Ajay Kumar at 05:34, 12 August 2023

2023-08-12T05:34:21Z

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{{Short description|Term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{redirect|Daku|the artist|Daku (artist)}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2008}}

'''Dacoity''' is a term used for "[[banditry]]" in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The spelling is the [[anglicised]] version of the [[Hindustani language|Hindi]] word डाकू (daaku); "dacoit" {{IPAc-en|d|ə|ˈ|k|ɔɪ|t}} is a colloquial [[Indian English]] word with this meaning and it appears in the [[Hobson-Jobson|''Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases'']] (1903).<ref>Here, "Anglo-Indian" refers to the language, or linguistic usage. See: Yule, Henry and Burnell, Arthur Coke (1886; reprinted 1903). ''[[Hobson-Jobson|Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive]]''. London: J. Murry. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6Z5iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA290 290]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628030029/http://books.google.com/books?id=6Z5iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA290 |date=2014-06-28 }}.</ref> [[Bandit#Banditry|Banditry]] is criminal activity involving robbery by groups of armed bandits. The [[East India Company]] established the [[Thuggee and Dacoity Department]] in 1830, and the [[Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts, 1836–1848]] were enacted in [[British India]] under [[Company rule in India|East India Company rule]]. Areas with ravines or forests, such as [[Chambal division|Chambal]] and [[Chilapata Forests]], were once known for dacoits.

[[File:Daku (Decoit) in Samrup Rachna Calligraphy.jpg|thumb|Daku (Dacoit) written in [[Samrup Rachna]] Calligraphy]]

==Etymology==
The word "dacoity", the [[anglicise|anglicized]] version of the [[Hindi language|Hindi]] word ''ḍakaitī'' (historically spelled ''dakaitee''). [[Hindi]] डकैती comes from ''ḍākū'' (historically spelled ''dakoo'', [[Hindi]]: डाकू, meaning "armed robber").

The term '''dacoit''' ([[Hindi]]: डकैत ''ḍakait'') means "a [[bandit]]" according to the ''[[OED]]'' ("A member of a class of robbers in [[India]] and [[Myanmar|Burma]], who plunder in armed bands").

==History==
=== Bandits of Bhind-Morena and Chambal ===
The dacoity have had a large impact in the [[Bhind]] and [[Morena]] of [[Chambal Division|Chambal]] regions in [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Haryana]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]] in north-central India.<ref name="trekking">{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/02/dacoit-highway-robbers-in-india/ |title=Trekking India's wild north, where bandits ruled |author=Paul Salopek |work=National Geographic |date=6 February 2019 |access-date=7 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124421/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/02/dacoit-highway-robbers-in-india/ |archive-date=9 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The exact reasons for the emergence of dacoity in the Chambal valley have been disputed. Most explanations have simply suggested feudal exploitation as the cause that provoked many people of this region to take to arms. The area was also underdeveloped and poor, so that banditry posed great economic incentives.<ref name="trekking" /> However, the fact that many gangs operating in this valley were composed of higher castes and wealthy people appears to suggest that feudalism may only be a partial explanation of dacoity in Chambal valley (Bhaduri, 1972; Khan, 1981; Jatar, 1980; Katare, 1972). Furthermore, traditional honour codes and [[blood feud]]s would drive some into criminality.<ref name="trekking" />

In Chambal, India, organized crime controlled much of the countryside from the time of the [[British Raj]] up to the early 2000s, with the police offering high rewards for the most notorious bandit chiefs. The criminals regularly targeted local businesses, though they preferred to kidnap wealthy people, and demand ransom from their relatives - cutting off fingers, noses, and ears to pressure them into paying high sums. Many dacoity also posed as [[social bandit]]s toward the local poor, paying medical bills and funding weddings. One ex-dacoit described his own criminal past by claiming that "I was a rebel. I fought injustice."<ref name="trekking"/> Following intense anti-banditry campaigns by the Indian Police, highway robbery was almost completely eradicated in the early 2000s. Nevertheless, Chambal is still popularly believed to be unsafe and bandit-infested by many Indians. One police officer noted that the fading of the dacoity was also due to social changes, as few young people were any longer willing to endure the harsh life as a highway robber in the countryside. Instead, they prefer to join crime groups in the city, where life is easier.<ref name="trekking"/>

