Thug: The True Story Of India's Murderous Cult

by Mike Dash

  Tranquillity returns to Sindouse Perry to Dowdeswell, 16 Dec. 1812, Add.Mss. 5376 fos. 27–9; N Halhed, ‘Report on the state of the Pergunnahs of Sindouse … from actual observation’, 18 Oct. 1812, Add.Mss. 5375 fos. 75–89.

  ‘It is, to me, extremely doubtful …’ Smith to Swinton, 20 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fos. 169–70.

  The movements of Thug gangs Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 97, 181, 191, 222–4, 226, 245–7; II, 305, 485.

  … largely unmolested … ‘Deposition of Suntoke Rae, son of Laljoo Kuchwaha, 24 Aug. 1834’, in Thornton, op. cit. p. 474.

  5 ‘The Infamous System of Thuggee’

  Halhed and Perry East India Register, 1814, 1823.

  Stockwell Sleeman, Ramaseeana II, pp. 3620–75.

  Forbes James Forbes, Oriental Memoirs II, 397. He arrived in Bombay as a writer in 1765 and remained in India until 1784, compiling an estimated 52,000 manuscript pages of notes on the natural history, archaeology and social life of the Subcontinent. The Memoirs that he produced from this mass of source material were composed some years later and first published in 1813–15. Thévenot, writing in about 1665, had described female stranglers who lulled victims with their beauty; see van Woerkens, The Strangled Traveller p. 111.

  … seems not to have been employed … Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 254.

  Thugs at Bangalore Richard Sherwood, ‘Of the Murderers Called Phansigars’, Asiatick Researches 13 (1820) pp. 250–82.

  Indians knew nothing Stewart Gordon, ‘Scarf and Sword’, IEHSR 4 (1969) pp. 408–9.

  Encounters with the Phansigars in 1807 Sherwood, pp. 250–51; Thornton, p. 3.

  Wright’s reports Thugs and Phansigars cooperated on occasion, for example, in the Dhooma affair of 1813; Thornton, p. 207. Perry and his assistant Nathaniel Halhed were certainly familiar with Wright’s descriptions of the ‘Fasueegar gangs’ by the time Halhed marched into Sindouse in October 1812. See Halhed, ‘Report on the state of the Pergunnahs of Sindouse … from actual observation’, 18 Oct. 1812, BC F/4/389 fos. 75–89.

  On links between the Thugs and Phansigars, see Ramaseeana I, 163–4. For the Phansigars’ activities in the Deccan, 1807–12, see Sherwood, op. cit. pp. 259n, 264; Thornton, Illustrations pp. 3–6; Ishwar Sahai, ‘The crime of thagi and its suppression under Lord WC Bentinck’, part 1, Indian Culture 3 (1936) p. 324; ‘Extract of a letter from the Magistrate of the Zillah of Chittoor to the Register of the Foujdarry Adawlut’, 6 Dec. 1809, ‘Extract of a letter from the Magistrate of Chittoor to the Secretary to Government in the Judicial Department’, 1 July 1812. ‘Declaration given by Sheik Madar of Goottapaliam’, 1 Feb. 1811, ‘Declaration of Yerragaudoo’, 1 Feb. 1811, ‘Second declaration by Yerragaudoo’, 2 Feb. 1811, all printed in Ramaseeana II, 304–27.

  Stockwell’s report of 1815 Stockwell to Acting Superintendent of Police, 7 Aug. 1815, Ramaseeana II, 369.

  St Leger Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 14–15; the Marchioness of Bute, The Private Journals of the Marquess of Hastings, II, 151–2. Sepoys continued to be favoured as Thug victims into the 1830s; see Smith to Swinton, 20 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fos. 173.

  Shakespear’s paper J Shakespear, ‘Observations Regarding Badheks and T’hegs, extracted from an official report dated 30 April 1816’, Asiatick Researches 13 (1820) pp. 282–92.

  John Malcolm Malcolm, A Memoir of Central India II, 187–9; see also Edwardes, Glorious Sahibs p. 43.

