Fans of Indiana Jones might remember the Thuggees as the notorious cult shown in The Temple of Doom that kidnapped children in order to sacrifice them to the Hindu Goddess Kali. But, much like the rest of the narrative on this group of assassins and looters, the popular Lucas Films production also presents a muddled picture of the true history of the Thuggees.
The name first appeared in Zia-ud-Din Barni’s Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi (1357 AD):
“In his (Firuz Shah Khilji’s) reign some thags were taken in the city, and a man belonging to that fraternity was the means of about a thousand being captured. But not one of these did the Sultan have killed. He gave orders for them to be put into boats and to be conveyed into the Lower country to the neighbourhood of Lakhnauti, where they were to be set free. The thags would thus have to dwell about Lakhnauti, and would not trouble the neighbourhood (of Dehli) any more.” (Elliot & Dowson, The History of India as Told by its Own Historians, Vol. III)
Firuz Shah Khilji ruled northern India from 1290 to 1296 AD, therefore, the Thuggees were very well active by the end of the 13th century. The assumption, then, that this band of assassins was of the Muslim faith – much of popular culture, including The Temple of Doom, shows them wearing Muslim attire – is very likely wrong. Islam was relatively new in the region and with most of its followers belonging to the ruling class, thuggery did not really befit them.
The truer version, then, should be that this band of thugs were worshippers of Kali – or were they?
The British rulers of India were very keen on spreading dread of the Thuggees
Sacrificing for Kali
Legend has it that the Thuggees were devotees of the Hindu Goddess, Kali, and abducted people to offer them as sacrifice to her. The British rulers of India were very keen on spreading dread of the Thuggees: the well-organized colonizers were very particular about maintaining records of anything and everything that happened in their “territory”. India was no different.
In 1868, Col. Charles Hervey, “General Superintendent of Operations for the Suppression of Thuggee and Dacoity” – yes, that was an actual office – produced a report entitled Report on the Crimes of Thuggee by Means of Poisons in British Territory for the Years 1865, 1865 and 1866. The hundred-page long document recounted each and every event on which the Thuggees used poison to kill their victims. It is important to note that the cult was infamous for strangling their targets, not poisoning them, so the incurrence of so many deaths by the use of poison is rather unexpected.
Why did the Thuggees kill for Kali? The idea was that Kali – the dark-skinned, red-tongued Goddess who wore a garland of skulls – was blood-thirsty and required human offerings to be made for her wrath to stay at bay. Hence, the murders. However, Karen Tate in her Sacred Places of Goddesses states this to be a misconception, one of the many instances in which religion and religious figures have been misunderstood:
“[T]aken at face value, her dark skin, red tongue and necklace of skulls certainly might give the uninformed a moment of pause. Yet with clarity, one begins to understand her dark skin represents the limitless void, her wild hair is liberation, her red tongue can be viewed as activity and sound, and the skulls represent alphabets that correspond to creation itself.”
How true the symbolism in Kali’s representation is, only a specialist of Hinduism can tell. However, what is for certain is that Kali is one of the many controversial religious figures whose role has been redefined by her more peaceful devotees, in order to make her more “suitable” for a more self-righteous, “non-violent” world.
The red-tongued, sword-wielding Kali was believed to be a blood-thirsty goddess
The Thuggees: a Creation of the British Imperialists?
Many modern researchers believe that the Thuggees, although once active, were later recreated by the British – in practice or on paper – in order to defend their presence on Indian soil (see: Jacob L. Stump & Priya Dixit, Critical Terrorism Studies). With so many violent, uncouth looters and murderers on the loose, the naïve Indians certainly needed white-men wielding guns to protect them, didn’t they? And, so, until the Indian damsel in distress was relieved of the curse of the Thuggees, the British colonizers’ presence in India was justified – at least to their conscience.
There isn’t much that dispels this conspiracy theory, which is very similar to modern conspiracy theories that claim outfits like Al-Qaeda and the ISIS are creations of the West. With the British’s excessive interest in the Thuggees resembling the West’s obsession with Islam and Jihad, one can’t help but… think.
