________________
been the players on the losing side.
The Thugee The English word "thug" is derived from the word "Thugee", which was the name of a secret cult of robbers and murderers that once operated in India. Members of this cult considered it their sacred duty to kill traveling merchants and then steal their possessions. These criminals reportedly killed tens of thousands of people over a 300-year time period before finally being suppressed in the 19th century.
Originally the Thugee were a religious cult devoted to the Hindu goddess Kali (also called Durga). Even after they turned to robbery and murder, they believed that they were following the commands of their goddess. Because of their religious convictions, they never killed women, priests, holy men, or certain types of merchants. They also used a prescribed method of killing, strangulation with a scarf, in order to avoid bloodshed. Some reports say that a new recruit had to kill someone by this method before he could be initiated into the cult.
As the first step of a planned robbery, a group of Thugee would disguise themselves as ordinary travelers and then try to join a caravan of merchants. They usually accompanied the caravan for a day or two, acting in a friendly manner to allay suspicion. Then during the night they would attack the merchants and strangle them with scarves. Afterward they would plunder the baggage, which often contained gold, jewelry and other valuables.
The criminal activities of the Thugee cult were finally suppressed during the 19th century. However, their goddess Kali is still worshiped in many parts of India. The city of Calcutta (Kolkata) is named after her.
