returned to Dacoitee a few months after his release. "I was then
young," said he, "and in high spirits--I had been confined with many
other old Dacoits--and in gaol I used to hear them talking of their
excursions, how they got 50,000 rupees here and 20,000 rupees there;
and I used to long for my release, that I might go on Dacoitee and
enjoy myself." The confessions of both these men would be readily
endorsed by many inmates of our own prisons. Evil associations and
the charms of a contraband career are equally potent in Europe and in
Asia. But among the natives of India the profession of a Dacoit was not
regarded as one of shame and disgrace. Indeed, even the Commissioner
avowed he could see little difference, ethically, between expeditions
in quest of plunder, and those for the purpose of conquest; it was
a question of degree, not of principle. They themselves gloried in
their calling. "Ours," they said, "has been a _Padshahee Kam_ (an
imperial business); we have attached and seized boldly the thousands
and hundreds of thousands that we have freely and nobly spent: we have
been all our lives wallowing in wealth and basking in freedom, and
find it hard to manage with a few copper pice a day we get from you."
So energetic, however, and persevering were the measures adopted for
the suppression of this "Padshahee Kam" that within a very few years
after their inauguration, there existed in the Upper Provinces scarcely
even the nucleus of a gang. The few who still remained at liberty were
known by name and personal appearance, and only escaped apprehension
by leading simple and inoffensive lives, gaining their daily bread by
their daily labour.
The task of suppression in the Lower Provinces has been attended with
so many peculiar difficulties, from the natural configuration of the
country, that Dacoitee can hardly yet be said to be extinguished. But
its days are numbered, and a marked diminution of cases is observable
every year. The apathy of their victims has, undoubtedly, been one
great cause of the impunity so long enjoyed by these daring marauders.
This reluctance to prosecute, though partly owing to a well founded
dread of incurring the vengeance of the comrades of convicted Dacoits,
is chiefly attributable to the repugnance felt by all respectable
natives to appear in Court even as complainants. The tedious
formalities of legal proceedings appear to them in the light of studied
annoyances, and their dignity is offended by the distrust with which
their statements are necessarily received. Perhaps, the ancient mode of
administering justice would be, after all, the most efficacious, and
certainly most in accordance with the native character. The elders of
the town, or village, seated at the gate, or beneath the grateful shade
of stately trees, and presided over by an English gentleman conversant
with their habits and language, and possessed of tact, patience, and
good sense, would probably dispense more evenhanded justice than is
obtained by all the costly paraphernalia of courts of law founded on a
totally different phase of civilization. Be this as it may, enough has
now been said to disprove the vulgar allegation of indifference to the
welfare of their fellow subjects so flippantly and frequently urged
against the Government of the East India Company. And these are only
two out of many instances that might be adduced to show that their
administration has been one of continued and consistent progress. It is
reserved for posterity to admire the gratitude that seeks to reward the
annexation and improvement of a vast empire by maligning the motives
of those to whom this country is indebted for the brightest gem in the
imperial crown, vilipending their services, and depriving them of power
and patronage.
The Mangs.
Some curious and interesting information has been furnished by Captain
C. Barr, of the Bombay Native Infantry, with regard to the Mangs, or
Kholapore Dacoits. It is needless to observe, that Kholapore was one
of the early divisions of the Mahratta empire, or that it separated
from the main body in 1729, under the auspices of one of the younger
branches of Sivajee's family. The Mangs occupied the very lowest
grade in the ladder of society--or, rather, they were looked upon as
outcasts, and quite beyond the pale of society. They harboured in wilds
and forests, and lived upon carrion, roots, and wild fruits. Their
real occupation, however, was that of border robbers; and yet it was
a source of pride among them that their wives should remain ignorant
of the nature of their pursuits. They never robbed or defrauded one
another; they even believed that the spoliation of "the Gentiles"
necessitated an expiation, which usually assumed the form of a gift of
a pair of shoes to a Brahman, and alms to the poor. Experience had
taught them the expediency of employing a peculiar dialect--perhaps
it was the original language of their race. Their leader, or headman,
was called the Naïk, and was selected by the majority of votes for
his skill in planning an expedition, his bravery in carrying it out,
and his integrity in the division of the spoils. The office was,
consequently, not hereditary; but they so far believed in the efficacy
of blood, as to allow considerable weight for a father's merits. The
Naïk's person and property were alike inviolable. On all ceremonial
occasions his precedence was allowed; in disputes, his decision was
final; and on him devolved the duty of laying out plans for robberies.
