Episode #221- Did India's Thugs Really Exist? (Part II)

In the early 19th century central India was one of the most dangerous places a person could travel. Murders and robberies were incredibly common. Every year dozens, sometimes hundreds, of bodies were found in shallow graves near the highways. These unfortunate travelers were often the victims of gangs of murderous bandits. But who were these killers? The British authorities came to believe that these highway murders were the work of an India-wide network of cultists known as Thugs. But were the Thugs actually a coherent criminal sub-culture? Were they truly devoted to a religion based on human sacrifice? Or were real bandits being transformed into bloodthirsty fanatics by colonial propaganda? Tune-in and find out how poison milk, thug snitches, and the common enemies of all mankind play a role in the story.

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