by Mike Dash
Purusram (Thug leader), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6n
Quarterly Review, 1
Rada Kishun (Thug), 1&n, 2
Rajpootana, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Thugs of, 1
Rajputs, 1, 2,
Ram, Gomanee, 1
Rama Jemadar the First, 1
Ramasee (Thug slang), see Thugs, argot of
Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official, 1
Rambuksh (Thug), 1
Rampoora, 1n
Rampoora, Rajah of, 1, 2
Ramsooth (Thug), 1
Ramzan (Thug), 1n, 2n, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
ravine country, see Chambel Ravines
Residents, 1, 2, 3, 4&n, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
opposition to anti-Thug campaign among, 1
Rewah, 1, 2
Reynolds, PA, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
River Thugs, see Thugs, River roads
condition of, 1, 2, 3
dangers of, 1, 2
see also Grand Trunk Road
Robb, Ferris, 1
Rohilkhand, 1
Roy Barelly, 1, 2, 3
Roy, Parama, 1
Rule of the Bones, see Thugs, superstitions of
rumal (strangling cloth), 1
Rushdan, Rajah of, 1
St Leger, William, 1, 2
Salmon, WO, 1
Salohda, 1, 2n
Sannyasis, 1
Satpuda hills, 1
Saugor, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Thugs of, 1
Saugor & Nerbudda Territory, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Sayyids, 1&n
School of Industry (Thug reformatory), 1, 2
Seeam (Thug), 1
Sehore, 1
Seonee, 1, 2
sepoys, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
murdered by Thugs, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
recruited predominantly from Oudh, 1
servants, 1, 2, 3, 4
seths (Indian bankers), 1, 2
Sewagunge, 1
Shakespear, John, 1, 2
Sheikh Ahmed (Thug leader), 1n
Sheikh Bazeed, 1, 2
Sheikh Dawood Newly, 1
Sheikh Inaent (Thug leader), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Sheikh Macub (Thug leader), 1
Sheikh Madaree, 1
Sheikh Nungoo, 1n
Shekoabad, 1, 2
Sherwood, Mrs, 1
Sherwood, Richard, 1, 2
Sholapoor, 1
shumsheeras, see Thugs, handholders employed by
Shumshera (Thug), 1, 2
Sikh Thugs, 1
Sikhs, 1
Simla, 1
Sinde (river), 1, 2
Sindhia (Maratha ruler of Gwalior), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Sindhia, Madaji, 1&n
Sindouse, 1, 2, 3, 4n
British forces at, 1
Singh, Dun, 1, 2
Singh, Hurree, 1, 2
Singh, Kuleean, 1, 2
Singh, Newul, 1
Singh, Rae, 1, 2
Singh, Raja Madho, 1
Singh, Rukbur, 1
Singha, Radhika, 1, 2
Sixty Soul Affair, 1
Sleeman, Amélie, see Fontenne, Amélie de
Sleeman, Elizabeth, 1
Sleeman, James, 1, 2, 3&n, 4
Sleeman, Philip, 1
Sleeman, William, 1, 2, 3, 4n, 5
academic interests of, 1
achievement of, 1
ambition of, 1
announces end of anti-Thug campaign, 1
appearance of, 1
approves mutilation of dead Thugs, 1
approves relaxation of standards for arrest and conviction of Thugs, 1
becomes aware of Thugs, 1, 2
as big game hunter, 1
builds police machinery for anti-Thug campaign, 1
career of, 1, 2, 3
character of, 1
charged with suppression of dacoity, 1
children of, 1
commitment to anti-Thug campaign, 1
conversations with Thugs, 1
creates new approvers (1830), 1
death of, 1
despondent at size of task, 1
develops Thug hunting techniques, 1
education of, 1
evidence in Thug trials and, 1
initial arrests by, 1
interest in Indian peasantry, 1,
Jubbulpore School of Industry and, 1
later career of, 1
limitations of understanding of India, 1
linguistic ability, 1, 2
methods of assessed, 1
not disciplined for breaches of regulations, 1
opinions of India, 1
opponents of anti-Thug campaign and, 1
portrait of, 1
pursues Feringeea, 1
relations with approvers, 1
reports of, 1,
reputation among Thugs, 1
on sick leave, 1, 2, 3
suffers from malaria, 1, 2
tests Feringeea, 1
transfers to political service, 1
United States and, 1
Sleemanabad, 1
Smith, Francis Curwen, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
presides over Thug trials, 1
smuggling, 1
Soghur (son of Kuleean Singh), 1
Sohanee, 1
Sopur, Cotwal of, 1
sotha, see Thugs, inveigling of victims by
Spry, Henry, 1, 2, 3
Starke, Marianna, 1n
Stewart, Josiah, 1
Stockwell, George, 1, 2
strangulation, difficulty of, 1
Stratton, 1
Sue, Eugene, 1
Sujaina, 1
Sumachar Durpan (newspaper), 1
Suntuk Arn (Sindouse zamindar), 1
Sursae, 1
suttee, 1
suttoo, 1
Swinton, George, 1