To every band was attached an informer, who was also the receiver
of the stolen goods. These scoundrels generally pretended to be,
and perhaps were, bangle-sellers, dealers in perfume, goldsmiths,
jewellers, &c., &c. In this capacity they were admitted into women's
apartments, and so enabled to form a correct notion of the topography
of a house, and a shrewd guess as to the wealth of its inmates. Their
mode of conducting a Dacoitee was in all respects similar to those
already described. The only persons exempt from their depredations
were bangle-sellers and agricultural labourers, who, in return,
afforded them refuge and hospitality in the hour of need. After a
successful foray, each of the gang contributed one-fourth of his share
to the Naïk, towards the common fund for defraying the expenses of
preparation, absolution, and feasts of triumph. The informer was not
entitled to any specific sum; but, as he enjoyed the privilege of
pre-emption of the booty, his interests are not likely to have been
overlooked.
Like all barbarous tribes, and all persons addicted to criminal
practices, the Mangs were extremely superstitious. They never, for
instance, set out upon an expedition on a Friday. The new-born child
was bathed in a spot previously prepared for the purpose, and baptized
by the Brahman, in the name of the deity presiding over that particular
hour. In the family, however, and throughout life, the neophyte sinner
was known by some household name. Danger was encountered at an early
period of life. The mother and another woman stood on opposite sides of
the cradle, and the former tossed her child to the other, commending
it to the mercy of Jee Gopal, and waited to receive it back in like
manner, in the name of Jee Govind.
The Mangs usually married young in life. If a girl happened to hang
heavy on hand, she was married, at the age of puberty, to the deity.
In other words, she was attached as a prostitute to the temple of
the god Khundoba, or the goddess Yellania. Those belonging to the
service of the latter were wont, in the month of February, to parade
the streets in a state of utter nudity. It was customary, previous to
a secular marriage, for the parents of the bridegroom to ask for the
hand of the bride. A test of the aspirant's address was then demanded.
In one instance, the father of the maiden filled a silver vessel with
water up to the brim after carefully suspending it over his head in
bed, so that the slightest touch would be certain to splash the water
on to his face. The suitor, however, was not daunted by the difficulty
of the enterprise. Procuring some dry porous earth, he employed it as a
sponge, carefully applying it to the surface of the water. Having thus
reduced the level of the surface, he cut the strings, carried off the
vessel, and next morning claimed his bride. The marriage ceremonies
were by no means interesting, except when a bachelor wooed a widow.
In this case he was first united to the _asclepias gigantea_, which
was immediately transplanted. Withering away and dying, it left him at
liberty to marry the charming widow. If a lady survived the sorrow
caused by the death of two or three husbands, she could not again enter
the holy state unless she consented to be married with a fowl under her
armpit--the unfortunate bird being afterwards killed to appease the
manes of her former consorts.
Each family had its household god, but all agreed in the common worship
of Davee, as the tutelar deity of the tribe. Their chief festival was
the Dusserah, on which day they usually set out on their expeditions,
armed with sword and shield, and iron crowbar. Unhappily, the Mangs
must be spoken of in the past tense. The servants of the East India
Company, actuated, no doubt, by mercenary motives, have put an end
to their depredations and compelled them to resort to honest and
common-place industry. Thus are sentimentality and romance crushed at
the India House.
The Oothaeegeerahs
or
Professional Thieves.
In the year 1851 it was accidentally discovered that the British
territories had long been infested with gangs of thieves from the
Banpoor States. These Sunoreahs, or Oothaeegeerahs, who extended their
depredations into the very heart of Calcutta, had carried on their
vocation with impunity for many generations. Their existence was well
known, however, to the native authorities, from whom they received
protection and encouragement. The head man of each village was _ex
officio_ chief of the Sunoreahs, and kept a registry of the various
"nals," or gangs under his own jurisdiction--usually from seven to ten
in number. In Tehree they were estimated at 4,000, in Banpoor at 300,
and in Dutteeah also at 300. There were in all twelve villages occupied
by them, presided over by a Government officer, whose duty it was to
act as umpire in all disputes arising out of the division of spoils.
