A Popular Account of Thugs and Dacoits, the Hereditary Garotters and Gang-Robbers of India

by James Hutton

Mr. Currie certainly did succeed in momentarily checking the depredations of the plunderers in his own district, but within three years the evil had returned to its former dimensions. And of these some idea may be formed from the statement that between 1818 and 1834, the Budhuks of the Oude Teraie were known to have committed 118 Dacoitees, in which 172 men were killed, 682 wounded, and property carried off to the value of nearly £115,000: although 457 of the miscreants were arrested, only 186 could be legally convicted. But the actual number of gang-robberies far exceeded that which was reported. Many of the Dacoits boasted that they had been engaged in a dozen or fifteen expeditions. One of them confessed to Mr. Hodgson, in 1824, that he had participated in seven Dacoitees, yielding a total of £36,900. A noted leader, named Lucka, was engaged in forty-nine, in the course of twenty-five years, some of them taking place at a distance of four or five hundred miles from his home. A Chumbul Dacoit confessed to thirty-eight in twenty-seven years, and another to twenty-three in twenty-two years; and another Oude Budhuk to thirty-nine in thirty-three years. They generally commenced at an early age, from eighteen to twenty, according to the vigour of their constitution. Lucka, of whom mention is made above, was arrested under the disguise of a Byragee, his body smeared with ashes and a house of peacock's feathers on his back: but the restlessness of his eye, and the nervous movements of his limbs betrayed him. Arrest and punishment, however, were always endured with commendable resignation, being considered as the accidents of their profession.

The achievements of Bukshee and other leaders soon proved the fallacy of Mr. Currie's complacent belief in the efficacy of his repressive measures. In November, 1830, Bukshee's gang slowly travelled through Oude, in the disguise of Ganges water-carriers, moving in small parties and encamping in groves to avoid unpleasant interrogatories. Arriving at the frontiers, they gradually concentrated towards Sursole in the Cawnpore district, where they were informed by their spies that a private treasure was on its way from Mirzapore to Furruckabad. Having cut handles for their axe and spear heads, they crossed the Ganges in a boat previously purchased for the occasion, and worked by two well-disposed ferrymen. After reaching the opposite bank they had still ten miles to go, so that it was almost midnight before they attained their destination. A sudden rush was all that was then necessary, though to increase the panic caused by their irruption they deemed it expedient to wound six or seven of the escort. Breaking open the boxes, they abstracted twenty-five bags, each containing 1000 rupees (in all, £2,500), and made off to the river. But by that time it was daylight, and the ferrymen had run their boat under the shelter of a high bank, and were fast asleep. Afraid to make a noise by hallooing to them, the Dacoits buried their treasure in the sands and dispersed themselves among the neighbouring villages until nightfall. In the meantime the police had discovered their boat, but being assured by the men that it had brought over only some fodder for cattle, they immediately gave it up. Soon after sunset the robbers met at the appointed rendezvous, where they found the boatmen anxiously expecting them. So, digging up the treasure, they went on board and were safely ferried over to the other side, presenting each of these men with fifty rupees.

About the same season of the following year Bukshee again took the field in his old disguise, and moved down to Allahabad. This was the place of rendezvous for the different detachments, and here they made their offerings to the gods, and received the blessings of the priests and prayers for success in all their undertakings. They then returned to the left bank and dropped down the river till they came opposite to Bindachul, where there stood a celebrated temple to Davee. Again crossing to the right bank they worshipped at the shrine of the goddess of destruction, and were rewarded for their devotion by the intelligence that a merchant's shop in Mirzapore, only four miles distant, promised a rich booty. Accordingly, so soon as it was dusk they advanced two miles in that direction, and throwing off their disguise concealed themselves in a hollow till past eight o'clock to allow the streets to get empty. Then they hurried on to the town and stopped before the house chosen for their operations, every avenue to which was guarded by parties told off for that purpose. Suddenly lighting their torches they rushed in at the still open door, stabbing and slashing right and left, and carried off between four and five thousand pounds sterling. A few minutes afterwards they were again clear of the town. Returning to their place of concealment they resumed their garments, hastened thence to the river, and presented each of the boatmen with a hundred rupees for conveying them safely across. In due time they reached their forest homes without hurt or molestation. Connected with this expedition there occurred a characteristic incident. To avoid disputes Bukshee had stipulated before hand that he should receive one-fifth of the plunder in addition to his proper portion and the repayment of the outlay he incurred in fitting out and maintaining the gang, in order to ransom his parents who had been detained in the gaol at Lucknow for the last twelve years. He was no doubt sincere in his intention to apply these funds in the manner he had stated, but unhappily he had several wives, who somehow absorbed the whole amount, and his parents accordingly remained in confinement. When reproached with having obtained the money under fraudulent pretences, Bukshee excused himself by the patriotic remark that his father was now too old to be of any service to the colony: he did not, however, offer to refund the eight thousand rupees he had thus obtained.

The Dacoits do not appear to have possessed the honour that is supposed to exist among thieves in so high a degree as the Thugs. A notable instance of the laxity of their mutual engagements was furnished about the same time that Bukshee successfully defrauded his followers. A gang of forty Dacoits, under two brothers, named Hemraj and Mungul Sing, and their cousin Dhurmoo, were lying at Sherghottee, in the hope of intercepting a treasure then on the way from Calcutta to Benares. Here they were joined, much against their inclination, by a party of fourteen under Ghureeba, who threatened to inform against them unless they agreed not only to admit him into partnership, but also to set aside a proportionate share of the plunder for a gang of twenty-five under Bureear, from whom he had recently parted. After considerable altercation Ghureeba carried his point, and the convention was ratified by oaths of mutual fidelity. Then they all went on together to the village of Dungaen, at the foot of the hills, where they attacked the treasure-party at night, and, after killing four and wounding sixteen of the escort, carried off twenty-eight bags, each containing 2,500 rupees (in all, £6,000). Hemraj and Mungul Sing now adhered so far to their previous engagements, that they allowed to Ghureeba and the absent Bureear the shares to which they were entitled, but refused to burden themselves in behalf of a party who had rendered them no assistance. Ghureeba expostulated with them to no purpose, and declared he would hold them answerable for the whole amount. After some further jangling, it was finally arranged that 30,000 rupees should be buried until Bureear could fetch them himself, and this labour was voluntarily undertaken by Mungul Sing. On their return home, Bureear displayed such indignation at their unfriendly conduct that they were constrained to pacify him with a present of 2,000 rupees, and a month afterwards Mungul Sing and some others set out with him to dig up the treasure. But instead of 30,000, they found only 18,000 rupees. As might be expected, this discovery of the treachery of his associates did not tend to mollify the already exasperated Bureear. In his wrath he applied for redress to Rajah Gung Sing, of Dhera Jugdeespore, in the kingdom of Oude, and appointed him arbiter. The Rajah proposed to decide the question by an appeal to heaven, and to this Mungul Sing and his party were compelled to assent. A blacksmith was thereupon ordered to make some cannon-balls red hot, and these were placed with tongs on the palms of the suspected persons' hands, defended only by a thin peepul leaf. The ordeal was to carry these balls a certain distance without being burned, but after taking a few paces they all gave in. They were consequently pronounced guilty, and were sentenced to refund the money they had purloined, and to pay a fine of 500 rupees to the Rajah. In default of restitution, they were delivered over in irons to Bureear, who kept them in confinement for several months, and threatened to cut off their ears unless they made good his loss. But, finding that his own followers were opposed to any further severity, he prudently connived at their escape. "The hands of Boohooa, who afterwards rose to the distinction of a leader, still (1849) bear the marks of the burning he got; and, in showing them to me (Captain Sleeman) one day, he confessed that the 'decision of the Deity' in that case was a just one; that he had really assisted Mungul Sing in robbing Ghureeba on that occasion of 10,000 rupees, by burying them in a pit at some distance from the rest; and that he, Nundran, and another of the party, afterwards helped themselves to three out of the ten thousand, unknown to Mungul Sing." What became of the two thousand still unaccounted for—the total deficiency being 12,000—he was unable to say.

