Editing Thuggee (section)

=== Origins ===
There were numerous traditions about their origin: 
* One theory stated the Thuggee existed back to 1760. Based on genealogies which were recounted by some thugs, historian [[Mike Dash]] stated that the origin of the Thuggee can be dated back to the second half of the 17th century. A general consensus among them was that they originated in Delhi. A Thuggee named Gholam Hossyn who was caught in early 1800s stated that his accomplices believed that thugs had existed since the time of [[Alexander the Great]]. Another tradition among Thugs who lived in the early 1800s stated that they had lived in Delhi till the time of [[Akbar]] and consisted of seven great [[Muslim]] clans, although they had [[Hindu]] names, during the period. After one of them killed a favoured slave of Akbar, they left Delhi for other regions to avoid being targeted by the emperor.<ref name="Mike Dash 28, 36 & 37"/> 
* The earliest known reference to the Thugs as a band or fraternity, rather than ordinary thieves, is found in Ziau-d din Barni's ''History of Firoz Shah'' (written about 1356).<ref name="brit">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/594263/thug|title=Thug – Indian bandit|website=Britannica.com|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref> He narrated an incident of the sultan [[Jalal-ud-din Khalji]] having arrested 1,000 Thugs, and expelling them to the [[Gauḍa (city)|Lakhnauti]].<ref name="Martine van Woerkens 2002 110">{{cite book|author=Martine van Woerkens|title=The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and the Thugs of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5HPc_EgwUg8C&pg=PA110|year=2002|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226850856|page=110}}</ref> At first, Jalal-ud-din took a lenient attitude towards the Thuggees as he thought he could make them obedient with a softer approach. However, this approach proved counter productive according to modern historian Syama Prasad Basu, and encouraged insolence towards the Sultan.<ref name="Rise and Fall of Khilji Imperialism; 33">{{cite book |author1=Syama Prasad Basu |title=Rise and Fall of Khilji Imperialism |date=1963 |publisher=U. N. Dhur |series=History of the Khilji rulers of India, 1290-1320. |page=33 }}</ref>
* [[Donald Friell McLeod]] theorised the Thuggee members originated from some Muslim tribes formed from those who fled Delhi after murdering a physician. Another source traced it to some great Muslim families who fled after murdering a favored slave of Akbar.<ref name="Mike Dash 28, 36 & 37">{{cite book|first=Mike|last=Dash|title=Thuggee: Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XMfasdSA9EC&pg=PA36|date=3 February 2011|publisher=Granta|pages=28, 36 & 37|isbn=978-1-84708-473-6}}</ref> According to this view, the original Muslim Thugs spread Thuggee amongst Hindus.{{sfn|Wagner|2007|pp=154-155}}
* Another tradition preserved by the Thuggee clan members stated that they were [[Kanjar]]s or descended from those who worked in the Mughal camps.{{sfn|Wagner|2007|p=92}} <ref name="Martine van Woerkens 136">{{cite book|author=Martine van Woerkens|title=The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and the Thugs of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EiSYciTbyc4C&pg=PA136|date=3 February 2011|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|page=136|isbn=978-0-226-85086-3}}</ref><ref name="Mike Dash 37">{{cite book|first=Mike|last=Dash|title=Thuggee: Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XMfasdSA9EC&pg=PA37|date=3 February 2011|publisher=Granta|page=37|isbn=9781847084736}}</ref> A Thuggee member has testified that some of his predecessors were forced to disguise themselves as members of the Kanjar tribe after fleeing Delhi, although they were originally descended from certain [[Caste system among South Asian Muslims|high-caste Muslim]] tribes. The said Thuggee, however, stated that their claimed descent was unverified and that some of them may be partially descended from the lower castes who worked in the [[Mughal army]]'s camps. However, Mike Dash stated that the Thuggee's claim of being closed to outsiders is contradicted by the fact that people of all backgrounds were allowed to join them by the early 19th century according to available evidence.<ref name="Mike Dash 37"/> A Brahmin Thuggee who was interrogated by British Raj counselor [[William Henry Sleeman]] referred to the Muslim Thuggees as [[Kanjar]] tribesmen. However, another member of Thuggee refuted this.<ref name="Martine van Woerkens 136"/>
* [[Donald Friell McLeod]], Lieutenant Governor of [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], who led the campaign against them in the [[Rajputana Agency]], recorded the traditions of their origins. According to them, they were originally Muslims and were taught Thuggee by the deity [[Devi]] or Bhavani. They then joined the [[Lodha people]] and migrated to Delhi, where 84 tribes—which were a part of all the criminal clans of India—also became a part of the Thugs. A physician who belonged to these 84 tribes gained prominence after curing a royal elephant and was murdered by other Thugs. A schism developed and they left Delhi, which in turn resulted in the existence of seven Muslim tribes. According to McLeod, these tribes were named Bhyns, Bursot, Kachinee, Hutar, Kathur Gugra, Behleem and Ganoo. According to him, the thugs from Delhi were separated into more than 12 "classes".{{sfn|Wagner|2007|p=112}}