Thuggee in Colonial India: A Historical Study of Its Emergence, Social Organisation, Ritual Practices, Modus Operandi, and Suppression by the British State, c. 1799–1839

ABHINAV PATI TRIPATHI; Ashish Kumar Singh

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87882

Thuggee in Colonial India: A Historical Study of Its Emergence, Social Organisation, Ritual Practices, Modus Operandi, and Suppression by the British State, c. 1799–1839

Author(s)	ABHINAV PATI TRIPATHI, Ashish Kumar Singh
Country	India
Abstract	This paper examines the historical phenomenon of Thuggee in colonial India by analysing its social foundations, organisational structure, operational methods, ritual world and eventual suppression by the British administration. It approaches Thuggee not simply as an ancient religious cult or as a complete colonial fabrication, but as a historically specific form of organised banditry whose practices were subsequently classified, standardised and amplified through colonial investigation and representation. Drawing primarily upon nineteenth-century accounts associated with William Henry Sleeman and related colonial writings, the study traces the emergence of Thuggee within the political and economic disruptions of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including the decline of regional military employment, the expansion of long-distance travel and commerce, and the protection extended by zamindars, local chiefs and polygars in exchange for revenue or shares in plunder. The paper reconstructs the internal hierarchy of Thug gangs, led by zamadars or jamedars and divided under subedars into specialised functionaries such as Sothas, who befriended and deceived travellers; Bhutorts, who carried out strangulation; and Lugghas, who prepared graves and concealed bodies. It also discusses the gradual initiation of male children, the role of the ustad, intermarriage within Thug communities, and the absence of women from expeditions. Particular attention is given to the modus operandi of gangs: infiltration into travelling parties, selection of isolated sites, use of coded signals, strangulation with the rumal, disposal of corpses, and distribution of booty. The analysis further explores ritual practices connected with Kali or Bhawani, including consecrated objects, sacrificial ceremonies, omens, taboos and exemptions from killing, while noting variations across regions and communities. The study also examines Ramasee, the specialised vocabulary and gestural system attributed to Thugs, and compares highway gangs with river-based groups operating along the Ganga in Bihar and Bengal. Finally, it evaluates the colonial response, including regulations imposing responsibility upon zamindars, the use of approvers and captured Thugs as informants, the arrest of leaders such as Firangeea, and the establishment of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department under Sleeman in 1835. By distinguishing between criminal practice and colonial knowledge production, the paper underscores the need to read official testimonies critically, since the evidence was generated through interrogations, confessions and administrative campaigns that claimed to reveal the phenomenon. It concludes that Thuggee represented both a real pattern of organised predatory violence and a colonial legal-administrative category whose suppression strengthened surveillance, policing and later forms of criminal classification in British India.
Keywords	Thugee, Sleeman, Ramaseea, Omens, Bhawani, Rumaal Polygars, Strangle
Field	Sociology > Archaeology / History
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-17
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87882

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Thuggee in Colonial India: A Historical Study of Its Emergence, Social Organisation, Ritual Practices, Modus Operandi, and Suppression by the British State, c. 1799–1839

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