The same Bukshee, of whom so much has already been said, was informed by his spies, in January, 1833, that the ex-Peishwah Bajee Rao had hoarded a large amount of gold coin at Bithore, on the right bank of the Ganges, not far from Cawnpore. He accordingly assembled a numerous band of Dacoits, who, after receiving their instructions, broke up into small parties, which concentrated at a particular spot at the appointed time. They then boldly stormed the ex-Peishwah's palace, wounded eighteen of his servants, and carried off 50,000 rupees in silver and 15,000 gold mohurs, each worth fifteen rupees. As they approached their homes they were met by their female relatives in triumphant procession, to whom they made a largesse of fifteen mohurs and twenty rupees to lay out in sweetmeats for themselves and their children. On the following day every man in the village received five gold mohurs, seven rupees, and two four-anna pieces (worth sixpence a piece). A series of the most shocking debaucheries ensued, which resulted in the death of Chunda, the second leader of the gang. Six months afterwards the Oude authorities surprised the colony, when Bukshee and a hundred of his followers were put to the sword, and nearly three hundred taken prisoners; a considerable quantity of plunder was seized at the same time. The Budhuks, however, were soon released, and the king even entertained the idea of restoring the recovered property to its rightful owner. But the queen is said to have suggested to his majesty "that if he suffered the ex-Peishwah to recover his property in this way, he would expose himself to a demand from the honourable company for all that had been taken by gangs from the same colonies in their attacks upon numerous public treasuries and private storehouses in all parts of their dominions, and add to the grounds already urged for depriving him of his country; but that if he allowed the property to be quietly, the noise about it would soon cease, while he would escape all further responsibility and odium." Her majesty's advice was both too prudent and too palatable to be lightly rejected, and the property was, accordingly, "quietly absorbed."

A yet more dashing, though not equally profitable enterprise was that of the famous Budhuk chief, Gujraj, in 1839. In the absence of the Rajah of Jhansi, who had gone with nearly all his armed retainers to a marriage festival in the Duteea Rajah's family, Gujraj, with fifty followers, scaled the wall of that town, attacked the bankers' shops, killed one man and wounded another, and finally got off unmolested with £4,000 worth of plunder. This leader was warmly patronised by the Rajah of Nurwur, who had always half a dozen of his men to guard him while he slept.

In Rajpootana, Gwalior, and Malwa the Dacoits called themselves Bagrees, or Bagorras. This clan numbered about 1,200 families, principally settled, or rather bivouacked, on the banks of the Chumbul. Of their proceedings less is known than concerning those of their Oude brethren. They were greatly favoured by the native princes and powerful landholders, and even when they were seized their punishment seldom went further than a compulsory restitution of the stolen property. They rarely insulted women beyond demanding of them their gold and silver ornaments, and their reckless liberality made them so popular with the poorer classes that when some of the petty princes were urged by the Indian Government to take steps to put down Dacoitee within their respective territories, they excused themselves on the ground that it would cause a revolution. They were, besides, much prized as auxiliaries in the state of perpetual warfare that existed among these independent princes. When the Alwar Chief, in 1783, renounced his allegiance to the Rajah of Jyepore, his sword and shield was Kishna, the great Bagree leader. At a later period, his grandson, Bijee Sing, rendered an important service to the lord of Alwar, for which he received an estate worth 4,000 rupees a year, rent free for ever. The commander of the Jyepoor forces had reduced the Alwar Chief to great straits, when the latter invoked the aid of Bhart Sing and Bijee Sing, who came to his assistance with 500 Bagrees, resolute and well armed men. The Manukpoor Gotra estate was offered as a reward to any one who would assassinate the enemy's leader. The Dacoits accepted the adventure. "Bhart Sing approached the tent at night with only four or five followers, whom he left outside. He entered the tent, and found the minister asleep and entirely defenceless. He could not kill a man in that state, and taking up his sword, shield, and turban, which lay by the bedside, he returned with them to Bijee Sing, saying that he could never stab a brave man in that defenceless state. Bijee Sing then went, entered the tent which was still without a sentry, and stabbed the minister to the heart."

At another time the Rajah of Kerowlie engaged a small band of Bagrees to assist him in besieging his cousin the Thakoor Luchmun Sing, in the city of Ameergur. "The duty assigned to us"—said one of them—"was to cut off all supplies, and at night to attack the advanced batteries thrown out by the garrison upon elevated places. The commandant allowed us to select as many as we wanted of his best soldiers on whose courage we could most rely, and we generally took about the same number as we ourselves. We then reconnoitred the strongest batteries, sometimes in the daytime in all manner of disguises, sometimes at night creeping along the ground like wild animals, till we got up close to them, and saw all that we wanted to see. After we had become well acquainted with the positions, in three or four days we entered upon the attack. Well armed with swords, shields, and spears, and some with muskets, we advanced close to the ground till we got so near that we could rush in upon them before the enemy could deliver their fire. No man is permitted to carry a matchlock on such occasions; nor do we, indeed, ever carry them in our enterprises, because the light of the matches might warn people of our approach and bring their fire upon us. When within the proper distance the signal is given, and we start up, and rush in, and kill every man we can. There are always supporting parties of troops close behind us, to follow up our attack and keep possession of the surprised batteries. In this way we in one night surprised and took three of the batteries which Luchmun Sing had placed upon a hill near his fort. The night was dark, and we attacked them all at the same time. We were about forty Bagrees, and we had with us about sixty select soldiers, and for each battery we had from thirty to thirty-five men; but we knew every inch of the ground we were to act upon, and we could rely upon each other. We on such occasions stop all supplies that they try to get into the besieged fort. We watch for several nights and permit the people to take in all they please unmolested; and when we know all the roads by which the supplies go in, we attack them all in one night, and are allowed to keep what we get for ourselves."

These Bagrees were as scrupulously devout in their way as the Italian banditti are said to be, whom they resembled in more than one point. Ajeet Sing, the leader of a Chumbul gang, in describing a Dacoitee that had yielded 40,000 rupees, went on to say:—"Four thousand five hundred rupees were taken to cover the expenses of the road, to offer to the gods who had guided us, and to give in charity to the poor. For offerings to the gods we purchase goats, sweet cakes, and spirits; and having prepared the feast, we throw a handful of the savoury food upon the fire in the name of the gods who have most assisted us; but of the feast so consecrated, no female but a virgin can partake. The offering is made through the man who has successfully invoked the god on that particular occasion; and as my god had guided us on this, I was employed to prepare the feast for him, and to throw the offering on the fire. The offering must be taken up before the feast is touched, and put upon the fire, and a little water must be sprinkled upon it. The savoury smell of the food as it burns, reaches the nostrils of the god and delights him. On this, as on most occasions, I invoked the spirit of Gunga Sing, my grandfather, and to him I made the offering. I considered him to be the greatest of all my ancestors as a robber, and him I invoked on this trying occasion. He never failed me when I invoked him, and I had the greatest confidence in his aid. The spirits of our ancestors can easily see whether we shall succeed in what we are about to undertake; and when we are to succeed, they order us on,—and when we are not, they make signs to us to desist."

The same Ajeet Sing described a singular superstition that existed among the Bagrees. One of his comrades happened to be severely wounded on the wrist, and became so faint from loss of blood that he was obliged to be carried. As he passed under a Banyan tree, "the spirit of the place fell upon him, and the four men who carried him fell down with the shock." The phenomenon was thus explained. "If any man who has been wounded on the field of battle, or in a Dacoitee, be taken bleeding to a place haunted by a spirit, the spirit gets very angry and lays hold of him: he comes upon him in all manner of shapes, sometimes in that of a buffalo, at others in that of a woman, sometimes in the air above, and sometimes from the ground below; but no one can see him except the wounded person he is angry with and wants to punish. Upon such a wounded person we always place a naked sword, or some other sharp steel instrument, as spirits are much afraid of weapons of this kind. If there be any good conjuror at hand to charm the spirits away from the person wounded, he recovers, but nothing else can save him. When the spirit seized Gheesa under the tree, we had unfortunately no conjuror of this kind, and he, poor fellow! died in consequence. It was evident that a spirit had got hold of him, for he could not keep his head upright; it always fell down upon his right or left shoulder as often as we tried to put it right, and he complained much of a pain in the region of the liver. We therefore concluded the spirit had broken his neck, and was consuming his liver."