=== Dacoits in Bengal ===
While thugs and dacoits operating in northern and central India are more popularly known and referenced in books, films and academic journal, a significant number of accounts also come from Bengal. Writing about the dacoits of Bengal, the colonial official CH Keighly mentions the “great difference between gangs of hereditary dacoits or thugs in other parts of India and the dacoits of Bengal”.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Das |first=Suranjan |date=26 April 2016 |title=Behind the Blackened Faces: The 19th Century Bengali Dacoits |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40276503 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=42 |issue=35 |pages=3573–3579 |jstor=40276503 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> It is notable that unlike the rest of India, dacoits in Bengal did not come from a particular social class, caste, or creed.

==== The Gangs of Nadia and Hooghly ====
Dacoit gangs in Nadia and Hooghly were particularly known for their ritualistic practices before the night of dacoity. Before setting off for their mission, the members would assemble to perform “kalipuja” led by the Sirdar (leader). The dacoits would form a straight line and a pot of liquor, torches, and weapons to be used in the dacoity were laid down in a clear space. The Sirdar would then dip his finger in oil and touch the forehead of all the dacoits, making them promise never to confess. Even during the raid, when dacoits opened chests and discovered a good fortune, they would shout “Kali, Jai Kali”.<ref name=":0" />

==== Dacoits of Birbhum ====
Dacoity was highly prevalent in 19<sup>th</sup> century west Bengal. One of the gangs, led by a charismatic leader named Bhabani Pathak, was known for its loyalty to their leader. After the British captured Bhabani, the inner workings and social factors that led to the construction of this gang were revealed. Leaders such as Bhabani were known as Sirdars and had a symbiotic relationship with their followers.<ref name=":0" /> Among other benefits, a Sirdar would lend loans to members and provided them protection. This allowed for the formation of a special bond between the Sirdar and followers which meant that cases of desertion and exiting the gang were virtually unheard of.

==== Tales of Burdwan ====
In Burdwan, dacoities were heavily planned and considerable thought went into their seamless execution. Sirdars in Burdwan operated by employing several informants who kept them updated about prospective targets.<ref name=":0" /> When a target was finalized, the Sirdar and relevant gang members were constantly made aware about his whereabouts. The informants were always on the lookout for wealthy businessmen and kept a close watch on those that exchanged bank notes of considerable value or received a shipment of merchandise that they would store in their houses.

=== Other dacoity ===
The term is also applied, according to the ''[[OED]]'', to "pirates who formerly infested the [[Ganges]] between [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] and [[Baharampur|Burhampore]]".

Dacoits existed in Burma as well – [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s fictional Private Mulvaney hunted Burmese dacoits in "[[The Taking of Lungtungpen]]". [[Sax Rohmer]]'s criminal mastermind [[Fu Manchu|Dr. Fu Manchu]] also employed Burmese dacoits as his [[henchmen]].

Indian police forces use "Known Dacoit" (K.D.) as a label to classify criminals.

=== Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Act ===
Introduced in 1836, the suppression acts brought about several legislative measures including the establishment of special courts, authorization for the use of rewards for informants, and the power to arrest suspects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Singha |first=Radhika |date=1993 |title='Providential' Circumstances: The Thuggee Campaign of the 1830s and Legal Innovation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/312879 |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=83–146 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00016085 |jstor=312879 |s2cid=145536132 |issn=0026-749X}}</ref> The suppression acts marked the beginning of active British intervention in policing and law enforcement in Indian society. These acts were known to be authoritarian and further deepened the uneven power dynamic between the British and the Indians.

