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•'..'
CRIMINAL CLASSES
IN THK
BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Jfc
A Dehliwal Mauri ah • kamaoo.'
NOTES ON
IN THE
BOMBAY PRESIDENCY
Appendices regarding some Foreign Criminals who
occasionally visit the Presidency
INCLUDING
Hints on the Detection of Counterfeit Coin
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
B O M 15 A V
PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS
1908
[Price — Rs. 5-20. or js. 6J.]
PREFACE.
THESE Notes, kindly revised, while the proofs were going through
the press, by Mr. R. B. Stewart, M. A., I. C. S., Inspector-General
of Police, Bombay Presidency, are an attempt to bring together and
up to date in a practical form, such information as is available
respecting the methods and distinctive characteristics of the Criminal
Classes belonging to the Bombay Presidency and of certain
foreign Criminal Tribes visiting it for the purposes of crime.
Ethnological and historical details, interesting though they no
doubt are, have been avoided as being of no practical use to Police
officers in the discharge of their duties in respect to the detection
and prevention of crime.
To ensure accuracy and fulness of interesting and useful detail,
Gazetteers, Police Records, Major Gunthorpe's Notes on Criminal
Tribes, experienced Police Officers and reliable ' informers ' have
been consulted and the information thus obtained sifted and sub-
jected to verification.
It' may be conceded that no book on Criminal Classes can claim
to be complete or final"- but will need revision according to varying
circumstances and conditions affecting the criminal fraternity and
the changes in their methods of criminality brought about thereby.
It is hoped therefore that officers interested in the subject will
be kind enough to communicate, from time to time, suggestions
for additions and alterations which further experience and changing
circumstances may indicate as desirable. Necessary amendments
after verification will then appear in revised editions of the work.
The excellent illustrations interspersed throughout these Notes
are the work of the Government Photo-zinco Department, Poona,
from photographs taken by the Department or kindly supplied by
Mr. D. Davies, Mr. H. M. Gibbs, Mr. Luck, Mr. Vincent, and Inspector
H. R. Kothavala.
B 51 1 — a
VI PRKFACK.
In respect to the notes on Sinsis ami Minas, thanks are due to
the Indore State for the loan, through Mr. C. Sea^-rim, Inspector-
General of Police, Indore State, of ' informers ' and to this officer for
an interesting note on these tribes.
Acknowledgments are due, to Mr. Vincent for information
obtained from his unpublished notes on some of the Criminal
Classes and to the following Police officers in the Bombay Presi-
dency for usefuPand interesting contributions and co-operation in
the collection of material for the present compilation :—
Sir Edmund Cox, Mr. W. L. B. Souter, Mr. D. Davies, Mr. W. A.
Dubois, Mr. T. S. Greenaway, Mr. H. M. Gibbs, Mr. R. P. Lambert,
Mr. T. G. Foard, Mr. F. H. Warden, Mr. R. MacTier, Mr. W. 11
Luck, Mr. W. G. Clabby, the late Mr. H. Pogson, Mr. J. A. Guider,
Mr. G. H. White, Mr. E. Priestley, Mr. J. A. Wallinger, Mr. K. C.
Rushton, Rao Bahadur Mansukhram Mulji and Inspectors Hector
R. Kothavala (for notes on Oudhias and Chhapparbands), Biharilal
Bansilal and Bhimaji Balaji Gudi.
Much of the labour incidental to compiling, arranging and veri-
fying the information obtained from the above sources, has devolved
on Deputy Superintendent Abdul Rashidkhan and to this officer,
for his invaluable assistance always cheerfully rendered, the Compiler
is specially indebted.
M. KENNEDY,
Deputy Inspector-General of Police,
Railways and Criminal Investigation,
Bombay Presidency.
POONA,
ist August 1907.
CONTENTS.
Classes belonging to the Bombay Presidency.
Page.
BANJARAS (also known as Vanjaris, Brinjaris, Lamans, Lam-
banis, and Lambadis) ... ... ... i
BERADS (also known as Bedars, Byaderu, Talvarru and Naikra
Makalru) ... ... ... ... 11
BHAMPTAS (also known as Ghantichors, Uchlias, Khisa-katrus,
Takaris, Vadaris, Kalwadru, Tudugwadru, and Pathruts) . 16
RAJPUT BHAMPTAS (also known as Pardeshi Bhamptas) ... 34
BHILS (known in parts of Khandesh as Khotils) ... •••37
a
CHHAPPARBANDS (also known as Fakir Coiners) ... ... 49
KAIKADIS (also known as Korwas, Korchas, and Pamlors) ... 63
KATKARIS (also known as Kathodis) ... ... ... 84
KOLIS — Mahadeo Kolis ... ... ... ... 90
Gujerat Kolis ... ... .. •-• 97
MANGS (also known as Madars, Madigru and Mangelas) ... 108
MANG-GARUDIS ... ... ... ... 119
MIANAS ... ... ... ... 126
PARDHIS (also known as Takaris or Takenkars, Phas Pardhis,
Langoti Pardhis, Haranshikaris, Advichanchers and
Chigri-batgirs) ... ... ... ... 133
RAMOSHIS ... ... ... ... 143
VAGHRIS (also known as Baghris) ... ... ... 155
WADDARS ... .. ... ... 166
Foreign Tribes who visit the Bombay Presidency.
BOWRIS (also known as Bauriahs, Badaks and Moghias) ... 173
MARWAR BAORIS or GUJERAT BAORIS (also known as Marwar
Vaghris or Baghris) ... ... ... 198
UJLE (clean) MiNAS ... ... ... ... 207
viii CONTENTS.
Page.
MAILE (unclean) MINAS ... ... ... 216
OuDHIAS (also known as Audhias, Oudh-bashis or \ \iodliia-
bashis or vashis, and Avadhpuris) ... ... JK,
PATHANS (also known as Rohillas, Cabulis, Peshawaris, Khans,
Afghans, Pashtunis, Pishinis and Kandharis) ... 230
SANSIS and BERIAS (also known as Sansi Kanjars, Adodiyas,
Popats, Ghagarias, Ghagrapaltan, Hadkutias, Chh;
Geedhiyes, Haboodes, Kajarhatiyes, Kanchires, Chiro-
kharwals, Bhanthus or Bhantoodes, Kanjar Bedi
Pomblas, Bagorias, Unchalaingawalle or Baihvalc
Kanjars) ... ... .. .. 245
Contents of Appendices.
Appendix. Page'
I. LANGOTI PARDEES.— By Mr. J. T. B. D. Sewell, District
Superintendent of Police, Amraoti ... 261
II. HARNIS. — By the Inspector-General of Police, Panjab.
(Reproduced from the Supplement to the Cen-
tral Provinces Police Gazette dated 3rd October
1906) ... ... ... ... 268
III. HARNIS. — By Mr. Frank Clough, Acting District Super-
intendent of Police, Ludhiana, Panjab (26th
January 1907) ... ... ... 277
IV. CHANDRAWEDIS (known in Gujerat of the Bombay Presi-
dency as Dhinojias or Dhanojias). — By Mr. C. M.
Seagrim, Inspector-General of Police, Indore
State ... ... ... ... 296
V. CHANDRAWEDIS.— By Mr. A. C. Hankin, C. I.E., Inspector-
General of Police and Prisons, His Highness the
Nizam's Dominions (written in 1893) ••• 3°6
VI. NowsARlAS. — Extract from the United Provinces
Criminal Intelligence Gazette dated Allahabad,
i st August 1906 ... ... ...312
VII. BHATRAS. — Culled from the Supplement to the Police
Gazette, Bengal, dated I5th July 1904, and
Supplement to the Panjab Police Gazette dated
9th August 1905 ... ... 313
VIII. PANS OF ORISSA. — By Mr. R. Clarke, Superintendent of
Police, Angul ... ... . 324
IX. HABURAS. - Account taken from Crooke's " Tribes and
Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh "
and reproduced from the Supplement to Central
Provinces Police Gazette dated 22nd November
1905 .. ... ... ... 330
X CONTENTS.
Appendix. Page.
X. JADUA BRAHMINS.— Particulars regarding the modus
operandi of. (Taken from the Supplement to the
Police Gazette, Lower Provinces, dated 151)1 July
1904 and 3ist March 1905) ... ... 333
XI. HINTS ON THE DETECTION OF COUNTERFEIT COINS. —
By Mr. F. A. M. H. Vincent, District Superin-
tendent of Police, Bombay Presidency ... 335
XII. HINTS ON THE DETECTION OF COUNTERFEIT COINS.-
(Taken from the Madras Police Gazette dated the
1 7th November 1906) ... ... 339
List of Illustrations.
Page.
A Dehliwal Bauriah ' kamaoo ' ...Frontispiece.
Lambanis of the Dharwar District ... ... i
Bhamptas in their ordinary clothes ... ... 16
Bhamptas in disguise ... ... 25
A Bijapur Chhapparband ... ... 49
Kaikadis of the Southern Maratha Country ... ... 63
Mangs belonging to the Satara District ... ... 108
Haran Shikaris ... ... 133
A Ramoshi ... ... 143
Waddars ... . 166
A Dehliwal ' kamaoo ' on the move ... ... 173
Oudhias ... ... 219
The following Plates will be found at the end of the book : —
PLATE I.
Ex. 31. Dhdria carried by Gujerat criminals.
„ 29. Bhil's bow and arrow.
,, 44. Pungi or blow-gourd forming part of Kaikadi's (Pamlor's
and Kail Korva's) disguise.
,, 55. Mina gydn or house-breaking instrument.
,, 54. Vansi carried by Kolis and Vaghris of Gujerat.
,, 26. Kariyali dhdng carried by Kolis and Vaghris of Gujerat.
,, ii. Gujerat Koli's kator or boomerang.
PLATE II.
Ex. 23. Part of Chhapparband's paraphernalia. Palli or iron spoon,
tongs, moulds for counterfeiting rupees and 8-anna pieces,
some of the coin turned out and clay shaped like a
d u r gah.
Chhapparband's characteristic mould, taken from a draw-
ing.
xii CONTEN
PLATK III.
Kx. }/. Marwar Baori's mould, counterfeit rupee in the rough and
palli or ladle.
M ;r\\ r r.aori's characteristic mould, taken from a drawm-.
PLATE IV.
Kx. s.i Kangatti: Kaikadi's, Waddar's and Berad's jemmy in the
Carnatic.
„ 56. Bauriah's makeshift scales.
,. 40. Jemmy common among nomadic tribes living in j,
„ 46. Khiitariya: Gujerat Koli's and Vaghri's jemmy.
,, 41. Arasukuchi ' : Berad's jemmy.
PLATE V.
Kx. 52. Slings, khantad (jemmy) and knives carried by Kanjars.
PLATE VI.
Ex. 20. Bauriah burglar's knife, waxed taper, ball of wax and gydn
(jemmy).
,, 38. Oudhia's bamboo fork for lifting window and door fasten-
ings, gydns and tongs.
PLATE VII.
Ex. 42. Korne (chunam scraper) carried by Bhamptas for picking
locks (actual size).
, 10. Bhampta's ulmitkhs or curved knives (actual size).
,, 50. Piece of metal made to look like a bar of gold, used by
Vaghri cheats (actual size).
I
Lambanis of the Dharwar District.
CRIMINAL CLASSES IN THE BOMBAY
PRESIDENCY.
Banjaras.
BANJARAS are also known in other parts of India and in
various parts of this Presidency
Name °orctr;"enal dass differently as Vanjaris, Brinjaris,
Lamans, Lambanis, Lambadis, etc.
The class is divided into a number of tribes or sub-
divisions, some more criminal and troublesome than others,
the four principal of which are, as given by Major Gun-
thorpe : Mathurias, Labhanas, Charans (who in parts of this
Presidency call themselves Rajput Banjaras), and Dharees
(known in the Carnatic as Tambureroo). The last mentioned
are Mahomedans and are the bhdts (bards) of the tribe.
There is another class called Dhalias who are Banjara Mangs.
Each sub-division is again split up into clans or families.
Among certain of the Hindu divisions there are Sonars
(goldsmiths), Khawasis or Nhavis (barbers), Pujaris (wor-
shippers), etc.
Banjaras must not be confused with Wanjaras or Wanjares,
now altogether a distinct class or caste though descended no
doubt from the same stock, who are to be met with in Ahmed-
nagar, Nasik, Poona, and Khandesh. These latter conform
in manners, customs, dress, language, etc., to the Marathas
of the Deccan, are not addicted to crime, live in villages
and have nothing in common with Banjaras.
The few Banjaras to be found in Gujerat are made up of
Gowarias or Gowalias and Lab*hanas. Little need be said
in respect to these as they are a peaceful, law-abiding, agricul-
tural community and not criminal in any sense of the word.
Their language, appearance and dress vary slightly from that
of the Banjaras of the Deccan and Carnatic, owing no doubt
to their different environment. It will be unnecessary to refer
specially to them again except under the headings " Crime
to which addicted " and " Modus operandi" where a brief
allusion to the Gowarias, because of their one weakness for
occasionally smuggling opium, will be made.
2 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Banjaras are to be found practically throughout this Pre-
sidency, also in His Highness the
Habitat. .. , T> •. TV* A i i
Nizam s lerntory, Mysore, Madras,
Central Provinces and Berars.
Banjaras of this Presidency are not in the present day a
nomadic class, though some of the
?s;an' tribes still maintain their hereditary
love for wandering ; the majority arc-
settled in encampments more or less near villages. Here and
there small villages have in the past been absorbed by Banjara
f<hn/(?s, and in some instances tandas have, in course of time,
become villages ; in .both cases, as might be expected, the
Banjara population largely predominates.
Their criminal activities are, as a rule, confined to a radius
of thirty to sixty miles from their fiinrfas, but for cattle lifting,
journeys to more distant places are undertaken. Offences are
seldom committed in close proximity to a Lamani encampment.
The tribe is a large one, numbering, according to the last
Bombay Presidency census returns,
Population according to last \r • . • jo T U • '
census, and distribution. ioo,ooo Vanjans and 1 8,ooo Lambams,
the distribution being as follows : —
Vanjiiris.
Males- Fern
Ahmedabad ... 101 68
l'> mach ... ... i
K.iira ... 47 43
I '.inch Mahals ... 4X4 379
Surat ... 109 66
Thuna ... 1,345 1,211
Native States in Northern Diviqjon ... 30^ 275
Ahrm-dna^ar ... 15,850 111.301
Khandcsh ... 17,175 '5.269
-ik ... I5.<)".} '5.124
Poona ... 1,300 i,24s
Satara ... i,4(>i 1.337
Sholapur ... 2,274 2,100
Native States iiTCe.ntral Division ... 173 14^
I'- l^aum ... 230
I>ij-'M>ur ... 19 25
Kanara ... 30
Kolaha ... 104 104
K ilua^iri ... i i 9
Native States in Souther*' Division ...
Total .. 5S,or,i 54,(>SS
BAN JAR AS. :
Lamdns, Labdnas, or Lambtinis.
Males. Females.
Ranch Mahals ... 670 796
Thana ... 2 7
Native States in Northern Division ... 133 174
Ahmednagar ... 227 233
Khanclesh ... 94 114
Nasik ... 229 184
Poona ... 42 27
Satara ... 80 97
Sholapur ... 202 186
Native States in Central Division ... 94 72
Belgaum ... . 436 4oS
Bijapur ... 2,649 2A17
Dharwar ... 4,152 3,943
Kanara ... 308 143
Kolaba ... 33 62
Native States in Southern Division ... 957 816
Total ... 10,308 9,679
Mahomedan Vanjaris.
Ahmedabad ... 3
Native States in Northern Division ... 21 27
Khandesh ... 31 34
Nasik ... 5 10
Sholapur ... i
Native States in Central Division 6 s
Total ... 67 76
In this Presidency the class is practically settled, their
typical tdndas having existed in places
Appearance, dress, etc. S l . . **. tf •
tor generations back, generally on
waste lands far removed from village sites. They live a life
apart from the village community and society. Their encamp-
ments or settlements are known as tan das with a ' naik ' at
the head of each. On him falls the responsibility of deciding
all disputes and matters concerning the welfare of the tdndn
and he is their spokesman.
The men are tall, sturdy, well built, capable of enduring
long and fatiguing marches, are often fair, with nothing in
their appearance and dress to distinguish them from other
cultivating classes, except that the poorer sections of the com-
munity are perhaps less cleanly. In parts the costume of the
men and the type of physiognomy conform to those of Manvad
Rajputs or Manithas of good family.
4 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PR KF IPKM Y.
Their ordinary dress is a dhoti or cholna (loose knicker-
bockers), coat or pairan, head-cloth coloured or white, and
frequently gaudy turbans on festive occasions. Amon^ the
more well-to-do the pagri worn is often large, of red material,
an upnrni or shoulder-cloth being carelessly folded over it
when the wearer leaves home.
Dharees, though observing the Mahomedan rite of circum-
cision, closely resemble Hindus in manners, customs and
appearance, in many instances their names being Hindu.
The women are mostly of superior physique and not with-
out claims to good-looks. In parts of the Presidency they an
bold and talkative, in others shy and retiring, keeping their
faces covered in public after the fashion of Marwadi women.
