I think this book served to validate the takeover of the British of India, much the way that police will infiltrate protests and do damage, claiming it was done by protestors, to validate the need to strengthen their budget and their forces. Because there's no such thing as Thugs or Thugee, Mr Taylor the author was paid to create a fictional account of widespread criminal gangs throughout the countryside of India, to terrorize the imagination of Indians, and allow them to accept the yoke of British rule and thievery, at least for a time.

Here's what the protagonist believed was "heaven" in his religion:
"the old moola of the mosque had hitherto appeared in my eyes the most learned of men; he had stored my mind with passages from the Koran, which had made me an enthusiast. When he spoke to me of the glories of heaven, of the thousands of houris who would be at the command of every true believer, described their beautiful forms, their eyes like sapphires, their teeth of pearls, their lips like rubies, and their breath like the perfume of musk; the palaces of jewels, and the fountain of immortality and never-ending youth;- I believed that I was destined to enjoy all." Now, what do the women that believe in the Muslim religion get when they go to heaven?

In the Muslim religion, you are allowed to eat cows, but not picks. In the Hindu religion, you are not supposed to eat any dead animals. The protagonist is refreshing himself with a eating-house keeper, when they discuss their religion's different menus: " 'you appear comfortable,' said Bhudrinath.
'I am so,' i replied; 'and I doubt not you envy me, in spite of your Brahminical belief.'
'perhaps I do,' said he; 'yet having never tasted the luxuries of meat and other things you set such value upon, I cannot estimate them sufficiently, and I care not about them: nay more, the very idea of meat, the sight of it in its raw state, the blood, the garbage accompanying it, are loathsome to me; and I very much question, were I to become a mahomedan, whether I could ever bring myself to eat it. Pay! The idea is horrible.' "
I have to agree, Bhudrinath.

The protagonist has an enemy, Ghuffoor Khan, that he has sworn to kill. He makes plans with his homies to get the Ghuffoor Khan drunk, with wine and opium, and then they'll do him in. This is a funny scene, because they imitate British men drinking:
Khan: " 'it will not do, meer sahib, after the fatigue ( a hiccup ) and the trouble I have had (hiccup ) all day, shouting and bullying these rascally Pindharees ( hiccup ). How can it be expected, Meer sahib, that i, Ghuffoor Khan, the leader of 3,000 horse, should play and sing like a Goweya? By Alla I will not (hiccup ). But these hiccups, meer sahib, what is to cure them?'
'some more wine, Khan sahib; nothing but liquor can cure them. And there is more; there is still another cup.'
'then give me all!' cried the Khan; 'I will drink it standing like a kafir feringhee - May their sisters be defiled, ay and their mothers too! Nevertheless, as I said, I will serve them and drink among them, and none shall drink more than Ghuffoor Khan. Thou saidst they drink standing; and what do they say?'
'hip, hip, hip!' Said i; 'I learned the words from a vagabond who had been a khidmutgar among them, and had seen their wild orgies.'
'what, hip, hip, hip! Those are the words, eh? I wonder what they mean.'
'they are an invocation to their prophet, I believe;' said i, 'much as we say "bismilla ir ruhman ir ruheem!" '
'I do not doubt it, meer sahib. Now help me to rise, for the stuff is in my brain, and the tent goeth round about; help me to rise I say, and I will quaff the last drop both as a true Moslim and as a feringhee. Ha! said I not well?' "

The author makes really funny spellings of words he uses to refer to Indians, and some of their vocabulary. For example, he will put h i n d o o, instead of Hindu. All throughout the book, he repeats that "oo" instead of the "u."
The author worked really hard to convince us of the ruthlessness and cutthroatedness of these "Thugs."
Poor India.
( )

I am Indian, and I have known of the Thugs since I was a child. The origin of the word, Thug, comes from the Sanskrit, 'sthagati', meaning 'he who covers, or conceals'. From there it became 'thag' in the Hindi languages, and then 'Thug'. However, the way we pronounce the word is different from how a Westerner would pronounce it.

It is hard to say how much of this book is fictionalized, and how much is genuine narrative. However, I would suspect that 90% is genuine narrative. This does make for fascinating reading, and while many of the modern readers may be alarmed at the thirst for blood, and the desire to kill humans for profit, it is not that far removed from the modern day purveyors of weapons of mass destruction!

