Based largely on new material, this book examines thuggee as a type of banditry, emerging in a specific socio-economic and geographic context. The British usually described the thugs as fanatic assassins and Kali-worshippers, yet Wagner argues that the history of thuggee need no longer be limited to the study of its representation.

Never in recorded history has there been a group of murderers as deadly as the Thugs. For nearly two centuries, groups of these lethal criminals haunted the roads of India, slaughtering travellers whom they met along the way with such efficiency that over the years tens of thousands of men, women and children simply vanished without trace. Mike Dash, one of our best popular historians, has devoted years to combing archives in both India and Britain to discover how the Thugs lived and worked. Painstakingly researched and grippingly written, Thug tells, for the first time the full story of the Thugs' rise and fall from the cult's beginnings in the late seventeenth century to its eventual demise at the hands of British East India Company officer William Sleeman in 1840.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the Thuggee *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "In the reign of that sultan [about 1290], some Thugs were taken in Delhi, 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 Thugs would thus have to dwell about Lakhnauti and would not trouble the neighbourhood of Delhi any more." - Sir H.M. Elliot, History of India To most people, the typical "thug" in this day and age lurks on a shadowy street corner, toting ready-to-sell packets of "product," and is more often than not, packing a glinting, unlicensed pistol under his shirt. One might even describe the bully that relentlessly terrorizes peers they deem weaker as such, or perhaps a young hoodlum that ventures out in the dead of the night, tagging their initials or the insignia of their "crew" on public property, and pursuing other kinds of petty mischief. Thugs, a term used interchangeably with "gangsters" at times, are hardcore outlaws of the street, and like most criminals, tend to find strength in numbers. Thugs who have claimed hold on a certain territory are known to harass unfortunate passersby, usually walking down dimly-lit alleys unaccompanied. The most organized syndicates target vulnerable small, family-owned businesses, some so formidably powerful they hold even local authorities hostage under their thumbs. As it turns out, the Thuggee, the group that influenced this now controversial word, is far more fascinating than one could have imagined. The Thuggee: The History of the Thugs, the World's First Organized Gang of Professional Assassins explores both the etiological myth and origin story of this prolific cult of murderous bandits, takes an in-depth look into its practices and their ultimate demise. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the thugs like never before.

Night Of The Thuggee by Gar Wilson released on May 25, 1985 is available now for purchase.

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They murdered more than a million travellers without spilling a drop of blood. They were inspired by religious fanaticism, yet came from many faiths. Their weapon was the handkerchief, their sacrament sugar, and their goddess Kali. They were the thugs.