=== British Portrayal of Crime in India ===
The British often saw Indians as primitive, violent, and unruly, and this often acted as a justification for colonization and further consolidated their “civilization mission” pretext. The practice of thuggee and dacoity was seen in a similar Eurocentric light, without understanding the local context. An orientalist view of such activities was portrayed in the rest of the world to account for several repressive legislative measures that the British took. Under this punitive approach, several innocent individuals fell prey to false suspicion and were incriminated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Mark |date=2002 |title=CRIME, GOVERNANCE AND THE COMPANY RAJ: The Discovery of Thuggee |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23638761 |journal=The British Journal of Criminology |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=77–95 |doi=10.1093/bjc/42.1.77 |jstor=23638761 |issn=0007-0955}}</ref>

==Notable dacoits==
[[File:A family of Indian dacoits (c. 1900s).jpg|thumbnail|A family of dacoits]]

Notable dacoits include:
* [[Chavviram Singh Yadav]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 31, 1982 |first=Asoka |last=Raina |title=UP's most wanted dacoit Chhabiram killed after seven-and-a-half hour battle |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/crime/story/19820331-uttar-pradesh-most-wanted-dacoit-chhabiram-killed-after-seven-and-a-half-hour-battle-771625-2013-10-18 |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Gabbar Singh Gujjar]] - inspired the famous 1975 film ''[[Sholay]]'', based on his life<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32493120|title=Sholay: Iconic Bollywood film releases in Pakistan cinemas - BBC News|access-date=2018-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805184158/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32493120|archive-date=2018-08-05|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Man Singh (dacoit)|Man Singh]]<ref>Staff (5 September 1955) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,893055,00.html "India: Dead Man"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130055612/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,893055,00.html |date=2010-11-30 }} ''Time magazine''</ref> was a notorious Dacoit of the [[Rathore]] clan of Rajputs. He was also known as the Lion of [[Chambal (region)|Chambal]].
* [[Malkhan Singh Rajpoot]], a notorious bandit known as the ''Bandit King'' or ''King of Dacoits.''<ref>Kaufman, Michael T. (1982-03-29). "Despite Grisly Evidence, India Glorifies Its Bndits". ''The New York Times''. [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-27.</ref> He also had political aspirations in MP.
* [[Malangi (bandit)|Malangi]]
* [[Kallu Yadav (Kalua)]], also known as Katri King<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-01-17 |title=Dreaded dacoit Kalua shot dead |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/dreaded-dacoit-kalua-shot-dead/story-ZsfVnurotVxdBdyzEczklO.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Mohar Singh (dacoit)|Mohar Singh]]
* [[Nirbhay Singh Gujjar]]
* [[Nizam Lohar]], a dacoit born into a [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabi Muslim]] family during the [[Sikh Empire]]. He is known for his rebellion and freedom struggle against the [[British Raj|British colonial government]].
* [[Paan Singh Tomar]], a former soldier in the [[Indian Army]], an athlete that represented India in the Asian Games, who later resorted to becoming a Baaghi due to the injustices he faced. Also inspired the famous Bollywood film [[Paan Singh Tomar (film)|Paan Singh Tomar]] played by [[Irrfan Khan]].
* [[Phoolan Devi]]<ref>{{cite news | author= Phoolan Devi | author2= Marie-Therese Cuny | author3= Paul Rambali | name-list-style= amp | title= The Bandit Queen of India: An Indian Woman's Amazing Journey from Peasant to International Legend | year= 2006 | publisher = Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2006 | isbn= 978-1-59228-641-6 }}</ref>
* Rambabu Gadariya - Regarded as the last notorious dacoit of Chambal<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/ff8080810ec3b59f010ec3d055ad00bb.do.html |title=The 'Last Lion of Chambal' gunned down by police |date=20 September 2005 |publisher=www.southasianpost.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716113513/http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/ff8080810ec3b59f010ec3d055ad00bb.do.html |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref>
* [[Shiv Kumar Patel]] (Dadua)
* [[Ramashish Koeri gang|Ramashish Koeri]] was active in [[Rohtas Plateau]] of Bihar in 1980s. He was the leader of a group of bandits, who were supported by the people from lower strata of society. This dacoit group was known for challenging the hagemony of upper caste landlords in the region, who were exploitative.<ref name="Ahmed">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19860315-183-people-brutally-murdered-in-kaimur-plateau-in-bihar-in-last-12-months-800674-1986-03-14|title=183 people brutally murdered in Kaimur plateau in Bihar in last 12 months|editor=Farzand Ahmed|website=[[India Today]]|accessdate=30 January 2023|archive-date=30 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130151318/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19860315-183-people-brutally-murdered-in-kaimur-plateau-in-bihar-in-last-12-months-800674-1986-03-14|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Jagga Jatt]]
* [[Veerappan]], a notorious dacoit, poacher, and smuggler in South India.

