Thuggee (or tuggee, ठग्गी)
(from Hindi thag
‘thief’, from Sanskrit sthaga
‘scoundrel’, from sthagati ‘to conceal’) is
the term for a particular format for the murder and robbery of travellers in India.
The modern word "thug" derives from this term. It is one of many words of Indian
origin that passed into common English, or at least the British English dialect of it, during the British Imperial rule of India. As is the case with most other adopted words,
the current meaning has altered slightly from the original: a 'thug' is an anti-social person, harrassing others. It is similar
to terms such as hoodlum and hooligan. It may or may not involve robbery, but does not usually
extend as far as murder.
What is not generally understood by modern
readers, is that as travellers at the time would be part of a caravan, the term Thuggee means the killing of a large number
of people in a single operation. This aspect distinguishes Thuggee from similar concept of Dacoity, which means simple armed robbery. Dacoity has similarities
with the terms brigand and bandit from European and Latin American experience, but there
appear to be no exact Western parallels for Thuggee. Perhaps the closest concepts would be the format of piracy, though this is solely maritime robbery (usually with murder) and the earlier, but similar,
format of raids on coastal settlements by Viking seafarers. Some aspects, however, are reminiscent of
the Mafia group of organisations. Between them these formats help
illustrate some of the mystique that attached to the Thugs and the complex mixture of
fear and grudging admiration of these murderous Alpha predators, that was felt by the ordinary people who might well
be their potential victims.
There is some question as to the extent
of the religious dimension of Thuggee. Most contemporary sources described Thuggee as being inherently a religious cult but some modern sources feel it was merely a specialised
form of organised crime or paramilitary activity, with no particular religious dimension, beyond
the normal piety of the villagers from whom its members were recruited.