They are a picturesque exception to the general squalid
appearance of the females of the nomadic tribes. In the case
of Charan women their bright coloured gJidgrns, laingas or
gowns made of coarse cloth dyed red or blue and odni or
head and body scarf of the same material embroidered and in
some parts of the Presidency ornamented with beads, shells
and looking-glass ; their quaint stiff bodices, loose in front,
open at the back, and more like a breastplate ; their brass,
bone or horn bracelets extending to the elbow and even higher ;
numerous brass anklets ; their ear-rings and the variety of the
ornaments which embellish their hair plaited at the back,
combine to make a quaint yet interesting picture. The hair
on either side of the face is also plaited into tails which are
finished off with metal pendants. In some of the districts of
the Presidency a piece of horn or stick, about nine inches long.
is fastened into the hair on the top of the head. The end of the
odni passing over this spike imparts an almost comical effect.
This shing, as it is called, is worn only by married women whose
husbands are living.
Dharee women do not everywhere wear bracelets above
the elbow, in other respects their dress is similar to that of
Charan women. At marriages they wear saris and clmlis like
Mahomedans, but discard them as soon as the ceremony is
over.
Dhalia women wear sdris and cholis, like ordinary Mangs,
and glass bangles.
Of the numerous sub-divisions, that of the Mathuria^
is socially the highest and numerically the smallest. They
live in houses in villages, are well-to-do and arc not criminal
as a class. They wear the sacred thread or a necklace of
liANJARAS. 5
hi/si beads, do not touch meat or liquor and are more cleanly
than the rest. Their females wear the sari after the style of
Gujar women, some being restricted in the choice of colour to
blue. The hair is dressed in a knot on the top of the head
and finished off with a cloth peg about two inches in length over
which the end of the sari falls.
Labhanas, both men and women, dress very like Mathurias.
Banjaras are very superstitious, easily excited, and are
given to quarrelling among themselves. Feeling sometimes
runs high and feuds end in bloodshed even, but withal, the tribe
as a whole is steadily settling down and in parts is as industrious,
well-to-do and law-abiding as the Kunbi.
Mathurias and Labhanas excepted, men of all sub-divisions
are fond of meat and liquor. Armed with spears and accom-
panied by their celebrated dogs they go in a good deal for
hunting wild game.
The habitations in their encampments are more or less of a
permanent though flimsy nature, wi'th grass or palm leaf roofs.
In parts of the Presidency where the Banjaras are in better
circumstances, some of the well-to-do among them build them-
selves more substantial houses in their tdndas. When on the
move or temporarily employed as labourers on public works,
they live in pals.
Banjara tdndas are well guarded by a number of large
Banjara dogs of -a well known and. special breed.
They have a peculiar dialect called ' Banjari ' which resembles
Marwadi and contains some Hindustani
Dialcctofan,dpc"chuliariti and Marathi words. They can also
talk the language of the country they
are settled in and usually Hindustani too. •
In the Carnatic, Lamanis' slang for a house-breaking instru-
ment is soola. for dacoity dharadmdr.
Slang used. , f , . , , , J , .
and tor highway robbery vatmar.
Till roads and railways opened up the country, Banjaras
with their numerous pack-bullocks were
stable-™* c the common carrlers all over India of
grain, salt and merchandise of all
sorts and served in the transport department of the Mogul
armies and with the British troops in the last century. The
spread of civilization and improvements in and extension of,
communications have virtually deprived them of their hereditary
calling.
6 CK1M!NA1. Cl tSSES, IIOMHAY PRESIDENCY.
Many an- now cultivators on a small scale and field
labourers, the poorer ones supplementing their small profits by
collecting firewood, grass, honey and other forest products tor
sale at the nearest market town. Others eke out a livelihood
by selling head-loads of grass and firewood only. As a class
they arc also born herdsmen and are frequently employed by
villagers to tend cattle. Many a Ban j lira has wide acres and
is wealthy and prosperous and here and there individuals are to
be met with trading like Marwadis and established as stiwhirs.
Some sections of the tribe trade in cattle (and go long dis-
tances for the purpose), sheep, goats, etc., which they convey
to distant parts of the country ; others, though relatively few,
still follow their hereditary calling of carriers and maintain pack-
bullocks for the purpose. They also serve as watchmen, enter
Government employ perhaps as a bailiff or something of the
kind, here and there are to be met w*ith as porters on the
railway, and, it is understood that in His Highness the Nizam's
Dominions a few are even employed in the police.
On large public works such as tanks, earthworks, railway
construction and the like, tnndas of Lambanis are often* to be
found, the men working as labourers during the day and no
doubt pillaging in the neighbouring villages during the night.
As a preliminary to the execution of an organized dacoity
Banjaras in the Carnatic occasionally
*sgui:?id±±onme;i''S disguise themselves as Lingayats and
Brahmins in order to secure reliable
information as to a suitable quarry and the dispositions neces-
sary for attack.
For the actuaF commission of crime, disguises are not
assumed but to baffle identification faces are muffled and
occasionally smeared with ashes or powder.
Where the Banjara is well-to-do and prosperous, as in
Khandesh for instance, he gives very
Crime to which addicted. ,., ,,* jj-.j/
little trouble and is not addicted to
organized crime, though here and there no doubt, a criminally
disposed individual will join with local bad characters in the
commission of offences. Elsewhere the more serious forms of
crime to which the class is addicted are highway robbery and
dacoity both on roads and in dwelling places, usually huts, but
chiefly on roads. These and cattle lifting are their specialities
The Lambanis of the Carnatic are perhaps the most trouble-
some of the class inhabiting this I 'residency. In house-breaking
BANJARAS. 7
the Banjara does not excel, but in crop and cattle thefts he is
expert. Illicit distillation of liquor is a weakness with all
Banjaras, specially with those of the Carnatic, few of the
tdndas there being free from it.
Sheep stealing, both by stealth and open attacks on shep-
herds, here and there kidnapping of children, ransacking
grain-pits, pilfering at night from off carts both moving and
stationary at halting places, are other offences to which
Banjaras are addicted and there is little doubt that in some
parts the smuggling of opium in loads and pack-saddles is made
a source of profit.
Lastly, the levy of blackmail for the restoration of cattle
stolen is not infrequently practised.
The Gowarias of Gujerat occasionally, it is believed, indulge
in opium smuggling on a small scale.
Sheep and cattle are either removed from sheds and pens
or driven away from flocks or herds in
Methods employed in com- . j.v i j .• i
mitting crime, and distinguish- the open, the latter sometimes mixed
ing characteristics likely to up. wjtn the Banjaras' own animals ;
afford a clue. . \ . . r i
horns are trimmed, the shape or the
ears altered and brands put on so as to change the appearance
of stolen animals. Sometimes a dozen or more cattle disappear
from one village and as all are driven off singly by different
routes to an appointed meeting place ten miles or more away,
it is a matter of no little difficulty to trace such thefts. An
expert Banjara cattle lifter will also surreptitiously drive off cattle
from the open country during broad day-light while the herds-
man is having his dinner or midday snooze.
Other methods of cattle lifting are a's follows :— Leaving
their tdndas in charge of the women, Banjaras go long distances
to lift cattle ; the stolen animals are driven by unfrequented
paths and the tan da is reached by some indirect route. The
cattle are afterwards driven off to a distant destination and sold
to butchers or others, or entrusted to friends for safe custody.
Or, relays of men are posted at suitable intervals between the
tdnda and the scene of the proposed crime ; two of the culprits
drive the cattle to the first relay of men posted and so on, as
each relay is relieved, it disappears and reaches home by devious
routes.
At night, sheep are stampeded by some of the culprits get-
ting in among them ; each man engaged in the venture secures,
during the noise and confusion, one of the flock and makes off
8 ( KIMINAI. CI.ASSKS, BOMBAY I'KKSIDKNCY.
with it. Efforts on the part of the shepherd to interfere \\itli the
thieves meet with violence — he is either stoned or beaten.
In the face of resistance Banjaras get ex< ited and resort to
great violence.
When operating on roads, three or four will waylay solitary
cart-men who overpowered by numbers, are made to deliver
over grain, valuables or cash in their possession ; a larger num-
ber will hold up a string of carts and rifle each deliberately and
leisurely. Roads leading through solitary tracts or hilly coun-
try are usually selected for exploitation during the day, so as
to ensure safe retreat. For night crimes, they are not so
particular.
Dacoities of all kinds are committed in the manner common
to most other criminals. There are no noteworthy character-
istic variations in the Banjaras' methods and preparations.
The attack is ushered in by a volley of stones. Approaches
are guarded by men armed with slings and stones. To the
cries of ' Din ! Din ! ' the main body comes to close quart er>
and use their sticks and other weapons they carry, freely.
Swords and guns if available, are used for purposes of intimida-
tion. To each other, Hindustani words are sometimes spoken ;
but more often signals, conveyed by guttural sounds, are used.
In retreat they will endeavour to mislead pursuit by departing in
a direction opposite to their real destination, dropping valueless
articles of the ' loot ' as they go, splitting up and travelling by
unfrequented roads and across country, and by other subterfuges
common among most criminals.
Each gang works under the orders of a leader known as
' naik,' and in the Carnatic as ' salia.' He plans the
expedition with the other participators, usually twenty or so, and
meets initial outlay on consulting omens, propitiating the deity,
and so on.
Information is occasionally obtained by one of the g.nu:
personally reconnoitring, but usually through friendly liqunr-
vendors, resident Banjaras, village Marwadis, and local bad
characters. The last mentioned often join in the commission
of crime.
When delivering an attack, Banjaras arm themselves with
sticks often cut from trees cu route, slings and st-ones, sirkle>
and, if obtainable, swords and guns.
Dacoities and robberies are sometimes committed while a
ti'inda is on the move from one encampment to another. I'nder
such circumstances the old men and women accompany their
BAN JAR AS. 9
goods and chattels, which are carried on the pack-bullocks, while
some of the able-bodied men strike off to some distant place
previously fixed upon, rapidly perpetrate a dacoity and rejoin
the main body on the march.
In raiding crops and threshing-floors, the early hours of
morning, when the custodians are likely to be asleep, are
usually selected. While some keep guard over and deal with,
if need be, the guardians of the crop .or grain as the case may
be, others carry off loads of grain in blankets and bags. Stand-
ing crops are, as a rule, robbed during the night.
After the commission of dacoity or highway -robbery
Banjaras call a short halt a mile or so from the scene of the
offence and there take an easy, overhaul the spoil, and compare
notes before final departure for their tdndas.
They are fond of tobacco smoking from hookahs at home,
and away from home from chilams or cleverly rolled leaf pipes
(chuttas). The discovery of such or of pdu-siipdri bags
ornamented with cowri shells or looking-glass at the scene of
a crime point to Lambanis as the culprits, unless there is
reason to suppose that perhaps Kaikadis or some other
criminals may have deliberately deposited such articles in order
to divert suspicion.
Tactful enquiry among Lambanis living near the scene of
an offence committed by Banjaras will sometimes prove
effectual in obtaining a clue to the perpetrators should the
latter belong to a distant tdnda.
When indications point to Lambanis as the culprits, an
immediate muster of the members of the suspected tamia
should be taken, and the absence under any pretext or excuse
of any member should be carefully enquired into, especially
if there is reason to believe that during the commission of the
crime any one of the culprits has been injured owing to
resistance offered.
The Gowaria appears to have no specially ingenious method
for his occasional lapses into opium smuggling. The opium
is procured from Native States and usually two to five
individuals take part in the venture. On the outward journey
they will travel both by road and rail, returning on foot by side
tracks, keeping however near the direct route. When in
possession of contraband, they travel at night and halt during
the day burying the opium close by. Similarly, on arrival at
home the opium is concealed under ground and retailed to
opium eaters.
10 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY I'U KSI DKNCY.
Sickles, sticks, slings and stones are the principal weapons
relied on in the commission of crimes
Stockin-tradc, instruments Qf violence. Sometimes SDearS and
and weapons used in commit- , , . . _. '
ting crime. knives are also carried, r ire-arms and
swords are rarely used. Occasionally,
and specially in the Carnatic, ' potash bombs ' are exploded
to frighten villagers and create an impression that the gang
carries fire-arms.
Property, unless cash, is as a rule not concealed in the
hiiida,} it is buried in the neighbour-
Ways and means of conceal- noOcl in SOllie ndllall Or Other CO11-
mg or disposing of stolen pro- . ~ , , ,, . ...
perty. venient spot. Old wells in the vicinity
of tdndas should receive attention when
searching for property. Cotton and grain if not at once
conveyed to ' receivers ' are hidden under leaves, grass, or
in stacks. To prevent identification the borders of cloths are
removed and the raw edges hemmed, valuable borders being
disposed of for a consideration.
Their ' receivers ' are many and among all sorts and condi-
tions of men, but are chiefly liquor- vendors, Lingayats, Mar-
wadis, coppersmiths, village sdivkdrs andpdti/s. Small articles
of value are at times hidden in the folds of the women's dress
or sewn into the bullock packs. On Major Gunthorpe's
authority, when searching a tdnda it might prove useful to
examine the contents of pots containing food being cooked, as
it is stated to be a practice among Banjara females when taken
unawares to deposit small articles of jewelry in these utensils
and to make believe that cooking is in progress.
Cattle are disposed of by ones and twos at a distance from
the scene of the offence, sometimes to butchers and often at
cattle bazars, probably under forged certificates of ownership
or ddkhlas obtained under false pretences.
Stolen ornaments are usually not distributed among tin-
members of the gang; they are turned into cash, the ' salia '
or the leader of the gang getting two shares.
Berads.
Berads are also known as Bedars, Byaderu, Talvarru,
Naikra-Makalru, and in parts of the
^SbT" Belgaum District as Kataks (butchers,
cut-throats).
They are a numerous tribe inhabiting tracts in the Southern
Habitat. Division of this Presidency, more parti-
cularly the Dharwar, Belgaum and
Bijapur Districts and the adjoining Native States and portions
of the Madras Presidency.
Their operations are confined to Kanarese- speaking tracts
and to a radius of forty or fifty miles
"an" fr°m their homes. As a rule they do
not go so far. Berads live and are
settled in villages like other Hindus ; they do not lead a
wandering life.
The Bombay Presidency census of 1901 gives a gross
population of over one and three
Population according to last nnarfpr 1-alfhs More than a hlrhliw
census, and distribution. quarter laKns. ivion cnan a laKn live
in the Dharwar and Belgaum Districts
alone. The following are the strength and distribution of the
class according to the 1901 census returns: —
Males. Females.
Belgaum ... ... 24,128 23,908
Dharwar ... ... 34,042 34>339
Bijapur ... 13,199 i3>436
Kanara ... ... 884 784
Kolhapur ... 4,535 4,526
Northern Division ... 48 58
Southern Maratha Country ... 8,043 8,316
Savantvadi ... ... 42 34
Savnur 363 331
Ratnagiri ... ... 70 89
Central Division ... ... 2,677 2,621
Native States in the Central 312 297
Total ... 88,344 88,738
In physique and physical attributes as well as in their mode
of living and habits Berads closely
Appearance, dress, etc. i_i T» • L- TM i- L
resemble Kamoshis. Ihey are dirty
livers and feeders, have coarse features, are of dark complexion,
12 ( KIMINAI ( LASSES, MO.MP. \Y 1'K KSI 1 )KNC Y.
\\cll built, of good physique, wiry, muscular, active, llt-ct of foot,
possessed of great powers of endurance and quick of vision and
hearing. Thirty miles to a Berad on a dark night over rough
country is nothing extraordinary. They are very fond of
hunting pig on foot with dogs and spears.
The men wear a head-scarf, a. pninin, kurta or shirt, and
drawers (cholnas) or dhotar according to fancy, and in hilly
tracts laxgotis or l<ingst all of coarse cloth, also ear and finger
rings. The women, who are a~s hardy as the men, wear tin-
bodice and sari (the latter they do not draw up between
the legs), and ornaments common to the Hindu women
of the Carnatic.
Berads are addicted to liquor and are fond of gambling.
Much interesting information on this class will be found in
Colonel Meadows Taylor's " Story of My Life." The State of
Shorapur, over the fortunes of which he presided during the
minority of the ' Rajah,' lies to the east of the Bijapur District.
It was a flourishing Bedar State, the princely family of which
belonged to this tribe. The character given to the " Clans of
the Twelve Thousand," by Colonel Meadows Taylor, shows
what a valorous, chivalrous, yet withal lawless rabble this class
could be. He speaks of them as far superior to Bhils, Gonds
and such classes and adds that they were practically under no
control, owing allegiance to the heads of their clans only.
Coming to recent history the turbulent and restless spirit
of the Bedars was manifested in the Belgaum District in 1895
when they got out of hand and openly defied the law roaming
the country in organized gangs of dacoits and fearlessly resist-
ing all efforts to capture them. Measures on a large scale had
to be undertaken with a view to the total and final extermina-
tion of these organized bands. A large armed police force
was drafted into the disturbed area and the military were also
requisitioned but owing to the nature of the country and the
proximity of Native States little headway was made for some-
time. Later, the offer of large rewards ultimately brought
about the capture of some of the ringleaders. This broke the
back of the organization and in a few months all the gangs had
been brought to book, but not without loss to the police, of
whom two of the Belgaum force, two of Sangli and one from
Kurundvad met their death, two others being mutilated. Kight
villagers were also killed by the P>erads including two ' infonn-
' and two were mutilated. Three Berads were shot by the
police; over 200 were captured for dacoity, murder, etc., of
BERADS. 13
whom a large number were sentenced to lengthy terms of
imprisonment. Many receivers of stolen property were success-
fully dealt with, and steps were taken against certain rich
land-holders who were conclusively proved to have harboured
proclaimed offenders.
