Bandits
Britain's overseas territories were a major source of revenue so it was important that stable conditions existed within them. This would foster trade, taxation and economic development. Upholding the law, protecting private property and suppressing banditry was thus a job for the Army, which found itself playing an ever growing role in the defence and administration of the colonies.
Tribal bandits in the mountains of Baluchistan, c1838. NAM 1971-02-33-481
Dacoits
A Dacoit captured by British troops, North West Frontier, c1916. NAM 1982-02-31-47
Dacoits were gangs of armed bandits from the Indian sub-continent who robbed merchants and travellers, raided villages and attacked convoys. Soldiers took part in regular anti-bandit sweeps throughout the history of British India, but it was never wiped out and continues to this day.
It is worth stressing that while many dacoits were motivated by criminal greed, others were forced into bandity by poverty. This was expecially true during periods of famine - a frequent feature of British rule in India.
Many of those labelled 'dacoits' by the British also came from wild and lawless regions like the North West Frontier or Baluchistan. Tribes there traditionally engaged in raiding and looting, viewing it as a useful way of supplementing a precarious way of life. The British viewed things very differently.
Thuggee
Execution of bandits at Peshawar for murdering a traveller. NAM 1973-09-56
Today's media often reports on 'thuggish' behaviour, but how many of us know that the term 'thug' originates in India and was adopted by the British? The Thuggee cult was devoted to Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction. For many years they carried out thousands of assassinations by strangulation. They would befriend travellers and when a favourable opportunity occurred, strangle them by throwing a noose around their necks. They then robbed and buried them. This was done according to special religious rites.
Sleeman's campaign
Thuggee was suppressed in the 1830s, due to the efforts of Captain William Sleeman of the 1st Regiment of Native Infantry, Bengal Army. He started a campaign involving profiling, intelligence and executions. Between 1831-37 the British hanged nearly 4000 Thuggees. An organisation made up of police, soldiers and civil servants known as the Thuggee and Dacoity Department was formed. It remained in existence until 1904 when it was replaced by the Central Criminal Intelligence Department.
Shoulder belt plate inscribed 'Thagi and Dacoity Department' 1840. NAM 1967-03-23
