Humanities

Monsters in the dark: the discovery of Thuggee and demographic knowledge in colonial India

S. Bhattacharya

Explore the enthralling tale of the Thugs in colonial India as Sagnik Bhattacharya dissects the monstrous representations created through colonial narratives. This research unveils the gaps in knowledge that led to the demonization of Thuggee and what that reveals about the British administrative mindset. Dive into this riveting exploration of history!

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Playback language: English

Index

Abstract

This article examines the discovery of the Thugs in colonial India and analyzes the colonial knowledge about them through the concept of the monster. It argues that the Thug, as depicted in the British colonial archive, was an epistemological monster emerging from gaps in colonial information gathering. The article analyzes journalistic and legal discourse to demonstrate how the 'monster' metaphor explains the British administration's efforts to eradicate Thuggee. It concludes by investigating the implications of the 'discovery' for the teleology of Indian history and the 'othering' of tribal and anomic populations.

Publisher

PALGRAVE COMMUNICATIONS

Published On

May 04, 2020

Authors

Sagnik Bhattacharya

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