When mobs came to burn down a petrol pump on Rohtak's Gohana road during the Jat quota stir last month, they were met by an army of one. Prem Devi, a 60-year-old widow, stood guard outside the filling station for four hours with a stick in hand, preventing waves of rioters from setting the place on fire, thereby saving the lives of hundreds who live in a settlement right behind it. On Women's Day, dignitaries lauded the courage shown by Prem Devi, one of 38 people honoured by Delhi Commission for Women for their efforts to steer social change .

'I thought if they killed me it would be only one life lost'

On February 20, the Jat agitation was at its peak. Prem Devi, a resident of Sukhapur Chowk, Rohtak, noticed a mob heading towards the filling station with sticks and inflammable material. On the seeing the rioters, the petrol pump staff ran away. That was when Prem Devi, herself a Jat, decided to confront the mob.

"I stood there for almost four hours, with a stick in hand. There were riotous crowds of around 4,000 men moving around on the road. When they tried to come towards the petrol pump I threatened some, pushed others away and begged a few not to burn the pump," she said.

Devi said that no one else came out of their houses and even the petrol pump staff remained in hiding. "One rioter had even lit up a match stick to burn the pump but Premji did not give up. She was able to convince him by reminding him about the colony adjoining the pump and the innumerable residents that live there. This degree of courage, in the face of a rioting mob... is an inspiration and lesson to all that even one person can make a difference," reads Prem Devi's citation.

Her courage in the face of a huge mob was captured by CCTV cameras at the petrol pump. A delighted Prem Devi said she had lived her life fearlessly and was not once worried for herself. "I thought that if they would kill me it would be only one life lost but if the petrol pump was burnt down, it would put hundreds of lives in danger," she told.

As CM Arvind Kejriwal gave away the awards, Prem Devi stood tall with her two sons. Wife of a former BSF officer, Devi lost her husband in 2010. She herself can't read or write but is proud of her sons - one a bank official and the other a college student. She is also a grandmother of a toddler, who she hopes will grow up to be a braveheart like her.

The youngest recipient of the award was 10-year-old Baby Muskaan, whose courage helped foil a sexual assault attempt on a girl in the slum where she lives. The awards chose to bring out the heroes among common people living around us in the capital and its surroundings.