==Protection measures==
In Madhya Pradesh, women belonging to a village defence group have been issued firearm permits to fend off dacoity. The Chief minister of the state, [[Shivraj Singh Chouhan]], recognised the role the women had played in defending their villages without guns. He stated that he wanted to enable these women to better defend both themselves and their villages, and issued the gun permits to advance this goal.<ref>[http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2008/05/27/indian-women-granted-gun-permits-to-fend-off-armed-robbers/ "Indian Women Granted Gun Permits to Fend Off Armed Robbers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123050813/http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2008/05/27/indian-women-granted-gun-permits-to-fend-off-armed-robbers/ |date=2008-11-23 }} LearnAboutGuns.com</ref>

==In popular culture==
===Dacoit films===
As the dacoits flourished through the 1940s–1970s, they were the subject of various [[Hindi films]] made during this era, leading to the emergence of the dacoit film genre in [[Hindi Film Industry]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2019-02-last-dacoits/ |date=6 February 2019 |title=Outlaw Trails |first=Paul |last=Salopek |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |quote=They have grown up on news accounts and Bollywood movies about the remote Chambal, a vast badland at the northern heart of their country: a no-go zone of lumpy hills and silty rivers infested with thugs, robbers, murderers, gangsters—with infamous highwaymen called dacoits. |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214002744/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2019-02-last-dacoits/ |archive-date=14 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The genre began with [[Mehboob Khan]]'s ''[[Aurat (1940 film)|Aurat]]'' (1940), which he remade as ''[[Mother India]]'' (1957). ''Mother India'' received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination, and defined the dacoit film genre, along with [[Dilip Kumar]]'s ''[[Gunga Jumna]]'' (1961).<ref name="Teo">{{cite book|last=Teo|first=Stephen|title=Eastern Westerns: Film and Genre Outside and Inside Hollywood|date=2017|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=9781317592266|page=122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pi8lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122|language=en|access-date=2017-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130151204/https://books.google.com/books?id=pi8lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122|archive-date=2017-11-30|url-status=live}}</ref> Other popular films in this genre included [[Raj Kapoor]]’s ''[[Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai]]'' (1961) and [[Moni Bhattacharjee]]'s ''[[Mujhe Jeene Do]]'' (1963).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Real Life Hero|url=http://www.screenindia.com/news/THE-REAL-LIFE-HERO/318575/|date=Jun 6, 2008|magazine=[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]]|access-date=1 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303083722/http://www.screenindia.com/news/THE-REAL-LIFE-HERO/318575/|archive-date=3 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Pakistani actor [[Akmal Khan]] had two dacoit films, ''[[Malangi]]'' (1965) and ''[[Imam Din Gohavia]]'' (1967). Other films in this genre included ''[[Khote Sikkay]]'' (1973), ''[[Mera Gaon Mera Desh]]'' (1971), and ''[[Kuchhe Dhaage]]'' (1973) both by [[Raj Khosla]].