  Evidence from Gwalior ‘Habits and characters of the Thugs’, Bengal Political dept. 86, 21 Oct. 1820, BC F/4/774 (20927) fos. 1–26. The original of this report was first copied the previous year as Consultation No. 46 of 24 July 1819. BPC P/121/59.

  ‘act in parties and scour …’ ‘Captain Sheriff’s Proceedings in 1823, at Jhalna’, Ramaseeana II, 282.

  Thomas Ernst ‘Removal of Thomas Henry Ernst from the offices of Magistrate of the Hooghly, etc.’, May 1809–June 1810, BC F/4/411 (10204) fos. 213–14, 238–41; Minto memorandum in extract BCJC, Consultation No. 25 of 24 Nov. 1810, ibid. (10205) fos.172–5.

  Gorruckpore Sleeman, Ramaseeana II, 250–3; Thornton pp. 302–10.

  Mr Gregory Madras despatches judicial, 28 Apr. 1824, E/4/929 fos. 647–66, OIOC.

  Patna case Sleeman, Ramaseeana II, 245–7. The Thug informant seems to have been misinformed about the fate of the Nazir; he survived to be released from prison when the Thugs were rearrested in the mid-1830s, ‘though [with] not long to live, from the effects of bad health produced by the cruel treatment which he experienced’. See also ibid. II, 250ff.

  Encounters at Jhalna, Seonee and Mozuffurpore Jhalna, ibid. II, 271–98; Seonnee, BPC P/123/13; Mozuffurpore, Ramaseeana I, 185–6.

  ‘the infamous system of Thuggee’ Smith to Swinton, 20 June 1832, Sel.Rec. 102–26.

  6 Scarf and Sword

  Earlier destruction of Thug villages Murnae was burned down c.1800 by Blake Sahib, a European mercenary in command of a Maratha regiment seeking payment of 18,000 rupees’ worth of farmed taxes owed by a well-known Thug turned revenue officer named Rae Singh (see chapter 7). Ramaseeana I, 175; Sleeman to Smith, Sangea 1833, T&D G1 fo. 246, NAI. At a slightly later date – probably after 1801, when the Ceded and Conquered Territories first became nominally dependent on the Company, and most likely later than 1806–7, when Sindouse was transferred to British control (‘Examination of Laljee, 10 Dec. 1812, Perry papers Add.Mss. 5376 fo. 38; ‘Deposition of Suntoke Rae, son of Laljoo Kuchwaha, 24 Aug. 1834’, in Thornton, Illustrations p. 473) – ‘Jacob, a commander in Sindheea’s Service, sacked one or two of [the villages around Sindouse] and carried off the women as slaves.’ On this occasion, ‘the Inhabitants applied for and obtained redress from the Magistrate, who wrote to Jacob and in consequence most of the property taken and the women were returned.’ ‘Report on the state of the Pergunnahs of Sindouse … from actual observation’, 18 Oct. 1812, BC F/4/389 (9872) fos. 75–89.

  Thug geographical mobility See, for example, the evidence of the 65–year-old Thug jemadar Bheelum Burre Khan, who had lived in seven different villages and towns during his life: ‘I was born in the town of Austa, pargana Wurwal, zillah Hyderabad, where we lived for four years, and left that place and took up our abode at Ougurga, ellaka [area] Ousa, and resided there for the period of 25 years, and there I married Moheroodeen Sahib Patail’s daughter. We left that village and took up our residence at Lohoogoan, ellaka Droog, for 10 years and after this we came to Chincholee, ellaka Putwurdhan, where we lived for 12 years. We lived in Iowree, ellaka Beelurgee, for two years [and] nine months at Julgeera, where a party came and arrested me.’ ‘Deposition of Bheelum Burre Khan, Jemadar of Thugs’, 1836, T&D D2/2, NAI.

  Laljee funds Thugs ‘Translation of the deposition of Budloo, Thug, in the Fouzdaree Court before Mr Perry, magistrate of Zillah Etawah, taken on 14 July 1812’, Add.Mss. 5376 fos. 24–7.

  ‘Fifty times’ Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 262.

  Unequal relationship Ibid. I, 153, 244–5; van Woerkens, The Strangled Traveller pp. 52–3.

  Jemadars For qualifications, see the evidence of Dorgha, in Ramaseeana I, 263–4; also Reynolds, ‘Notes on the T’hags’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 4 (1837) p. 205, which sets out the jemadar’s share of a gang’s loot. On the division of spoils see also Thornton, op. cit. pp. 16, 377–8; Ramaseeana I, 73, 118; Fanny Parks, Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque p. 129; ‘Deposition of Khaimraj Phansygur’, 1829, Sel.Rec. 33. The jemadar’s portion consisted of between six and 10 per cent of the loot, and he also took one equal share of what remained in common with the members of his gang.

  Size of Thug gangs ‘Deposition of Sheikh Dawood Newly …’, 24 Nov. 1834; ‘Deposition of Sayeed Ally …’, 25 Nov. 1834; ‘Deposition of Sheikh Burrum Thug …’, 26 Nov. 1834, all T&D D2/1, NAI. These depositions were taken in the Deccan, but the testimony of the Thugs of Hindustan shows that the gangs of northern India were very similar in size; see Ramaseeana I, 82. According to Sleeman, leaders of gangs of more than 20 men received, in addition
, one extra share of the loot for their troubles.

  Jemadars lose authority For changes in the authority of jemadars, see ‘Examination of Thug approver Rama Jemadar No. 1’, July 1832, Sel.Rec. 127; ‘Narrative of a Thuggee expedition in Oude during the cold weather, supposed to have been in 1830 … related by Buhram, a leader of Thugs’, 20–24 Oct. 1836, in Paton papers, 41300 fo. 118.

  Make-up of Thug gangs Smith to Swinton, 20 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fo. 201; ‘Translation of the examination of Shuhadule …’, 16 May 1810, Add.Mss. 5375, fos. 138v–42, CUL.

  Scouts PA Reynolds, ‘Notes on the T’hags’ p. 207; Smith to Swinton, 25 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fo. 203; Thornton, Illustrations p. 6; see also chapter 7.

  ‘Inquiry is also made …’ Reynolds, ‘Notes’ pp. 207–8.

  Inveiglers Smith to Swinton, 25 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fos. 209–10; Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 44; van Woerkens, op. cit. pp. 120–1; James Sleeman, Thug pp. 95–6.

  Disguises ‘Deposition of Rumzan, a noted Thug ….’, Paton papers fos. 122–123v.

  ‘There was nothing to excite alarm …’ RV Russell and Hira Lal, Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India IV, 562.

  Incautious behaviour ‘At Biseynee,’ the Thug Mohammed Buksh recalled, of an expedition in 1828–9, ‘we fell in with some travellers, and should have secured them, but when Zolfukar came up, Bhola, who is always talking, could not help saying … “After all we shall not go home without something to please our wives and children.” The travellers heard, suspected our designs, left our encampment on the bank of a tank, and went into the village. This was our first bunjj [merchandise], and to lose it thus was a bad omen: it was in fact like being seized.’ Ramaseeana I, 234.

  Transfer of a party from one inveigler to another Ibid. I, 44.

  Anecdote of the Mughal officer Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections I, 98–101. This astonishing anecdote was picked up in the prison at Lucknow by ‘a native commissioned officer of a regiment of native infantry’, who recounted it to Sleeman.

  ‘They will travel’ Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 53.

  20 days and 200 miles Ibid. I, 169n.

  Stranglers and hand-holders interchangeable Cf. BC F/4/1404 (55517) fos. 213–15, 231–62.

  ‘I always stood at a distance …’ Deposition of Nidha, n.d. (1810), Add.Mss. 5375 fos. 123–5.

  No death penalty for strangulation Singha, A Despotism of Law pp. 15–16, 62.

  ‘Do you look up to …’ ‘Dialogues with Thugs’, Paton papers fo. 10.

  bhurtotes The Thugs’ most skilful killers, Sleeman asserts, were awarded the title ghoor ponch, and they killed with a weighted rumal (see below). Their less able brethren were known as bhurtotes and used an unweighted scarf. The phrase ghoor ponch does not appear in any other writings, however, and other sources refer only to the latter class of men, and assert that the bhurtotes were themselves the Thugs’ most able murderers. Ramaseeana I, 93; van Woerkens, op. cit. p. 118; Thornton, Illustrations pp. 7–8.

  ‘… never self-assumed …’ ‘Deposition of Poorun Phansygur’, n.d. (1829), Sel.Rec. p. 34.

  Initiation of new stranglers Reynolds, ‘Notes’ p. 207.

  ‘… he could never acquire …’ Henry Bevan, Thirty Years in India I, 257.

  Hand-holders BC F/4/1309 (52131) fo. 270; Thornton, Illustrations p. 7.

  ‘… that part of a man …’ Henry Spry, ‘Some account of the gang-murderers of Central India’, p. 514; Thornton, op. cit. p. 8.

  Strangling without assistance Russell and Lal, Tribes and Castes IV, 564.

  Strangling a man on horseback Paton papers fo. 9.

  Sleeping victims Thornton, op. cit. p. 13.

  Division of spoils among the members of a gang Paton papers Add.Mss. 41300 fo. 11; Smith to Swinton, 20 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fo. 201; Reynolds, ‘Notes’ p. 205.

  Rumal described Reynolds, ‘Notes’ p. 206; for vocabulary, see van Woerkens, op. cit. p. 300; for its recent introduction see the Calcutta Gazette, 7 Oct. 1830, reprinted in Anil Chandra Das Gupta (ed.) The Days of John Company p. 584. In 1829, Poorun, an old Hindu Thug, told one Captain Borthwick: ‘I have never seen the phansy or noose made of chord used, though I am well aware of the general supposition that it is by such an implement that people are strangled by us, but if such an implement has ever been in general use, of which I have great doubt, it has long since been laid aside for the obvious reason that, on any incidental occasion of being seized, it would inevitably lead to detection.’ ‘Deposition of Poorun Phansygur’, n.d. (1829), Sel.Rec. p. 31.

  … difficult to master … Smith to Swinton, 25 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fo. 207.

  Best technique Reynolds, op. cit. p. 206. On the importance of silence, see Paton papers, 41300, fo. 10.

  ‘In how short a time’ Paton papers fos. 53–6.

  ‘Such is the certainty …’ Reynolds, op. cit. p. 206.

  … strike in the evening … ‘Deposition of Poorun Phansygur’, Sel.Rec. 31–4; Deposition of Kaimraj Phansygur’, n.d. [1829], p. 23.

  ‘And in this state’ Ramaseeana I, 93.

  ‘Into whatever part …’ Deposition of Kalee Khan, 1810, Add.Mss. 5375 fos. 125–9, CUL.

  Stamping and kicking Richard Sherwood, ‘Of the murderers called Phansigars’, Asiatick Researches 13 (1820) pp. 250–82; Henry Spry, op. cit. p. 514.

  Stabbing Paton papers fo. 14v.

  Leaded ropes This, according to Sleeman, was the weapon preferred by the Chinguree, a group of Muslim Thugs. Ramaseeana I, 85.

  ‘Kill like banditti’ Stockwell to Perry, 11 Aug. 1815, in Ramaseeana II, 373.

  Dhotis used to strangle Ibid. II, 324; Thornton, op. cit. p. 298. ‘The professed ones strangled with any part of their clothes,’ added Perry’s witness Ghoolam Hossyn. ‘They do not make use of chords for fear of detection.’ ‘Translation of the acknowledgement of Ghoolam Hossyn Thug made before me on the 11th April 1810’, Add.Mss. 5375 fos. 117–22.

  ‘Fists and elbows’ Thornton, op. cit. p. 410.

  Shot Bevan, op. cit. I, 258.