The tale itself is fascinating. At times, it does get heavy, in that Ameer Ali's constant tale of killing can get to you. However, this is what it was about. Yet, there are indeed codes of conduct, brotherhood, and genuine emotion that make their way through the pages.

The origins, in the desire to strike a balance between the 'destroyer' and the 'sustainer' of worlds is striking, as is the mythological connection with Kali, the Dark Goddess - she who is the darker aspect of Parvati, wife of Shiva.

For the Western reader - Indian Gods have many aspects. There are shades of grey that have to be explored, and this is indeed how the cult or practice of Thuggee was born, or sanctified.

A fascinating tale, and it does provide a great insight into the little known aspects of Indian history. ( )

see http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ct80.htm ( )

Philip Meadows Taylor was a British police commissioner in India in the 1830's. At that time, there existed a cult of ritual murderers and robbers called Thugs. Its practitioners were both Hindu and Muslim, and they worshiped Kali (Goddess of Strife and Destruction), or as they called her, Bhowanee.

Thugs travelled in bands and preyed on fellow travelers. They often inveigled their way into the confidence of fellow travellers with offers of mutual support and protection on the road. Or they simply ambushed travellers as the opportunity arose.

Each thug in a band had a specific duty. The sotha was the conman who was supposed to gain the confidence of potential victims. The bhuttote was the strangler, and the lugha was the gravedigger. The bodies were disposed of in carefully chosen and concealed mass common graves called bhils.

This novel is ostensibly the confession of Ameer Ali, a master thug, who is narrating his confession to a British police commissioner. In it, he describes periods of maurauding and murder followed by years of quiet family life living on the booty obtained through his Thug activities.

In his autobiography, Taylor says, 'Day after day I recorded tales of murder, which though horribly monotonous, possessed an intense interest.' In the novel, Ali confesses to personally murdering more that 700 victims. The stories of the victims, the tactics and ruses used, the interplay among the Thugs, the fear of discovery--all of these elements make for fascinating reading.

Throughout the confession, the police commissioner is largely silent. Taylor does have him say at one point, 'That man, the perpetrator of so many hundred murders, thinks on the past with satisfaction and pleasure; nay, he takes pride in recalling the events of his life, almost every one of which is a murder, and glories in describing the minutest particulars of his victims and the share he had in their destruction with scarcely a symptom of remorse...' And it is true, that the Thugs had a curious code of ethics as to who, when and where it was acceptable to murder a victim.

Taylor has written several other novels based on Indian History. One, Seeta, which deals with the Indian Mutiny of 1857-8, is the only novel by a 19th century British author that is at all sympathetic to the mutineers. Confessions of a Thug has been described as the first 'true crime' novel. Since it is narrated in the first person by a Thug, some of the incidents seem exaggerated and self-aggrandizing, but on the whole this is an excellent book. ( )

The word "thug" comes from the Thuggee (deceivers) who allegedly plagued India prior to the arrival of the British. Though there is some controversy nowadays as to the extent of their existence, tales of their exploits made a strong impression on the 19th Century British and helped justify a stronger colonial presence on the Indian subcontinent.

Confessions of a Thug is the story of one of these men, Ameer Ali, a Muslim thug who led a long and successful career as a Thug before his luck ran out. Ali relats his story to an English interviewer, starting with the death of his father at the hands of thugs and his adoption by the band's leader. Soon, he is grown up and interested in taking up the family trade, which his bravery and cleverness make him particularly suited to.

Though the interviewer occasionally interjects to render moral observations on the action, the voice that predominates is that of Ali, who comes across as an interesting anti-hero. With his cunning and boldness and his travels across India in search of those to rob, he comes across as an exotic adventurer-criminal, like some mix of Sinbad the Sailor and Tony Soprano. This is somewhat underscored by his tales of commanding men under the Pindaris, using freebooting armies to extort treasure from defenseless communities. Ali is as proud of his battlefield exploits as of his work with the strangling cloth.

An interesting story of crime and death on the Indian subcontinent, with many interesting local details. Somewhat dated nowadays, especially in its transliterations from Hindi, but still an interesting read. ( )