. She had also written a poem describing her situation during the incident. While she was in U.S for receiving International Women of Courage award, she was praised by then U.S first lady Michelle Obama and others for her campaign against acid violence.

In popular culture

Film titled as Chhapaak is based on her life story and is scheduled to release on 10th January, 2020 in which Deepika Padukone acted her role. She was made as brand ambassador of Viva n Diva company.

References

1. ^ "Bios of 2014 Award Winners". state.gov. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014.
2. ^ "Acid attack survivor now TV anchor". The Times of India.
3. ^ "Don't stare at me, I am human too: acid attack survivor Laxmi". hindustantimes.com/. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013.
4. "Acid attack survivor Laxmi's spirit wins her a partner for life". hindustantimes.com/. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
5. Sharma, Vibha (4 January 2015). "Sheroes, the stars with acid scars". tribuneindia.com.
6. "लक्ष्मी को मिला अंतर्राष्‍ट्रीय महिला सशक्तिकरण सम्मान - Uttarakhand Mirror". Retrieved 19 April 2019.
7. "Vikrant Massey to work with Deepika Padukone in Meghna Gulzar's film on acid attack survivor - bollywood". 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
8. "Chhapaak: Twitter trolls Deepika for changing attacker's religion. Fact: Who cares?". India Today. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
9. SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY (11 June 2014). "Tea with Laxmi". The Hindu.
10. "SC bans over-the-counter sale of acid, orders compensation for victims". Zee News. 18 July 2013.
11. "Who is Laxmi Aggarwal, the acid attack survivor Deepika Padukone is playing in Chhapaak - Hindscoop". Hindscoop. 26 March 2019.
12. "Supreme Court to hear acid attack victim's plea seeking ban on sale of chemicals". NDTV.com.
13. "We are not victims, but fighters: acid attack survivor Laxmi speaks". openDemocracy. 4 November 2014.
14. "Acid attack crusader Laxmi Agarwal falls upon hard times, struggles to find job". 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
15. "Indian Acid Attack Survivor Finds Love – and a Job as a TV News Anchor". 6 March 2014.
16. "Acid attack survivor Laxmi's spirit wins her a partner for life". 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
17. "Hunger strike by acid attack victims". The Times of India.
18. Kaushal, Ruchi (17 October 2018). "I won't judge Deepika Padukone for my biopic, says acid-attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal - bollywood". Retrieved 19 April 2019.
19. DelhiJune 6, India Today Web Desk New; June 6, 2019UPDATED:; Ist, 2019 14:30. "Meghna Gulzar shares pics from last day of Chhapaaky, Deepika Padukone looks unrecognisable". India Today. Retrieved 6 June 2019. {{cite web}}: |first3= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
20. Indian acid attack survivor is new face of fashion brand BBC

External links

• Acid attack victims
• Indian victims of crime
• Indian women activists
• 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
• 1990 births
• Women writers from Delhi
• Indian women television journalists
• Indian television journalists
• Journalists from Delhi
• Activists from Delhi
• Indian women's rights activists
• 21st-century Indian journalists
• Women human rights defenders