Years have elapsed since the events chronicled above, but
constant vigilance on the part of the police is still necessary to
keep this class in check.
Their mother-tongue is impure Kanarese. Some who live
in or near Manithi-speaking districts
Ctoafnsdpeech"lia sPeak corrupt Marathi or Hindustani,
while in some of the villages near
Belgaum ' Vaddari ' is the dialect used.
So far as can be ascertained, Bedars
Slang used. , ,
have no slang.
Many are honest and hard-working. A few are jagirdars
and hereditary pdtils, a large number
bleiihTod"S sanadis (village police), village ser-
vants and night watchmen, others
land-owners in a small way, cultivators, field labourers, cattle-
herds, domestic servants, coolies, mill hands, etc. A few live
by plying carts for hire and by collecting and selling wood
and other jungle produce and sortie are employed in the police.
Some of the women are ' jogters 'or prostitutes.
Addicted as they are to cattle lifting, Berads often pass
themselves off as cattle dealers, and
they sometimes disguise themselves
as high caste Hindus. When actuallv
committing crime, to avoid identification or recognition, the
Berad will frequently discolour his face with ashes or some-
thing of the sort or wear a blanket over the head.
Gang and highway robbery, dacoity, especially in buildings,
crop stealing, sheep and cattle lifting.
Crime to which addicted. 11 Iu r. ti f
burglary and petty tnetts are the forms
of crime especially favoured by Berads. The blood of the free-
booter runs in their veins, and as a tribe they are liable, with
any disturbing cause, to form gangs, go into outlawry, disturb
the. peace of the countryside, and defy the police and author-
ities.
Between January and May their activities are directed mainly
to cattle lifting, dacoity, robbery and petty thefts; June to
October is their favourite time for burglary ; from November to
14 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PKKSIDKNCV.
January they get agricultural and other honest employment
and are not therefore so dependent on crime.
When bent on sheep stealing at night from a pen or net
enclosure, the expert Berad. in an-
Metnods employed in com- , - .in i • • •„ • • i
mining crime, and distinguish- preaching the flock, imitates, it is said,
'"g characteristics likely to the movements and progress of a wild
animal and there is a current belief
that his hands are sometimes armed with metal claws, a sort
of ?v tig hunk arrangement, with which he seizes the sheep.
Cattle are stolen from sheds and yards near houses at
night and driven off to some safe place in the jungles where
they are tethered till the thieves ascertain whether the com-
plainant is willing to pay blackmail for their restoration or
intends to have recourse to the police. In the latter event the
cattle are driven further away and either killed or otherwise
disposed of. If blackmail is forthcoming, it is obtained through
an agent and the cattle are either driven to a pound from
which the owner, after paying the pound charges, recovers
them, or are left at some spot to which the owner is directed.
Berads addicted to dacoity or other serious crimes of
violence well know how the jurisdiction question hampers police
enquiry : therefore, in selecting the scene of crime they often
calculate on this and lay their plans accordingly. In the
actual commission of the offence and retreat from the scene
of crime, their tactics and methods do not differ materially from
those of Ramoshis. When house-breaking, they effect entrance
by the ' bagli ' (a hole near the door-frame by the fastening,
sufficiently large to admit an arm), or ' rumali ' (a hole in the
wall sufficient to admit a body) operation.
The information on which they act in committing crime is
obtained by personal enquiry or from friends among local bad
characters, and not infrequently they are invited by some
enemy of their victim to rob him.
Berads are not particular about associating with members
of other castes in the commission of crime. They are neither
so cruel as, nor addicted to unnecessary violence like, the
Kaikadis.
Their favourite implement for house-breaking is known as a
stock in trade, instrument, kangrttti (an iron jemmy tapering to
and weapons used in commit- a point at one end about 1 8 inches in
length, i i inches in circumference),?'/^-
exhibit 53 of the Bombay District Police Museum (Plate IV).
BERADS. 15
Another instrument used for that purpose is known as arasn-
kuchi (king's sceptre) about 18 inches in length and shaped
like the head of a small, pick-axe, exhibit 41 of the Bombay
District Police Museum (Plate IV).
For the commission of dacoity or robbery they usually arm
themselves with a hatchet or crow-bar to break open doors, a
scythe or sickle, sticks, slings and stones to guard approaches
and beat off pursuers, and with a sword or gun if they can
secure either. When attacking a village in force they also
make use of ' potash bombs ' to terrify the villagers and deceive
them into the belief that the gang carries fire-arms.
Property is buried in jungles, under trees, in dry water-
ways and means of conceal- courses or in similar convenient hiding
ing or disposing of stolen pro- places till a suitable opportunity for
disposing of it arrives.
Goldsmiths, liquor shop-keepers, village sdivkdrs and even
pa tils and kulkarnis are their ' receivers.'
Cattle are disposed of singly or in pairs (sometimes after
the shape of their horns has been altered), at distant fairs, or
restored through a middleman on payment of blackmail equi-
valent perhaps to half the value of the animals.
Bhamptas.
Iihumptas arc also known in different parts of the
N'imi'0oVtr"b,r Bombay Presidency
( rhantiqhors (bundle-thieves),
Uchlias (lifters),
Khisa-katru (pocket-cutters),
Takaris,
Vadaris,
Kalwadru,
Tudug Wadru,
Kamatis, and
Path ruts.
In the various provinces in India outside 'this Presidency
they may possibly be known under some other names.
It is probable that their original domicile was the Telegu-
speaking country ; but in the present
day, Bhampta settlements are to be
found in several of the districts and Native States in and
bordering on the Bombay Presidency. The Poona, Sataia,
Ahmednagar and Sholapur Districts may however be regarded
as their stronghold. The following are some of the villages
in the Bombay Presidency and Native States where Bhamptas
are known to have established themselves. The list is prob-
ably not exhaustive, for the Bhampta travels far afield in the
pursuit of crime and settles down where he finds congenial
surroundings and forms useful connections. Many live in
Bombay under the guise of Marathaa and successfully carry
on their thieving avocation there, using the city as a base
from which to work on the railways.
15RIIISII DlSTkh
Poona District.
Village. T.iluka or I'ctln.
I'.ojMxli Hav-'li.
I'.hopkhrl DO.
Fugyachi-Wcidi 1 )|>-
Muiulli ; D<>.
Wadgaon-sheri 1 ><>.
Ni:ul).ilkar idu- \Va<l«^non I Iliiinthadi or I'.aramati.
( hojxlaj or I'.hatl^ax I >"
\\ ki ... Dr..
Soinayai ha Karanja I '
Bhamptas in their ordinary clothes.
BliA.MI'TAS.
1
Village.
Taluka or IVtha.
Morgaon
Ililmrdi
Bhimthadi or Baramati.
Do.
Karhati
Do.
Gondi
I alcgaon-Dhamdhere
Pabal
Indapur
Sirur,
Do.
Ken door
Do.
Dhamari
Do.
Loni
Khed.
Dhamni
Do.
Kanhcrsur
Do.
Walti
Ranjani
Khodad
Junnar.
Do.
Do.
Satara District.
Rui
Shendurjane
Kanher-khed
Koregaon.
Do.
Do.
Umraj
Go!eshwar
Karad.
Do.
Bhikar Vadgaon
Tads a r
Khanapur.
Do.
Chichani
Do.
Gotkhindi
Wahva.
Bahadarvvadi
Do.
Dahitne
Rui
Baburdi
Chamburdi
Astegaon
Shin da
Kharda
Hingoni
Kengoni
Pimpri
Loke
Ajampur
Rawlas
Kundewadi
Shevri
Pipri
Jamb
Sholapur District*
Ahmednagar District.
Nasik District.
Barsi.
Parner.
Do.
Shrigonda.
Parner.
Karjat.
Jamkhrd.
Nevasa.
Do.
Sangamner.
Do.
Do.
Niphad.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
i8
CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Village.
Saunderpur
Oogaon
Pimplas
Keli
Khardi
Chorwadi
Taluka or IVtlu.
Niphad
Do.
Do.
Khandesh District.
j-near Shirsoli, G. I. P. Ry.
near Barhanpur,G.I.P.Ry.
Belga u m Dist rict.
