From Sindouse to Sagar

Abstract

It should be apparent from the preceding chapters that the account of thuggee usually found within the colonial tradition, and beyond, is only loosely based on the historical records. Sleeman did not discover thuggee in 1829, he did not single-handedly convince the Government to mount the thuggee campaign, nor did he alone unravel the murderous fraternity or even suggest the necessary measures to obtain that goal. The use of approvers and rewards were the traditional means of apprehending criminals and they were used before 1809 and in connection with thuggee well before 1829. Information concerning thugs, such as Wright’s report, was widely circulated as early as 1810, information from approvers was exchanged between the districts and the idea of an official list or register of suspected thugs was proposed by Moodie in 1824. While it cannot be denied that Sleeman’s personal engagement shaped the thuggee campaign, as well as the colonial representation of thuggee, any account of thuggee that makes no mention of Perry, Halhed, Shakespeare and Stockwell can hardly be considered comprehensive.