• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / World / Were the Original Thugs a Cult In India?

Were the Original Thugs a Cult In India?

July 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

Today, we use the word thug to mean a brutal hoodlum. It might seem that this word is modern slang, but it’s not.

It has been in use for centuries as the name of an organization of murderers in India! The modern word Thug is derived from the word Thuggee, which is Indian in origin.

Thug, or thug, comes from a word that means “cheater” in India. The people who were called thugs worshiped Kali, the Indian goddess of death and destruction. They believed that they should kill and destroy in her service.

Since they also believed that these murders should be carried out without the spilling of blood, they used a noose or a handkerchief to strangle their victims.

The thugs first appeared during the sixteenth century. They traveled through India in gangs, robbing, strangling, and then burying their victims. They had a slang all their own, and they used secret signs so that they would recognize one another. During the next few centuries, they were probably responsible for killing more than 2 million people!

The British began to fight the thugs in the 1830s. They captured more than 3,000 of them and had wiped them out completely by the end of the nineteenth century. One thug who was placed on trial supposedly killed more than 900 persons over 50 years!

Related Facts

  • Who were the Thugs of India and how did they get their nickname?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • Who Were the First Explorers of Ancient Civilization?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • How did the word “thug” originate and What does thug mean in Sanskrit?

Filed Under: World

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where Did The Peanut Come From And Who Eats the Most Peanuts?
Next Post: What Is the Mystery of the Iron Pillar of Delhi India? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy