Dacoits in India
India is a land of contrasts, at one extreme we have modern cities like Bombay and Delhi and at the other extreme is the lawless land of central India. This area crossed by ravines and deep gorges is home to thieves and gangs led by Daku’s (Dacoits).
The tradition of this form of crime is in the germ of history when armed gangs called thugs roamed the areas of the united provinces. These thugs were killers who killed travelers and robbed them. They never shed blood and the way to kill was strangulation with a small Roomal (handkerchief).
bullying
The Raj put an end to this thug and many thugs were hanged. All credit to Captain William Sleeman of the British East India Army who put an end to this threat.
Crime did not die out and in due course a new generation of gunslingers called Daku or dacoits soon appeared on the scene. Over the decades, these Daku have sung songs and ballads in his honor, because we understand that they were men of honor. This is a difficult word to apply to an armed criminal, but these robbers never touched women and children and never indulged in torture. Many of them were genuine Robin Hoods who gave freely to the poor and subsidized temples and places of worship.
famous dacoits
We have all heard of Robin Hood. He was supposed to be a chivalrous bandit who stole from the rich and donated to the poor. The story may or may not be true. In the Chambal ravines there are also stories of many such thieves. Two of the most famous are listed below.
sultana daku
At the turn of the century, the only man who ruled the roost in central India was Sultana Daku. He was a Muslim but he stole government treasures and also killed the policemen. Therefore, he was a marked man, but people loved him and he built an aura about himself. Even now ballads are sung in honor of Sultana Daku and how he robbed the government trains and treasures and distributed the loot to the poor. However, Sultana was captured and hanged in 1924, but many believe that he was a nationalist.
singh man
A series of dacoits continued to rule the ravines of central India and soon the formidable Man Singh arrived. He belonged to a higher caste, Thakur, and committed crimes for personal reasons. He committed more than 200 murders, and yet he was respected by ordinary villagers. It was not uncommon for him to give money to a poor man to celebrate his daughter’s wedding and he also gave free to temples and places of worship. A temple dedicated to Man Singh is still there in UP.
The police and government were alarmed and sent the Gurkhas to kill Man Singh. In 1955, the feared thief was shot dead in an encounter, but people still remember and worship him in the temple dedicated to him.
The ravines are now almost free of dacoits as development has taken root, but the dacoit era is still fondly remembered as another era of India’s great past.
last word
The previous generation of dacoits is no more. Many of them were persuaded to give up their nefarious activities and become ordinary farmers. One campaign was led by Jayprakash Narayan, a UP political leader and a Gandhian. Many dacoit gangs surrendered to him and were rehabilitated by the state government.
Dacoit gangs no longer exist. The area has been developed and the memory of the thieves remains mostly on celluloid. Bollywood keeps the legends alive with movies, some of which glorify these men.
The story of Sultans was made like a Hollywood movie, the long duel from 1967 with Yul Brynner as Sultan. Bollywood made movies of garbage thieves, now thieves are gone, Chambal has Maoists, landlord lender system caused thieves. Jayaprakash Narayan was helped by rtd Major Gen Yadunat Singh MVC. He was KCIO, never became Lt. Gen., his son-in-law is former Chief Justice of India.