Thuggee: Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India PDF
Preview Thuggee: Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India
Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series General Editors: Megan Vaughan, Kings’ College, Cambridge and Richard Drayton, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge This informative series covers the broad span of modern imperial history while also exploring the recent developments in former colonial states where residues of empire can still be found. The books provide in-depth examinations of empires as competing and complementary power structures encouraging the reader to reconsider their understanding of international and world history during recent centuries. Titles include: Kim A. Wagner THUGGEE Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India Sunil S. Amrith DECOLONIZING INTERNATIONAL HEALTH India and Southeast Asia, 1930–65 Tony Ballantyne ORIENTALISM AND RACE Aryanism in the British Empire Robert J. Blyth THE EMPIRE OF THE RAJ Eastern Africa and the Middle East, 1858–1947 Roy Bridges (editor) IMPERIALISM, DECOLONIZATION AND AFRICA Studies Presented to John Hargreaves T. J. Cribb (editor) IMAGINED COMMONWEALTH Cambridge Essays on Commonwealth and International Literature in English Michael S. Dodson ORIENTALISM, EMPIRE AND NATIONAL CULTURE India, 1770–1880 Ronald Hyam BRITAIN’S IMPERIAL CENTURY, 1815–1914: A STUDY OF EMPIRE AND EXPANSION Third Edition Robin Jeffrey POLITICS, WOMEN AND WELL-BEING How Kerala became a ‘Model’ Gerold Krozewski MONEY AND THE END OF EMPIRE British International Economic Policy and the Colonies, 1947–58 Javed Majeed AUTOBIOGRAPHY, TRAVEL AND POST-NATIONAL IDENTITY Francine McKenzie REDEFINING THE BONDS OF COMMONWEALTH 1939–1948 The Politics of Preference John Singleton and Paul Robertson ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN BRITAIN AND AUSTRALASIA 1945–1970 Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series Series Standing Order ISBN 978-0-333-91908-8 (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Thuggee Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India Kim A. Wagner © Kim A.Wagner2007 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-0-230-54717-9 All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988,or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,90 Tottenham Court Road,London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-36154-0 ISBN 978-0-230-59020-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230590205 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.Logging,pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 This book is dedicated to the present inhabitants of Sindouse (Sandaus, Uttar Pradesh), who made me happy by their hospitality, by serving me goor and calling me ‘Kim Singh’. This page intentionally left blank Contents List ofMaps and Illustrations x Preface xii Acknowledgements xiv Abbreviations xv Abbreviated Sources xvii Glossary xix Introduction 1 Thuggee reassessed 7 Part I 1 Engaging the Colonial ‘Archives of Repression’ 15 2 Thuggee in Pre-Colonial India 25 3 The Discovery of Thuggee, Etawah 1809 33 Crime, law and order in early colonial India 33 James Law and the initial findings 37 Regulations and the Irregular Corps 44 The report of Mr Wright 46 4 Thomas Perry and the First Arrests 50 The trial of Ghulam Hussain 53 Thomas Perry and the Nizamat Adalat 57 The case of Mr Ernst 59 Thuggee and the courts 62 5 N. J. Halhed in Sindouse, October 1812 66 The area of Sindouse 68 Halhed in Sindouse 71 The attack on Halhed’s party 74 vii viii Contents Part II 6 Sindouse 79 History and topography of Sindouse 79 Thuggee in Sindouse 85 Patrons and clients 87 Thugs and sepoys 89 Demobilisation and retainers 92 The taxation of thugs 94 Resistance and displacement 96 7 The Practice of Thuggee 100 The Surguja expedition 100 Caste and religious composition 103 Family and kinship 106 Gangs of Sindouse 108 A season for thuggee: the expeditions 111 Modus operandi 114 The loot 117 Allies and parasites 119 8 The Itinerant Underworld 121 The taxonomy of thugs and the ‘84 tribes’ 121 Thuggee and the itinerant underworld 125 Secret words and secret signs: the Ramasee 129 9 The World of the Thugs 135 ‘Hereditary’ and ‘occasional’ thugs 135 Goddess-worship and religious beliefs 137 Identity of the thugs 143 Honour among thugs 146 The invention of tradition 150 The settlement in Sindouse 154 Thugs and ravines 156 Part III 10 Halhed in Sindouse – A Second Look 167 The attack 169 Misunderstandings 173 Contents ix 11 Sindouse – The Aftermath 175 Retaliation 175 The expulsion 177 The revenue settlement 179 12 Continued Measures against Thugs 184 Shakespeare’s report 186 Regulation VIII of 1818 187 The 1820s 191 Early accounts of thuggee 193 13 The Operations Commence 197 Borthwick’s arrest of thugs 199 Enter Sleeman 201 The branding of thugs and continued operations 203 The anonymous article 205 14 The Thuggee Campaign 209 15 From Sindouse to Sagar 217 Epilogue 227 Notes 232 Select Bibliography 268 Index 277
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