Thuggee
Group of Thugs c. 1894 | |
| Founded | unknown, possibly early 1300s[1] |
|---|---|
| Named after | Sanskrit word for concealment |
| Founding location | Central India and Bengal |
| Years active | c. 14th century – late 19th century |
| Territory | Indian subcontinent |
| Membership | Unknown |
| Activities | Murder, robbery |
| Rivals | British Raj, merchants |
Thuggee (UK: /θʌˈɡiː/, US: /ˈθʌɡi/) was a network of organized crime in British Raj India in the 19th century of gangs that traversed the Indian subcontinent murdering and robbing people.[2] A member of Thugee was referred to as a Thug.
The Thugs were purported to have murdered their victims by strangling using a bandana as a tool.[3] The Thugs were believed to practice their killings as a form of worship toward the goddess Kali.[4] For centuries, the authorities of the Indian subcontinent, such as the Khalji dynasty,[5] the Mughal Empire,[1] and the British Raj, attempted to curtail the criminal activities of Thuggee during their rule.[6]
Contemporary scholarship is increasingly skeptical of the thuggee concept, and has questioned the existence of such a phenomenon,[7][8] which has led many historians to describe thuggee as the invention of the British colonial regime.[9]
- ^ a b Wagner 2007, p. 26.
- ^ "Tracing India's cult of Thugs". 3 August 2003. Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
David Scott Katsan 2006 141was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Will Sweetman, Aditya Malikwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Martine van Woerkens 2002 110was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wagner 2007, p. 7.
- ^ Gámez-Fernández, Cristina M.; Dwivedi, Om P. (2014). Tabish Khair: Critical Perspectives. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443857888.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ReferenceAwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ S. Shankar (2001). Textual Traffic: Colonialism, Modernity, and the Economy of the Text. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0791449929.