Thuggery in India

You might somewhat recognize the Thuggee movement from the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The depiction like all hollywood movies is an incredibly fanciful depiction of the movement. The Thuggee movement's sacrifices were nowhere near as elaborate as depicted in the film. The real sacrifices were nothing more then Thugges strangling unsuspecting travelers. However the film is accurate in the depiction that they worship Kali, the Hindu goddess of death. The Thugge movement was something of a cult and a criminal gang combined (in fact, the word "thug" in English is inherited from the word "thuggee"). Their victims were often robbed after their murders. The death toll from the Thugge murders range from anything from 40,000-2,000,000. Often the Thugges would disguise themselves as guides to caravans, and the 1st chance that the Thugges get, they strangle their victims. One Thugge leader Behram killed c.150 people personally. The Thuggee movement was eradicated in the 1850s by the British Raj.