Thuggee

Thuggee (or tuggee) (from the Sanskrit root sthag (P?li, thak), to conceal, mainly applied to fraudulent concealment) was an Indian cult sometimes described as the world's first mafia, operating from the 13th to the 19th centuries, worshipping Kali whose members were known as Thugs. This is where the term thug originated, as many Indian words passed into common English during British occupation of India.

Thuggee in popular culture

The story of Thuggee was popularized by books such as Philip Meadows Taylor's novel Confessions of a Thug, 1839, leading to the word "thug" entering the English language. John Masters' novel The Deceivers also deals with the subject. A more recent book is George Bruce, The Stranglers: The cult of Thuggee and its overthrow in British India (1968). The two most popular depictions of the cult in film are the 1939 film, Gunga Din and the 1984 Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Both films have the heroes fighting secret revivals of the cult to prevent them resuming their reigns of terror.

Related Topics:
Philip Meadows Taylor - 1839 - English language - John Masters - 1968 - Film - 1939 - Gunga Din - 1984 - Indiana Jones - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

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The 1988 film The Deceivers produced by Ismail Merchant and starring Pierce Brosnan, is a gripping account of the initial discovery and infiltration of the Thuggee sect by an imperial British administrator. Also, Italian writer Emilio Salgari (1862-1911) wrote about thugs in I Misteri della Jungla Nera (1895) Le Due tigri (1904) and other short stories.

Related Topics:
1988 - The Deceivers - Ismail Merchant - Pierce Brosnan - Emilio Salgari

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Another popular movie on the Thugs of Benaras was "Sunghursh" (1968) directed by Harnam Singh Rawail and based on a story by Sahitya Akademi Award winner Mahasweta Devi. The movie's depiction of Thugs in that particular region of India is considered to be very accurate and it starred the legendary Indian actor of yesteryears Dilip Kumar.

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