Shortly after the Dusserah festival the chiefs of each village
repaired to their favourite Brahman priest to ascertain in what
direction they were to bend their steps. This having been duly
indicated, together with the auspicious day and hour, they started
off in a body to some place of considerable note. Here the gang,
consisting, probably, of fifty or sixty men, was subdivided into
parties of ten or twelve, and detached to adjacent towns and villages,
while the leader, with a strong party, remained at the point of
separation. Hither they all returned in the month of July; and, if
their joint exertions had produced fifty or sixty rupees for each
man, they then hastened home to prepare their fields for the summer
crop. But should fortune have proved unfavourable they again took to
the road, while their leader alone hastened back to the village laden
with plunder for their respective families. The office of Mookeea, or
leader, was hereditary, and, in default of male issue, descended to
females. If among the booty there happened to be any object of peculiar
elegance or value, it was ceremoniously presented to the chief of the
state. Thus, the head of the Tehree Government acknowledged a present
of two valuable pearl nose ornaments, by bestowing on the thief a grant
of land, rent free, in perpetuity; and the Rajah of Banpore was known
to have accepted two handsome watches and a pair of arm ornaments.
There was no mystery in the disposal of their stolen goods. These were
openly sold in the market places and bazaars at half their value, and,
during the absence of the Sunoreahs on their thieving expeditions,
the village money-lender unhesitatingly supplied their families with
whatever they might require. Of course, care was taken never to commit
any depredations within the territories of their protectors and patrons.
The Sunoreahs had "chounees," or depôts in all parts of India, where
they could always find a ready sale for their effects. Near Calcutta
their head quarters were at the serai of the Rajah of Burdwan, whose
ostentatious hospitality oftentimes maintained as many as 200 of them.
Though usually possessed of ample means, they never scrupled to accept
alms with the Byragees, or religious mendicants at Burdwan. No matter
how widely they might have roamed from their native villages, they
always found ready purchasers for their pilferings, and they themselves
easily recognised each other by means of a peculiar "bolee," or slang.
When their proceedings first became known to Major P. Harris,
Superintendent of Chundeyree, that officer immediately addressed the
Rajah of Banpoor on the subject, and elicited from him a most naïve and
characteristic reply, the following extract from which well exemplifies
the native notions of morality and good government:--
"I have to state that from former times these people following their
profession, have resided in my territory and in the states of other
native princes; and they have always followed this calling, but no
former kings, or princes or authority have ever forbidden the practice;
therefore these people for generations have resided in my territory
and the states of other princes; proceeding to distant districts, to
follow their occupation, robbing by day for a livelihood for themselves
and families, both cash, and any other property they could lay hands
on. In consequence of these people stealing by day only, and that
they do not take life, or distress any person, by personal ill-usage,
and that they do not break into houses, by digging wells or breaking
door-locks, but simply by their smartness manage to abstract property;
owing to such trifling thefts I looked on their proceedings as petty
thefts, and have not interfered with them. As many States as there may
be in India, under the protection of the British Government, there is
not one in which these people are not to be found, and it is possible
that in all other States who protect them, the same system is pursued
towards them as in my district; and besides, these people thieving
only by day, the police officers in the British territories are not
expected to exert themselves, the loss having occurred simply through
the owner's negligence. Owing to this circumstance, your friend looking
on their transgressions as trifling, I have not caused my police to
interfere with them. The British Government, who issue orders to all
the native powers in India, have never directed the system of Sunoreahs
to be stopped. From this I conclude that their offence is looked upon
by the British Government, as trifling; and probably this is the
reason that neither the British Government, nor any other authority,
have ever directed me to stop their calling; and on this account, from
property that they have brought home, and I have heard that it suited
me, or that they themselves, considering the article to be a curiosity
from a distant province, have presented to me through my servants;
thus, viewing the offence as trifling, that there was no owner to the
property, I received it from them, and gave them a trifle in return."
LONDON:
LEWIS AND SON, PRINTERS, 21, FINCH LANE, CORNHILL.