Syeed Amir Ali, 1n, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Syfoo (Thug), 1n
Taj Mahal, 1
Talghat, unusual Thugs of, 1
Tapti (river), 1, 2
tattooing, 1
Tavenier, Jean, 1
Taylor, Philip Meadows, 1, 2n, 3, 4, 5, 6
see also Confessions of a Thug
Tejun (Sindouse zamindar), 1
Telingana, 1
Thugs of, 1, 2, 3, 4
thanahs (police compounds), 1
Thermantidotes, 1n
Thévenot, Jean de, 1
thieves, Indian, 1n
Thornton, Edward, 1
Thug, origin of word, 1
Thug Road Book (Paton), 1
Thuggee
evidence for the reality of, 1
threat posed by, 1
Thuggy Department (Thuggee & Dacoity Department; thagi daftar), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
manufacture of work by, 1
Thugs
argot of, 1&n, 2, 3, 4n, 5&n, 6
belief in permanence of Thuggee, 1
benefit from introduction of Pax Britannica in India, 1
bereaved relatives responses to, 1
burial of, 1
castes of, 1, 2
composition of gangs of, 1
costs of expeditions of, 1
deaths of surviving, 1, 2
difficulties of apprehending, 1
disdain of for other criminals, 1
disguises of, 1
displayed in gibbets, 1
disposal of bodies by, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
division of spoils among, 1, 2, 3, 4
doubts concerning evidence against, 1
errors made by, 1, 2
escapes from jail, 1
execution of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
exhumation of victims of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
feelings of remorse and pity among, 1, 2
flight from homes: (before 1800), 1, 2;
(1800), 1;
1810), 1;
(1812), 1, 2;
(1830s
), 1
forcible adoption of children by, 1
geographical and social mobility of, 1
gravediggers employed by, 1
gurus of, 1
handholders employed by, 1, 2
hereditary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Hindu, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
historians’ views of, 1
income of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
increase in numbers during later 1820s, 1
indifference of to capital punishment, 1&n, 2
induction of children into gangs of, 1
initial disbelief in efficacy of approvers, 1
inveigling of victims by, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
irons worn by, 1, 2, 3
jailed 1&n, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
jemadars of, 1, 2, 3, 4
latrine tents and, 1
in literature, 1
loss of caste and, 1
love for families, 1, 2, 3
make up of gangs of, 1
modus operandi of, 1, 2, 3, 4
murder of Europeans by, 1
murder by individuals acting alone, 1, 2
murder by strangulation, 1, 2, 3, 4
murder of women by, 1
Muslim, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
mutilation of victims by, 1, 2
non-hereditary, 1, 2, 3
number of murders committed by, 1, 2
number of victims killed at one time, 1,
numbers of, 1, 2
old, retained as camp followers, 1, 2
origins of, 1
peculiarities of evidence supplied by, 1
Phansiagars and, 1
plunder seized by, 1, 2
proscribed victims of, 1, 2, 3
quality of evidence against, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
recovery of, after 1812 campaign, 1
reform of, 1
relations and cooperation between gangs, 1, 2, 3
relations with zamindars, 1, 2, 3
religious beliefs of, 1, 2, 3
rituals of, 1, 2
scouts employed by, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
shedding of blood by, 1, 2
size of gangs of, 1, 2,
soothsayers employed by, 1, 2
status of in village communities, 1
subadars of, 1, 2
supersititons of, 1 n, 2, 3, 4, 5
swords used by, 1, 2
tattooed and branded, 1
technique for murdering a man on horseback, 1&n
techniques of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
training of novices by, 1
transfer of loyalties from gang to gang, 1
transportation of, 1, 2, 3
trials of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
uniqueness of, 1, 2
use of poison by, 1, 2, 3
varieties of, 1, 2, 3, 4n, 5
varying methods employed by, 1
victims of, as sacrifices, 1
women’s work, 1
see also approvers; beles; Megpunnas; Tusma-Baz Thugs
Thugs, River, 1
tigers, 1n, 2n
Tranquebar, 1n
transportation, 1
see also Thugs, transportation of
travellers
diet of, 1
difficulties experienced by, 1
treasure bearers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Tuponee, see Thugs, rituals of
Tusma-Baz Thugs, 1, 2
Ujba (Thug leader), 1, 2
Uthman al-Khayyat, 1&n
Vallency, George, 1
Vedas, 1
Victoria, Queen, 1, 2, 3
watchmen, 1,
Welland, Charles, 1
Wellesley, Arthur (Duke of Wellington), 1n
Wellesley, Richard, 1, 2, 3
recall to London, 1
Widow of Malabar (play), 1n
Wilberforce, William, 1
Williams, Colonel, 1
Wilson, JC, 1, 2, 3
Windsor Castle, Thug carpet at, 1
Withington, Nicholas, 1
Wright, William (Madras magistrate), 1
Wright, William (officer in Cawnpore), 1
zamindars, 1, 2, 3
as protectors of criminals, 1, 2
see also Thugs, relations with zamindars
Zolfukar (Thug leader), 1, 2, 3&n, 4, 5
Three captured Thugs demonstrate their technique for strangling a victim. This study is attributed to the pioneering photographer Felice Beato, and was probably taken at Lucknow in March 1858.
William Sleeman (1788–1856), an East India Company officer, led the British campaign to eradicate Thuggee, developing revolutionary new police techniques to do so.
Murderers in India’s native states could be sentenced to be ‘trodden to death by elephants’. Among those executed in this way were the Thugs Boodhoo and Khumoli, brothers who were put to death at Jhalone in 1814–15.
Four scenes from a typical Thug murder, sketched by an Indian artist at Lucknow in 1837 under the direction of the leaders of several gangs.
Thug inveiglers induce an intended victim to bare his neck by pointing to the stars.
the appointed strangler and his assistants, the handholders, despatch their victim, incongruously depicted here as a European.
members of the gang carry the bodies away for disposal.
Thugs ensure their victims are dead by stabbing them in the eyes prior to hurling their corpses into a well. One strangler explained that this practice was introduced around the year 1810 after the victim of one attack had recovered and escaped. (British Library)
A sketch by the British traveller Fanny Parks showing a British magistrate or judge – possibly Sleeman’s superior, FC Smith – hearing evidence against a captured strangler during the Thug trials of the 1830s. (British Library)
Thug prisoners, probably photographed at Jubbulpore, sit on one of the carpets they wove by hand. The most spectacular example of their work, a carpet weighing more than two tons, was presented to Queen Victoria and can still be seen in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle. (British Library)
Convicted Thugs were tattooed with the details of their crimes, in Hindustani if they were to be imprisoned in India and in English if sentenced to be transported to a penal colony overseas. Tattoos were generally applied to prisoners’ foreheads in order to deter attempts to escape. Some men tried to hide them beneath turbans, and this sketch suggests that a few Thugs may have been tattooed beneath the eyes instead. (British Library)
The central courtyard of the School of Industry, opened in Jubbulpore in 1837 to provide useful work for Thug informants and their families. Aside from their celebrated carpets, the Thugs’ main product was latrine tents for the British army.
Gibbets on a roadside in the Madras Presidency, said to have been used to display the bodies of executed Thugs. The practice was officially frowned on, but may have endured in rural districts as late as the 1860s.
About the Author
Mike Dash is the author of four previous books, including the bestsellers Tulipomania and Batavia’s Graveyard. A Cambridge educated historian, he lives in London. He is presently completing a book about Charles Becker, the only American policeman ever to be executed for murder, to be published by Granta. www.mikedash.com
‘Enthralling … Mike Dash has written what is easily the best and most judicious book on this bizarre episode. He surpasses every previous account, both in the thoroughness of his research and in the clarity and cogency of his narrative. Even better, Mr Dash writes superbly. I read his book practically at one sitting, and have been having stealthy, silken nightmares ever since’ New York Sun
By the Same Author
Batavia’s Graveyard
Tulipomania
Borderlands
The Limit
Copyright
Granta Publications, 12 Addison Avenue, London W11 4QR
First published in Great Britain by Granta Books 2005