The most famous dacoit film is ''[[Sholay]]'' (1975), written by [[Salim–Javed]], and starring [[Dharmendra]], [[Amitabh Bachchan]], and [[Amjad Khan (actor)|Amjad Khan]] as the dacoit character [[Gabbar Singh (character)|Gabbar Singh]]. It was a [[masala film]] that combined the dacoit film conventions of ''Mother India'' and ''Gunga Jumna'' with that of [[Spaghetti Western]]s, spawning the "Dacoit Western" genre,<ref name="Teo"/> also known as the "Curry Western" genre. The film also borrowed elements from [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s ''[[Seven Samurai]]''.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|title=G. P. Sippy, Indian Filmmaker Whose ''Sholay'' Was a Bollywood Hit, Dies at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/arts/27Sippy.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=23 February 2011 |first=Haresh |last=Pandya |date=27 December 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828135232/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/arts/27Sippy.html |archive-date=28 August 2011 }}</ref> ''Sholay'' became a classic in the genre, and its success led to a surge of films in this genre, including ''[[Ganga Ki Saugandh]]'' (1978), once again starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan.

An internationally acclaimed example of the genre is ''[[Bandit Queen]]'' (1994).

The Tamil movie starring [[Karthi]], ''[[Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru]]'' (2017) deals elaborately with bandits. The film reveals the real dacoity incidents which held in Tamil Nadu between 1995 and 2005. Director [[H. Vinoth|Vinoth]] did a two-year research about bandits to develop the script.

A related genre of crime films are [[Mumbai underworld films]].

===Other media===
Bengali novel Devi Chowdhurani by author [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] in 1867.

A Hindi novel named ''Painstth Lakh ki Dacoity'' (1977) was written by [[Surender Mohan Pathak]]; it was translated as ''[[The 65 Lakh Heist]]''.

Dacoits armed with pistols and swords appear in ''[[Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties]]''.

They frequently appeared in the French language ''[[Bob Morane]]'' series of novels by [[Henri Vernes]], principally as the main thugs or assassins of the hero's recurring villain, Mr. Ming and in English as the agents of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu.

== See also ==
*[[Meena]]s
*[[Organised crime in India]]
*[[Criminal Tribes Act]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Phoolan Devi, with Marie-Therese Cuny, and Paul Rambali, ''The Bandit Queen of India: An Indian Woman's Amazing Journey from Peasant to International Legend'' Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2006 {{ISBN|978-1-59228-641-6}}
*Mala Sen, ''India's Bandit Queen: The true Story of Phoolan Devi'', HarperCollins Publishers (September 1991) {{ISBN|978-0-00-272066-3}}.
*G. K. Betham, ''The Story of a Dacoity, and the Lolapaur Week: An Up-Country Sketch''. BiblioBazaar, 2008. {{ISBN|0-559-47369-9}}.
*Shyam Sunder Katare, ''Patterns of dacoity in India: a case study of Madhya Pradesh''. S. Chand, 1972.
*Mohammad Zahir Khan, ''Dacoity in Chambal Valley''. National, 1981.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|dacoit}}
*[http://devgan.in/ipc/section/391/ Dacoity - Indian Penal Code, Chapter XVII] (Mobile Friendly)
*[http://pdfs.island.lk/2006/11/06/p8.pdf As modern world closes in, India's fabled bandits are disappearing] - [[International Herald Tribune]]

{{Western (genre)}}
{{Film genres |state=collapsed}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

[[Category:British India]]
[[Category:Banditry]]
[[Category:Outlaws]]
[[Category:Illegal occupations]]
[[Category:Organised crime in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Indian robbers]]
[[Category:Gangs in India]]
[[Category:Indian slang]]
[[Category:Pakistani slang]]
[[Category:Bengali words and phrases]]
[[Category:Urdu-language words and phrases]]
[[Category:Organised crime in India]]
[[Category:Secret societies in India]]
[[Category:Secret societies related to organized crime]]

[[hi:डकैती]]

Dacoity - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 05:34, 12 August 2023