Bhendwad
Khadakbhanvi
Navlval
Yamkanmardi (Yamagarli)
Sakunhatti
Yargatti
Ankalgi
Hansanoor
Halkurki
Byadra Budihal
Asangi
Katnalli
Masuti
Arkeri
Jalgeri
Bargudi
Kumassri
Bijapur District.
Balehusnr
Chikodi.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Athani.
Do
Chikodi.
Badami.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Bagcvadi.
Bijapur.
Do.
Indi.
Shindgi.
Bankapur.
Dharivar District .
NATIVE STATES.
Kolhapur State.
Danoli ... ... Shirol.
Shirgaon ... ... Do.
Sangli State.
Kowlapur, near Sangli.
Akalkot State.
Ankalgi.
Bargudi.
Konaly (where Bhrimptas resort to worship ' Kali ').
BhagHi.
I ndore State.
Dewas, 24 miles from Indore.
BHAMPTAS. 19
His Highness the Nizam 's Dominions.
Village. Taluka or Petha.
Siddhapur ... H. HAhe Nizam's Tf-rritor- .
Mungasi ... Do.
Eknathwadi ... Do.
Yellamwadi ... Do ") near Angar,
Bhairwadi ... Do. J G. I. P. Ry.
Shripatvvadi . . . Do.
Okardi ... Do.
Kharundi ... Do. •
There is no limit to the Bhampta's field of operations ;
he travels and works all over India,
even Assam, and no railway is im-
mune from the Bhampta pest. But
he confines his attentions almost entirely to railways, bunders,
markets, temples and fairs, in fact anywhere where crowds
collect, though he is not averse, while making a road journey,
to plying his calling among fellow travellers. The railway
however is the most lucrative and safest field for his activities.
The conditions there are all in his favour. Unless caught
red-handed or marked down by the police and taken out of the
train before he has got to work, detection becomes almost
impossible. The victim as a rule does not discover his
loss for hours after the theft, by which time a hundred miles
or more may separate him from the culprit and his lost pro-
perty. He does not know who to suspect or where to locate
the theft. He therefore, and because of the trouble and delay,
involved, often does not complain at all to the police. If
he does, with the scanty information he can furnish, and
other obvious drawbacks to successful detection, the police
are so handicapped as to be able to do very little to help
him.
The Bhampta is not a wanderer in the sense that he travels
about with his goods and chattels changing his residence.
He makes himself a home in some village and beyond more or
less prolonged absence from that home while on thieving
expeditions, there he is settled. Occasionally for some special
reason, domestic or otherwise, for instance when he has made
a district too hot for him, a Bhampta will remove with his
family and belongings from one village to another. Similarly,
many have left their original villages, formed connections else-
where and there made homes for themselves. But they do not
lead a gipsy life.
20 CRIMINAL (JI.ASSKS, UO.MHAY 1'K KSI I >KN( Y.
Gangs of men, women, and children will leave their homes
in pursuit of crime and travel far afield putting up in gardens,
dharamsdlds, temples and the like, pretending to be Marathas
or cultivators from a famine-stricken district in search of
employment.
According to the Bombay Presidency census of 1901 the
Bhamptas in the Presidency proper
Population according to last number a little over 6oo males and
census, and distribution. about the same number of females,
distributed as under: —
British Districts.
Males. Females. Tot.tl.
Poona ... ... 200 161 361
Satara ... ... 95 106 201
Bijapur ... ... 80 83 163
Khandesh ... ... 67 79 146
Belgaum ... ... 51 .72 123
Ahmednagar ... ... 10 9 19
Sholapur ... ... 4 2 6
Native States.
Kolhapur ... ... 79 98 177
Southern Maratha Country ... 31 34 65
Satara Agency ... ... 4 6 i>
The above figures are, it is to be feared, misleading, the
reasons being fairly obvious. Firstly, a large number of the
male Bhamptas is always away from home on thieving expedi-
tions (this also accounts for the number of females returned
exceeding the males) ; secondly, no doubt many of the caste
did not disclose their identity as Bhamptas when the census
was taken but returned themselves as Marathas or Hindus of
other castes.
With the exception of such castes as Mangs, Mahars,
Chambhars, Dhors and Buruds,
Appearance, dress, etc. _^, ' „ IT. , , .
Bhamptas admit all Hindus ot the
upper and middle classes, such as Wanis, Marwadis, Sutars,
etc., into their tribe. Mahomedans and Berads are also admis-
sible. They adopt children of other castes and bring them
up to their own profession. Adopted boys are called ' Konnad '
or ' Golyad;' girls ' Konnadi.' It is said that Uchlias will
go so far as to give shelter, in certain cases, to a woman who
has got into trouble and belongs to a respectable family.
When the child is born, the Bhampta keeps it and sends the
mother home with a siiri and a rupee or two.
BHAMPTAS. 21
In every village they have a headman of their own, who is
usually the oldest resident Bhampta. He is designated ' patil,'
' talmad,' ' taldaru ' or ' kattimani,' and is the spokesman for
the Bhamptas of the village, presides at caste meetings and is
socially respected. " Honour among thieves " is apparently at
a discount among them seeing that there is a well-established
trial by ordeal styled ' Tel-rawa ' for the purpose of ascertain-
ing the truth in cases of infidelity among the women and with-
holding of profits on any member's part. The method is
merely to require the suspected person to pick out a pice or
other small object from boiling oil, the person succeeding in
doing this unscathed being of course considered guiltless. It
appears rather a futile ordeal if, as alleged, a hand wet with
water can be introduced into the boiling oil without particular
damage, provided the operation is performed smartly.
Having an admixture of other castes and living the life
they do, Bhamptas conform to no particular type. Most are
below the average height, some are fair, others very dark. All
are wiry and active rather than powerful and robust. The
women are comely but mostly of loose morals.
As a rule Bhamptas dress well, are particular as to their
personal appearance and live in a superior style but without
display. The women dress like Marathas, sometimes like
Brahmin women and wear nose-rings. They tattoo their
hands and faces, the left hand being tattooed more profusely
than the right.
The Bhampta when on the war-path is always on the alert.
He can neither sit still long nor keep his eyes still. He is
always on the look-out, taking stock of people, things and the
situation generally. He can often thus be identified by an
observant or intelligent police officer.
It is said to be a lule among Bhamptas not to give a girl
in marriage till the intended husband has proved himself a
dexterous thief. Instances of intermarriage between Kaikadis
and Bhamptas are not unknown.
Bhamptas will eat with or from the hands of those of other
castes who are admissible into their own. They are gross
feeders, relishing even a scavenging pig, and are also fond of
liquor.
Among themselves Bhamptas speak a corrupt language
called ' Waddari ' or debased form of
Dialect ofndsPS!ia Telegu. They also speak Marathi,
Hindustani, and Kanarese. In speak-
22
CRIMINAL U.ASSKS, 11U.M1JAV PK KS1DKNCY.
ing Kanarese they dn>p their ' hs.' The homr lan^ua^e of
some of the Ghantichors of the Bijapur District is Kanaivsr.
The following are a
SI. in,' and signs used.
few of the words and expressions
used among themselves by Bhamptas ;
some are slang, the rest are corrupt
Telegu : —
Slang.
ulnuikh or waghnak
fudclad
kattr.l
ochkher
dangi kushi
nella kukkulu
yaravelak
waipalu
talapu kayal
pharshi
mangkar
oondai
goshad
tapshi chap
tulag
gant
phaddad
cliiki
shiti
rondi
koshkia
chakka
chinnaid
gootham
bokha
bokh parshoti gootham..
goda
jarigi yelgya
pur yelgya
phadda ill
y.-rra mankad
ycrra mothad
antha hangar
bachku
antha endi
muchni
muchad
muchil battal or dontu ..
adpam
p.ir-rlgar
phoge-bande
Meaning,
curved knife,
chief constable,
police officer,
arrived, came,
conceal yourself,
constable,
gold ornaments,
rupees,
silver,
slang,
an official,
there is.
inspector or chief constable,
speak to deceive,
don't tell,
bundle, loot,
great, heavy, much,
he has.
a purse.
waist,
cut.
box.
small, light.
nail (for house-breaking),
a hole.
a nail to make a hole.
a wall.
go away,
run away.
great house, i.e., prison.
a European.
gold property.
an ornament.
silver property.
stolen property.
thief.
stolen cloth.
a bag.
to esi a;
railway train.
RHAMPTAS.
23
Slang used by the Ghantichors of the Bijapur District and
known to the Bhamptas of the Deccan : —
Slang. Meaning.
piskat . . . knife.
telpadu . . . )
kayal . .. \ rupees.
waipalu . . . j
yendi ... silver.
goshad ... Brahmin.
yardi ... gold.
padda . . . go on.
badka . . . ornament, property.
par yelgar ... to escape or run away.
kansya ... a villager.
bantgia, bantker ... a sepoy, a constable.
gainu ... house.
The following slang expressions are peculiar to the Ghanti-
chors of the Bijapur District : —
Slang. Meaning.
irat ... patil.
dodd irat ... police officer,
netgar .. walikar (village police),
kevrer ... woman,
pinner . boys,
koddarki ... theft,
mot ... bundle,
dugani . purse containing cash,
kempu . . gold,
kadu ... property,
budsu . . . run away,
chapra madiko ... conceal,
kodru ... thief,
gaina wadsu ... house breaking,
shato ... the beating of a decoyed
' receiver ' or dupe.
Special signs in use among Deccan Bhamptas are pecu-
liar and worthy of note. One Bhampta warns another by first
coughing and then clearing the throat ; this is done quietly if
police are about or noisily if the person to be warned is at a
distance and the coast is clear. He never points with the hand
or finger, does not look in the direction from which danger is
expected, but points with the elbow while scratching his head.
If he wishes to intimate to a friend that he is being watched,
he will, when scratching his head, work his elbo\v backwards.
If a Bhampta is awaiting the arrival of a train in which he
expects friends and notices the police are watching him, he
will twist one end of his shoulder cloth (wbarm) round one arm
2 j. CRIMINAL CLASS >MBAY I'RKSIDKNCY.
to indicate that lit- is tied up, and if he intends his triends not
to alight, he will scratch his head and work his elbow in the
direction the train is moving; this all means ' i am watched ;
continue your journey.' There is no slang for ' eoine h'
the elbow movement does instead of a word.
When a gang of Bhamptas disperses in small detachments
under arrangement to meet at the same place later on. each
group, before separating, will bury some money or property at
some spot known to the other groups and close to the rendez-
vous. Each party as it returns looks up these hiding pl.t
and if any of the hidden property has been removed it is under-
stood that the particular detachment that buried it has returned
and gone on.
Bhamptas before leaving a halting place will bring the lops
of their cooking stones together to indicate to those following
that they have moved on. They are clever in the matter of
identifying the foot-prints of their friends. If Bhamptas wish
to intimate, to others following, where thcv have gone, they will,
after arranging the cooking stones as above described, scrape
a mark with the side of the foot in the direction they propose
moving, and leave an imprint of a naked foot across the he.;j>
of earth they have thus scraped together pointing to the diivc-
tion in which they have gone. This mark may extend to
fifty yards from the fireplace : if necessary, two or three of these
drags are made, fifty or hundred yards apart, at cross roads.
There is a sort of freemasonry among Bhamptas which
enables them to recognize one another even though not
personally acquainted, and it is believed they possess certain
secret signs, connected with the eyes and fingers, whereby
they can recognise and communicate with each other when
necessary.
Bhamptas follow ordinary rural avocations and occasionallv
the more well-to-do trade in a small
'ibS as merchants or sdwkdrs. Some
cultivate land on a large scale and
labour in the fields during harvest time. Hut nmstlv those
who own land rent it to others, not infrequently to the village
dman. Some are rich in land and cattle and find no
difficulty in furnishing security if called on to do so. If a
Bhampta is bound over under Chapter VI 1 1 of the Criminal
Procedure Code, he refrains altogether from crime during the
period he is bound over for. Immediatelv the period has expired
Bhamptas in disguise.
(From a photograph found in a Bhamptas house. J
UIIAMI'TAS. 25
li<- leaves home and takes to crime again. If asked what is
their ostensible means of 'livelihood, Bhamptas will often naivelv
say they ' visit bazars and earn a living.'
The numerous disguises the Bhampta makes use of, and
the variety of methods he has recourse
l""s to for accomplishing his purpose, make
him difficult to recognise. Most com-
monly he dresses as a well-to-do Maratha, either on pilgrimage
or sight-seeing, sometimes as a poorer member of that com-
munity in search of work. He is often to be met with in the
guise of a prosperous Marwadi or Hindu trader ; of Lingayat,
Jangam, Brahmin, or shepherd ; sometimes in that of a minstrel,
Sadhu, mendicant, Sanadi Korwa (musician), or Deccan
Bhat. Thus the Bhampta is an adept at making himself up
and passing himself off as a member of any caste or calling
and obtaining admission, without suspicion, into superior class
railway accommodation, to temples and places resorted to by
the better class of travellers and pilgrims.
In some of the Bombay chawls, considerable numbers are
frequently to be found posing generally as Marathas. A
gang will settle down as Marathas under assumed names in
large up-country cities for months at a time, being often joined
by their wives. From such temporary head -quarters the
males will make periodical and lengthy excursions along railways
and to fairs to commit crime, till their suspicious movements
and want of an ostensible occupation perhaps, give rise to
inconvenient enquiries, when the gang immediately make them-
selves scarce. Occasionally one of the party acts the part of
a holy and learned man or of a medicine man and the others
that of his disciples and cheat people into giving money.
Women do not dress themselves up in any disguise, but
pose as members of some superior caste.
Ghantichors of the Bijapur District also pass themselves off
in the Central Provinces as ' Kangrawallas.'
The Bhampta today is an expert professional pick-pocket
and railway thief. He is also dexterous
Crime tu which addicted. • rr i
at removing ornaments on the persons
of women and children in a crowd, at landiiii/ places, fairs, in
bazars and in temples. In fact his chief occupation is thiev-
ing on railways and anywhere in crowds and he succeeds, under
almost impossible circumstances.
26 CRIMINAL (. I.. \SSKS, HO.Ml'.AY I'R KSI 1 )l-..\( Y.
Comparatively recently Bhamptas have taken to burglary
and even robbery, forming gangs of a dozen or more tor the
purpose. Originally it seems, Bhamptas were pick-pockeis
pure and simple, fairs and bazars and the like offering a lar^e
field for their activities. And it was a rule among them not to
commit, on pain of expulsion from the caste, crime between
sunset and sunrise. All this is however now altered.
With the advent of the iron horse, railways afford the
Bhampta the most lucrative fields for his activities and he \\ill
commit crime at all hours of the day or night, as opportunity
offers.
Both sexes are adept at thieving, whether on the railway or
in crowds ; but the women, who do not travel so much or so far
afield as the men, confine their activities chiefly to compart-
ments for females on railways, fairs, temples, bazars, etc.
Uchlia women of the Satara District are reported to be
less criminal than their caste sisters elsewhere.
The Ghantichors of the Carnatic are addicted to gang
robbery and an instance is on record of a gang which had
committed a series of organized dacoities in two districts,
having been arrested with 4,000 rupees' worth of stolen goods.
Burglary by day and by night and robbery or cheating
a would-be ' receiver ' after decoying him to a lonely spot are
other forms of crime to which the Ghantichors of the Carnatic
are prone.
Another crime known as ' ramthadi ' to \vhich the Ghanti-
chor is addicted, is cheating by the substitution of brass
mohurs or beads, similar to those worn by women in neck-
laces, for gold ones.
Both sexes are early trained to follow the profession of
crime and soon become experts.
Methods employed in com- >-., ., , ~ . -ir
mining crime, and distinguish- Children are first taught to pilfer
ing characteristics likely to shoes, cocoanuts, etc., and are liberallv
afford a clue. , . ' , f c . . .
chastised tor want ot proficiency in the
course of their education. The women are as adept as tin-
men. Boys are expert at removing ornaments off the persons
of children. These juvenile thieves entice their victims away
to a quiet spot, by displaying sweetmeats, copper coins or
bhorangis (hopping insects) tied to a thread, and then relieve
them of their ornaments.
There is nothing distinctive about the burglaries committed
by Bhamptas, for they have but recently taken to this form of
BHAMPTAS* 27
crime and have not studied it seriously. As a rule they do not
break through walls, but when they do they make the hole near
the door or window frame in the ' bagli ' fashion. Boys and
women are utilized for obtaining information of likely houses.
The dark half of the month is selected and two, four or five
form the gang. Three is considered an inauspicious number.
One man is chosen to be the leader, and he is styled ' Rangated.'
It is his duty to enter the house and secure the property. In
return for the greater risk he runs and the position of responsi-
bility he occupies he gets a larger share of the spoil. Houses
situated on the outskirts of villages are invariably selected to be
broken into as there is less risk in burgling them, and these
afford greater facilities for the removal of property and for
escape in case of a surprise. Those who remain outside keep
a sharp look-out and are provided with stones which they only
use to cover retreat in case of pursuit or to assist the leader in
getting out of the house.
Highway robbery is planned and carried out in the following
manner : A gang of Bhamptas got up as Bhats (fortune-
tellers) seek out their prey in big fairs and bazars. So dis-
guised they ingratiate themselves with people who are appa-
rently well-to-do and worth robbing. Finding out all about
their intentions in respect to departure homewards, they lay in
wait for them and loot them on the road at some convenient
spot.
