The Notorious Thuggees of Bharata

[TTCUSM]

Vanakkam Everyone,

I was doing some research on the Thuggee cult that was active in Bharatavarsha before the British eradicated them. I came across a blog post on the Damn Interesting blog which gives a fairly detailed account of their activities:

Accounts of a secret cult of murderers roaming India go back at least as far as the 13th century, but to modern history their story usually begins with the entrance of the British Empire in the early 1800s. For some years, India’s British administrators had been hearing reports of large numbers of travelers disappearing on the country’s roads; but, while disturbing, such incidents were not entirely unusual for the time. It was not until the discovery of a series of eerily similar mass graves across India that the truth began to dawn. Each site was piled with the bodies of individuals ritually murdered and buried in the same meticulous fashion, leading to an inescapable conclusion: these killings were the work of a single, nation-spanning organization. It was known as Thuggee.

At its root, the word “Thuggee” means “deceivers,” and this name hints at the methods employed by the cult. Bands of Thugs traveled across the country posing as pilgrims, merchants, soldiers, or even royalty, in groups numbering anywhere from a few men to several hundred. Offering protection or company, they would befriend fellow travelers and slowly build their confidence along the road. Often the impostors would journey for days and hundreds of miles with their intended victims, patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike. When the time was right, typically while their targets were encamped and at their most relaxed, a signal would be given—reportedly “Bring the tobacco”—and the Thugs would spring. Each member had a well-honed specialty; some distracted their quarry, some made noise or music to mask any cries, while others guarded the campsite from intruders and escapees. Thugs of the highest rank performed the actual killings. As a prohibition against shedding blood was at the core of Thuggee belief, the murders were performed in a bloodless fashion. The usual method was strangulation with a rumal, the yellow silk handkerchief each thug wore tied around his waist; but an occasional neck-breaking or poisoning helped to add some variety. It was a matter of honor for the Thugs to let no one escape alive once they had been selected for death.

I noticed something very interesting in their description of the Thuggees.
Apparently, they would give the signal "bring the tobacco" before robbing their victims.

However, anyone with a basic knowledge of history would know that tobacco is a New World crop. It wasn't introduced to Europe until after Columbus reached America in 1492. How could the Thuggees have used it as their signal?

[Believer]

Interesting Additional Facts:

Thugs originated in Holland in the 12th century. It took them few centuries before they were able to reach the Indian shores in search of spices and teach the natives, the fine art of thuggery. This original group trained and equipped by the Dutch evolved into a private militia to protect their spice trade. In time they controlled the ports off the Malabar coast with a Mafia-like heavy handedness.

This lasted for quite some time, till the Brits decided they did not want to be blackmailed by the Dutch into paying high prices for the spices. So they sent their own thugs to overpower the Dutch thugs. The British thugs started in the East, in time establishing the East India Co. Eventually they expanded towards the Malabar coast, driving all the Dutch thugs out. So the Dutch thugs moved on to Indonesia and set up a base there. From this small base they expanded to eventually rule the whole nation.

Moral of the story: Spice trade makes thugs out of otherwise innocent people. So, tell your sons and daughters not to grow up to be spice traders!

[Sahasranama]

Haha, awesome story!

[TTCUSM]

Seriously, though, does anyone know when tobacco was introduced to the Indian Subcontinent?
I did some Googling, and came across a BBC article which states that "tobacco entered India through Goa". This implies that the Portuguese introduced tobacco when they came to India...

[Believer]

Tobacco was part of the spice trade. The only difference between the T and other spices is that T was grown in the dacoit infested Chammbal valley in the current state of Madhya Pradesh. Westerners did not car emuch for it as they preferred Ganja grown in Jamaica. It gave them a buzz alongwith satisfying their need for some hot air in their lungs during the cold winter months. Because of this, India never really figured prominently in the T trade.

[TTCUSM]

I spotted another glaring contradiction in their blog post:

But a few factors were in Sleeman’s favor. First, the Thugs’ beliefs forbade them from killing certain groups, including women, fakirs, musicians, lepers—and Europeans. Thuggee was thus unable to retaliate against its English persecutors even when it had the opportunity. Second, once captured, most Thugs cooperated with authorities willingly—one might even say gleefully. Staunch fatalists, the imprisoned Thugs believed their situation was the result of their displeasing the goddess. They therefore showed little remorse in turning in their brothers, believing that anything that happened to them would be the will of Kali. Some suspect that Thuggee prisoners even deliberately accused innocent men; unable to strangle in person during their incarceration, sending men to the gallows was a convenient way of keeping up their obligation to Kali. As for those condemned to die, it is said that each went to his death with no trace of emotion, often requesting only that he be allowed to place the noose around his own neck.

How were the Thuggees able to maintain secrecy if they released all the women they captured? Surely one of them would have ratted them out to the locals after they were released...

[Believer]

The contradictions are very superficial in nature. It is all a matter of personal perception. It depends on whether you look at things from the Thug's viewpoint or from the common citizen's viewpoint. Thugs think nothing of letting people go after they ahve surrendered their valuables, but are very mean and violent towards those resist. That is why they may be perceived as 'bad people;. But they are actually good people, because they donate half of their loot to the temples thereby earning good karma. So long as we on the topic of Karma, it is a very interesting concept. No two people can ahve the same Karma, as each one must be at a fixed point at any given point in time. And if two people had the same Karma, they would have to occupy the same spot, thereby rendering the laws of Physics inoperative. Physics is a God given gift and should never be violated. Hence the Karma should be different for different people.