Well, there's also a huge question mark against what William Sleeman did to/ with the Thugs... Very, very, arguable, as to whether these were really criminal gangs, and whether the people hanged were really deserving of the hanging - rather like what happened in so many villages during the 'Mutiny...' It really is true when they say that history is the story of the Victor. On 29 April 2010 19:26, Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar <[email protected]>wrote: > Apr 22nd 2010 From The Economist print edition > > > http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15955530&source=most_commented > > > http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15955530&source=most_commented > > India's criminal tribes > If they were crooks, wouldn't they be richer? Millions of poor > Indians are considered criminal by tradition. Most are nothing > of the sort > > | ASHTI, MAHARASHTRA | > > According to an 1880 report of the Bombay Presidency, an > area dominated by the modern states of Maharashtra and > Gujarat, members of a Pardhi sub-tribe are "always ragged > and dirty, walking with a sneaking gait". > > To fix these vagabonds, the Raj introduced the 1871 Criminal > Tribes Act, under which members of around 150 tribes were > forced to register with the police, forbidden to move around > freely and, in many cases, herded into barbed-wire camps. > The law was scrapped soon after India won independence, > and the criminal tribes were formally "de-notified" in 1952. > Some have prospered: in Rajasthan, the Meenas dominate > a preferential-treatment scheme to allocate government jobs > to tribal people, which has let them become part of India's > elite civil services. Yet the fortunes of many de-notified tribes > (DNTs) have scarcely improved. [snip] > > --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >
yes, too bad that the victims of Thags couldn't come forwards to identify the perpetrators. Megan S. Mills PHD 198 St Helen's Toronto CDA M6H 4A1 > Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:06:51 +0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] If they were crooks, wouldn't they be richer? > > Well, there's also a huge question mark against what William Sleeman did to/ > with the Thugs... > > Very, very, arguable, as to whether these were really criminal gangs, and > whether the people hanged were really deserving of the hanging - rather like > what happened in so many villages during the 'Mutiny...' > > It really is true when they say that history is the story of the Victor. > > On 29 April 2010 19:26, Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar <[email protected]>wrote: > > > Apr 22nd 2010 From The Economist print edition > > > > > > http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15955530&source=most_commented > > > > > > http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15955530&source=most_commented > > > > India's criminal tribes > > If they were crooks, wouldn't they be richer? Millions of poor > > Indians are considered criminal by tradition. Most are nothing > > of the sort > > > > | ASHTI, MAHARASHTRA | > > > > According to an 1880 report of the Bombay Presidency, an > > area dominated by the modern states of Maharashtra and > > Gujarat, members of a Pardhi sub-tribe are "always ragged > > and dirty, walking with a sneaking gait". > > > > To fix these vagabonds, the Raj introduced the 1871 Criminal > > Tribes Act, under which members of around 150 tribes were > > forced to register with the police, forbidden to move around > > freely and, in many cases, herded into barbed-wire camps. > > The law was scrapped soon after India won independence, > > and the criminal tribes were formally "de-notified" in 1952. > > Some have prospered: in Rajasthan, the Meenas dominate > > a preferential-treatment scheme to allocate government jobs > > to tribal people, which has let them become part of India's > > elite civil services. Yet the fortunes of many de-notified tribes > > (DNTs) have scarcely improved. [snip] > > > > --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >