Thugs, or the Thuggee, were a cult dedicated to India’s goddess Kali. They performed ritual killings steeped in their perverted religion. For centuries they terrified their own people, killing travelers, and taking pride in the number of people they had murdered.
Kali Demanded Sacrifices
The Thugs were motivated by a strong desire to appease their dark goddess, Kali. They believed that it was absolutely necessary to offer up the blood of their victims to Kali so as to keep the world in balance.
There were many rules about who the Thugs could and could not kill as an offering. Women and blind people were protected from the Thug sacrifices. Lepers were not wanted. Europeans, especially, were banned as an offering to Kali.
Many people were murdered by the Thugs. It is estimated that they killed anywhere from 500,000 to over a million people over six centuries. [SOURCE 1]
It Was About The Terror
The ultimate goal of the Thug was not so much to murder and steal from his choice victims. It was to cause as much terror as possible in his victims. He believed that the terror he caused was pleasurable to Kali. The longer he could sustain the terror and the pain of torture, the better he was at his craft.
Any Thug who failed his sworn duty would feel the wrath of Kali. His family might disappear or he might become suddenly weak. His only option would be to step up the ritual killing or risk losing everything he had. [SOURCE 2]
Travelers
The Thugs focused on killing travelers. In the 1800s, there were numerous documented cases of travelers through India meeting groups of Thugs on their journey. In one case, a group of forty travelers were passing through a known, Thug infested area. On their way they met 360 men, also claiming to be travelers. The smaller group joined in with the larger group, believing that were was safety in numbers.
The small group of men became comfortable with the large group. After eating a large meal, the forty men relaxed and, before they knew what was happening, their windpipes were broken. The only two people to survive this particular Thug attacks were two young women who were kept by the Thugs because of their beauty. [SOURCE 3]
The Order Of Things
Thugs had a certain method for going about their business. The first part of their act often involved befriending the victim. After the victim was emotionally conned, the thug would strangled the victim to death. Strangling allowed for prolonged terror, which is why it was used. After the victim was dead, the Thug had to dig a hole and bury the body. Only after all this was done was the Thug permitted to steal from the victim.
Failure to follow the method of execution could lead to punishment for the Thug member. [SOURCE 4]
Lived Normal Lives
For about eleven months out of the year, Thugs lived normal lives with their families. They were sometimes unknowingly employed by the British to watch over their children and guard their homes. The British that hired them described them as honest, kind, and industrious men. No one in the outside world suspected these well accepted men to be murderous, religious terrorists.
Thugs viewed their cult duties as a necessity. It did not carry over into their normal lives. For this reason, the British did not know of their existence when they first took over India. [SOURCE 4]
Muslims And Hindus Joined In
In one account, both Hindus and Muslims joined the Thug cult. The worship of the goddess Kali was just a front. The followers true desire was hatred for the wealthy. They believed that people of good fortune and wealth should spread their wealth to others. Since this was not going to happen on its own, Thugs would kill these wealthy men and take what they had as their own.
The act of strangling their victims was nothing more than an act of sadism, exposing the cruelty of the cult members. [SOURCE 5]
Confession
It wasn’t until a Thug was caught and confessed to the cult that the British learned of their existence. The British, in turn, rooted out the followers of the Thug cult and executed them.
It is generally believed that the Thug cult it gone, but there were some rumors back in 1947 that the Thug cult had been revived. [SOURCE 6]
