Thuggee

Thuggee (Hindi: ठग्गी or ṭhagī; Urdu: ٹھگ‎; Sanskrit: sthaga; Kannada: "thakka"), also known as tuggee or simply thugs, were organized gangs of professional assassins who traveled in groups across India for several hundred years. They were first mentioned in the Ẓiyāʾ-ud-Dīn Baranī (English: History of Fīrūz Shāh) dated around 1356. In the 1830s they were targeted by William Bentinck, along with his chief captain William Henry Sleeman, for eradication. They were seemingly destroyed by this effort.

The thugs would join travellers and gain their confidence. This would allow them to then surprise and strangle them by tossing a handkerchief or noose around their necks. The killings were performed in honour of the goddess Kali and were very ritualistic. They would then rob the bodies of valuables and bury them. This led them to also be called Phansigar (English: using a noose), a term more commonly used in southern India.

The term Thuggee is derived from Hindi word ठग, or ṭhag, which means thief. Related words are the verb thugna, to deceive, from Sanskrit स्थग sthaga meaning cunning, sly, fraudulent, dishonest, scoundrel, from स्थगति sthagati (English: he conceals). This term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers is popular in South Asia and particularly in India.

The story of Thuggee was popularised by books such as Philip Meadows Taylor's novel Confessions of a Thug, 1839, leading to the word "thug" entering the English language.

Read more about Thuggee:  Thuggee Modus Operandi, Aftermath, Religion and Thuggee, 21st Century Revisionist Views, In Popular Culture