  Datura Ernst to Shakespear, 12 May 1810, BC F/4/411 (10204) fos. 238, 240; Extract Bengal Judicial Consultation No. 25, 24 Nov. 1810, ibid. (10205) fo. 172; ‘Extract from a general letter from Hon’ble the Court of Directors’, 6 Apr. 1830, Sel.Rec. p. 1; Robert Russell and Hira Lal, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India IV, 572; Ishwar Sahai, ‘The crime of thagi and its suppression under Lord WC Bentinck’, part 1, Indian Culture 3 (1936) p. 325.

  ‘Mere novices’ Translation of the acknowledgement of Ghoolam Hossyn Thug made before me on the 11th April 1810’, Add.Mss. 5375 fos. 117–22, CUL.

  Swords used until the early nineteenth century ‘Men who associated to rob travellers could travel with arms and in large numbers without arousing suspicion,’ Radhika Singha observes of this period. ‘They could use a greater measure of open violence and take fewer precautions over the disposal of bodies.’ Singha, op. cit. pp. 185–6n, 199.

  … sharpened sword … ‘Habits and character of the Thugs’, Political letter from Bengal No. 86, 21 Oct. 1820, BC F/4/774 (20927) fos. 22–6.

  Examples of the use of swords ‘Translation of the examination of Gholam Hossyn …’, Mar. 1810, ibid. fos. 105–9; ‘Translation of the examination of Shuhadul …’, 16 May 1810, ibid. fos. 138v–42; ‘Continuation of Trial No. 23 of 1836’, BC F/4/1898 (80684) fos. 140–1; Ramaseeana I, 232, 243; Thornton, op. cit. p. 13.

  Changing conditions for the use of swords Singha, op. cit. pp. 185, 199; Thornton, op. cit. p. 376.

  Only two swords, or perhaps three ‘Deposition of Poorun Phansigar’, n.d. [1829], Sel.Rec. 32.

  … sepoys favoured … Smith to Swinton, 20 June 1832, BC F/4/1406 (55521) fo. 173.

  Disposing of bodies See Ramaseeana I, 131; van Woerkens, op. cit. pp. 122–5; Bevan, op. cit. I, 258–9. For an example of a grave prepared in advance, see Paton papers fo. 14v; Smith to Governor General, 12 Mar. 1833, T&D G1, NAI. For instances of bo
dies concealed and then buried later, see ‘Deposition of Bheelum Burre Khan, Jemadar of Thugs’, n.d., T&D D2/2, NAI; Thornton, op. cit. p. 187. For instances of bodies exhumed by animals, see ‘Trial No. 12 of 1832: Nayahshahar case’, BC F/4/1490 (58672) fos. 261–3; Thornton, op. cit. pp. 195–6. The care taken by some gangs to dispose of their victims, and the consequent difficulty in detecting their crimes, was noted in Madras as early as 1812; see ‘Extract of a letter from the Magistrate of Chittoor to the Secretary to Government in the Judicial Department’, 1 July 1812, in Ramaseeana II, 307.

  … abandoned where they fell … During the cold season of 1829–30, the bodies of six men were found lying on the ground near a tank in Saugor & Nerbudda. They had been stripped naked and clearly bore the marks of strangulation on their necks. Nicholson to Sleeman, 10 Dec. 1829, BC F/4/1251 (50480/2) fo. 501. See also Deposition of Narooha Kumusdar, 5 Nov. 1831, cited by Thornton, op. cit. pp. 127–9.

  ‘In these chosen spots’ Thornton, op. cit. p. 9. Again, no one method was used throughout India. One gang of Deccan stranglers, noted by Bevan, op. cit. I, 72, buried their victims ‘in an upright position, by doubling up the legs’.

  ‘slightly buried’ ‘12th or Deo Huttee Case’, BC F/4/404 (55517) fo. 346; also ‘Trial No. 7 of 1832: Mahsum Ali case’, F/4/1490 (58671) fos. 95–6, ‘Case No. 18, Jubulpoor sessions 1830’, F/4/1685 (67999) fos. 52–3, and others far too numerous to list.