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British India -

British India, broadly defined by the rule of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent from 1773 to 1858, preceded the British Raj—the rule of the British Crown, which lasted from 1858 to 1947.

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Lord William Bentinck -

Lord William Bentinck (1774–1839) was the first Governor-General of India from 1834 to 1835. He initiated the quelling of thuggee, crimes carried out across India by the thugs.

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Cult of the thugs -

The thugs were the greatest criminal gang in history, a network of professional assassins operating secretly throughout India engaged in robbing and murdering travelers.

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Criminal gangs -

The thugs' murderous modus operandi was quick and quiet. Thuggees worked by joining groups of travelers and gaining their trust before surprising them in the night and typically strangling them with a handkerchief or noose, the ligature twisted tightly around the neck.

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Killing in the name of Kali -

The thuggee groups consisted both of Hindus and Muslims, though they worshipped the Hindu deity Kali.

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Thuggee worship of Kali -

In fact, the thuggees' ritualistic killings were carried out as sacrifices to this mysterious goddess of death and destruction.

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Etymology -

The English word "thug" derives from the Hindi term thag (thief), which itself comes from Sanskrit sthagati (to conceal). As such, thugs were often called "deceivers." The word thug later passed into common English during the time of British Imperial rule of India and still denotes a brutality to this day.

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Origins -

Thugs operated in India from as early as the 13th century. Traditions about their origins differ, though most fraternities traced their bloodline back to Muslim tribes. Hindus, however, appear to have been associated with them from an early period.

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"King of the Thugs" -

Thugs carried out their homicidal acts with impunity for centuries. Guinness World Records lists thug Behram (c. 1765–1840), also known as Buhram Jamedar and the "King of the Thugs," as strangling at least 931 victims with his yellow and white cloth strip or rumal in the Oudh district (now in Uttar Pradesh) between 1790 and 1840. He's often cited as one of the world's most prolific serial killers.

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Learning their craft -

The murderous craft of the thuggee was hereditary. Its practitioners were trained from early childhood in the dark art of strangulation, quite often while carrying out chores at home.

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The murder weapon -

The cloth noose used was known as a rumal (pictured), an often decorative knotted handkerchief worn inconspicuously about the waist of each thuggee.

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The power of the flower -

The seeds and flowers of the Datura metel, known as the Indian thornapple or, more sinisterly, the devil's trumpet, would sometimes be rubbed into a rumal by thugs to stupefy their victims. All species of Datura are extremely poisonous and can cause respiratory depression, delirium, and hallucinations, among other symptoms.

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Silent killers -

Not for nothing were thugs also known as deceivers. They roamed often in the guise of traders, pilgrims, and even as soldiers marching to or from service. Scouts would survey hotels and marketplaces for potential victims. Wealthy-looking travelers were obvious targets. A group of thugs posing as fellow journeymen would then join the retinue. When they were all encamped, the imposters would make their move.

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Celebrating Kali Puja -

The cult of thuggee grew around Kali Puja, a religious festival where participants carry a likeness of their goddess Kali. Thugs used the occasion to reaffirm their commitment to kill for her, but without spilling blood. And incidentally, women were never targeted by the killers because they were considered to be incarnations of Kali.

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No compassion, no remorse -

Thuggee mindset was devoid of guilt. Assassination for gain was a religious duty for thugs, and was considered a holy and honorable profession, in which moral feelings did not come into play. But this reckless regard for human life alarmed the British.

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Suppressing the cult -

It wasn't until the early 1830s that the British began to take vigorous steps to suppress the dangerous and deadly cult. For that they turned to William Henry Sleeman.

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William Henry Sleeman (1788–1856) -

William Sleeman was a British soldier and administrator in British India. With Lord Bentinck's approval, Sleeman established a police organization in 1835 known as the Thuggee and Dacoity Department. An extensive campaign involving profiling, intelligence, and executions was put in place to rein in the thugs.

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Going undercover -

To help achieve this, Sleeman went undercover, learned the language, disguised himself, traveled the road, and even familiarized himself with the handkerchief—the thugs' weapon of choice.

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Manhunt -

Having socialized with the stranglers to gather intelligence, Sleeman then changed back into uniform and, with the support of a small army of assistants and sepoys, hunted down and captured over 3,000 thugs.

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Punishment -

Of these, 466 were hanged, 1,564 transported, and 933 imprisoned for life. Pictured is a group of thugs behind bars in Aurangabad prison, Maharashtra state.

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Feringhea's story -

One of Sleeman's most celebrated victories was the capture of the infamous thug leader Feringhea, also known as Syeed Amir Ali. Feringhea was eventually persuaded to turn King's evidence—effectively giving up information to the court in order to reduce his own punishment—and directed Sleeman to a mass grave where the remains of hundred of victims were unearthed. He then told him the circumstances of the murders and named the thugs who had committed them.

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'Confessions of a Thug' -

Feringhea's story was the basis of 'Confessions of a Thug.' Written by Colonel Philip Meadows Taylor and first published to great acclaim in 1839, the novel was a best-selling page-turner in Britain; its avid readers included Queen Victoria.

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End of the thugs -

By the 1870s, the thug cult was virtually extinct. Sleeman had done his job. However, the department he created remained in existence until 1904.

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Securing loyalty -

The defeat of the thugs played a large part in securing Indian loyalty to the British Raj. Here, a policeman poses with four "collared and suited" thugs, circa 1875.

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The rise of Veerappan -

Some historians now argue that the thuggee cult was in many ways an invention of the British colonizers as a way to better control India. But a little over 100 years later, a Tamil woodcutter's son would reignite the mystique surrounding the thug—Koose Munisamy Veerappan.

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India's most wanted man -

In the 1980s and '90s, Veerappan (seen here in 1993 with his fellow outlaws) was India's most wanted man. Variously described as a poacher, smuggler, domestic terrorist, and bandit, he and his gang operated out of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. Veerappan was wanted for killing approximately 184 people. But his most publicized criminal act was a kidnapping.

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Infamous kidnapping -

On July 30, 2000, Veerappan abducted well-known Bollywood film actor Dr. Rajkumar. He was held in captivity for 108 days before being released. His kidnapping made national and international headlines and served to further the public's skewered fascination with the shadowy bandit.

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Thugs in popular culture -

Veerappan met his end on October 18, 2004. Unlike the thugs, his modus operandi was brutal and bloody, and his passing was described as the "death of a demon." However, the legacy of thuggee survives through numerous books and movies.

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'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' (1984) -

Steven Spielberg's 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,' for example, has Indy (Harrison Ford) rescuing children from a thuggee cult practicing child slavery, black magic, and ritual human sacrifice in honor of the goddess Kali.

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'The Deceivers' (1988) -

In 1952, 'The Deceivers' by British novelist John Masters was published. The book's main character William Savage is based on William Sleeman. In 1988, a film adaptation of the book was released, with Pierce Brosnan as Savage.

Sources: (New World Encyclopedia) (Ancient Origins) (Britannica) (NPR) (Guinness World Records)

See also: The rise and fall of the British Empire

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