In the same disguise they also visit villages and getting
hold of some communicative lad they ascertain from him names
and other particulars about well-to-do persons in the village.
They then proceed to question the boy about domestic occur-
rences in the families and find out all they can. Thus primed
they visit a house, surprise and convince the occupants
of their skill by the way they are able to accurately ' tell '
incidents in the family history. Encouraged, they go on to
predict that if certain charms they possess are used there will
be a birth or some other auspicious event and rejoicing in the
family. Females are, as a rule, imposed on in this way
and persuaded to part with pieces of jewellery in payment for
this charm. They also in the same way obtain admission to a
house, mark down where valuables are kept, the best wav
of getting at them and then, at a suitable opportunity, commit a
theft.
Bhamptas generally leave home in batches of eight or ten
splitting up into smaller parties later on and working from some
28 CRIMINAL CI.ASfKS, BOMBAY PK KSI 1 )K.\t Y.
central base. When away from their homes thev invariably
assume fictitious names and pass themselves off as Marathas
or members of any caste other than their own. Needless to
say they never, unless confronted by Bhampta ' informers/ or
experienced police officers who know Bhamptas, when arrested
on suspicion or taken red-handed, give their real names and
very seldom the names of their villages. Neither will thrv
recognise nor implicate any one of their confederates. When
arrested up-country however, and a long way from their homes
they not infrequently disclose the names of their villages cor-
rectly but never their own.
In crowds, at fairs, landing places, temples and in railway
third class passenger sheds and on bazar days, they will work
in small gangs of two three or four, often accompanied by a boy.
While one stealthily removes an ornament, picks or cuts off a
pocket, or, to cover his actions, jostles or hustles up against his
victim in the crowd and forcibly removes what he is after, the
others, men or women as the case may be, are at hand and so
dispose themselves as to quickly and cleverly pass, if necessary,
the property stolen, from one to the other till, in an incredibly
short space of time, it is far away. Thus, if perchance the victim
of the theft feels he has been robbed and seizes or taxes the
culprit, there is nothing on, or in the appearance of, the res-
pectable and innocent-looking Bhampta thief to give him away
and of course he immediately waxes eloquent in virtuous indig-
nation at the accusation.
The boy is made use of to give signals and draw off atten-
tion if need be, from the culprit either before the theft is
accomplished or after, as circumstances require. Other
methods are as follow : — If the booty to be secured is a
bundle under the head of a man dosing or asleep the Bhampta
will prick the sleeper's feet while his confederates remove Un-
bundle the moment the man starts up to see what has bitten
him. If a bundle belonging to some woman seated on the
ground is coveted, a male Bhampta will squat in front of the
woman to make water. When the woman modestly averts her
face or turns round, a confederate makes away with her bundle.
The Bhampta is above all things resourceful and ingenious.
He beats his child, who with cries and screams rushes to a
well-to-do person close by, who comforts it, only to discover
later on that he was relieved of some valuable, whilst the child
he sympathised with and who has been trained to kick and
• •am was being dragged away from him. The. substitution of
BHAMPTAS. 29
a bag identical in shape, colour and size but containing copper
coin or even pebbles, for a bag of silver belonging to a shroff,
while the latter's attention is momentarily diverted by a con-
federate, is another of the Bhampta's dodges for making a haul.
These instances suffice to demonstrate the ingenuity a
Bhampta brings to bear on his work. He can adapt himself
to practically any situation and vary his side-play and modus
operandi as circumstances require.
While working on railways Bhamptas thieve chiefly at night
of course, rarely or never alone, and in third class carriages and
waiting rooms, if possible when other passengers are asleep.
They usually work in twos and threes. To avoid recognition
by police they are very careful of course in selecting stations
from which they depart and at which they alight. They have
so many ways of disguising themselves that it is difficult for
any but really experienced police officers to identify them.
Lieutenant Colonel Portman, a former Superintendent of
Police on the G. I. P. and B. B. & C. I. Railways, in an
interesting note written in 1887, describes their modus operandi
concisely and accurately as follows : —
" Two or more Bhamptas go to a station dressed in some sort of
disguise or in good clothes and taking a canvas or carpet bag with
them, purchase tickets for some place far or near ; they then look out
for passengers also having bags which look as if likely to contain
something valuable, and they follow such persons into the same
carriage and, sitting near, endeavour to. enter into a conversation,
ask them where they are going and at what station they intend
alighting. After a time it begins to get dark or, if it is already dark,
when others begin to drop off to sleep, one of the Bhamptas lies
down on the floor and covers himself with a large cloth under the
pretence of going to sleep ; his confederate also, putting his legs on
the opposite seat, spreads out his cloth, thus more or less concealing
the man lying down ; this latter, when all appears quiet, begins mani-
pulating the bag he has spotted with his hands to feel if anything
valuable is there, and if he cannot succeed in getting his hand into
the bag, he takes from his mouth a small curved knife, which all
Bhamptas carry concealed between their gum and upper lip, and
with that he rips the seams of the bag and takes out what he finds,
stitching up the seam, if time and opportunity permit. He then passes
up what he has stolen to his confederate and at the next station the
two get out of the carriage and either leave the train or get into
another carriage, and if there is any complaint of loss, they throw the
things out of the window and subsequently go back along the line to
recover them ; or, instead of cutting open the bag they quietly, whilst
the owner is asleep, exchange hags and disappear at the first oppor-
tunity and the unfortunate victim discovers what has happened only
30 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
perhaps when he arrives at his destination, when he reports his loss
to the police, who naturally find great difficulty in tracing up the
theft. These men will, as a rule, steal anything however small in
value and it is needless to say that sometimes they make heavy hauls,
much to the detriment of railway passengers. They also contrive by
slitting open pockets etc., to remove articles from the persons <>i
travellers who in a crowd do not notice what is going on and rarely
perceive who is the thief."
It is wonderful how clever and quick Bhamptas, both male
and female, are at selecting their victims, fraternizing with them
and afterwards ripping open their bags and extracting valuables
or boldly removing articles of their luggage. If the passenger
places his bag on the bench beside him, the Bhampta seats
himself alongside the bag and while to all appearances he is
slumbering peacefully or the passenger is actually dosing, his.
fingers are at work. Or, if a passenger shows signs of being
sleepy and seems to want room to stretch himself out, the
Bhampta is very courteous and obliging in offering to make
room for him by lying down on the floor of the carriage where
bags and boxes are usually kept.
Having secured his booty, the Bhampta will either quickly
leave the train altogether, change carriages, or, if in danger of
suspicion attaching to him or discovery, will pass the property
to his confederate or throw it out of the train (making a mental
note of the place), as circumstances dictate. If caught before
he can get away, he will bluff the people in the carriage, the
police and station staff at small stations, to any extent and
very successfully put on an air of injured innocence, which often
results in his being allowed to depart with many apologies, or,
in his being able to slip away while the solitary policeman at
the station is wiring to his superiors.
If unsuccessful in the train, they will follow a victim after he
alights, keep near him in the passenger shed or dharamsdld }
and taking advantage of the first favourable opportunity, remove
his bag or box.
Bhamptas will also visit railway stations at night and boldly
lift bags and articles from second and even first class carriages.
An instance of a particularly bold case of this sort occurred in
the year 1898 when a Bhampta one night lifted His Kxcellency
the Governor's valuable travelling bag from the brilliantly lighted
gubernatorial saloon of the Southern Mahratta Railway, under
lli<- very noses of a strong body of police escorting the train.
The loss was not discovered till the next morning. The guilty
Hhampta was some months later arrested by the District l'<>li< «
BHAMPTAS. 31
the mutilated bag and some of the contents recovered and the
accused convicted.
At stations the off-side of trains should be carefully watched
for Bhamptas, because, if possible, they prefer to alight there if
they have made a haul, to doing so from the proper side.
Bhamptas are also very quick and active at getting into
and leaving carriages while trains are in motion, and at walking
along the foot-boards. They often board first and second class
carriages in this way.
Cheating ' receivers ' is committed in this wise. A ' receiver '
is decoyed to some unfrequented spot outside the village.
Genuine ornaments are shown and the price is fixed. When
money is being counted, a confederate in the guise of a police
officer is seen approaching, and in the confusion that follows
the false ornaments instead of the genuine ones are slipped
into the hands of the ' receiver ' and all decamp before the bogus
policeman arrives. This form of crime often develops into
robbery by forcing the ( receiver ' to surrender the cash brought
for the purchase of the jewellery without giving anything in
exchange.
Bhamptas are apt to be very violent and troublesome when
they outnumber the police sent to search a Bhampta colony
for property or absconded individuals. In such eircumstances
when the odds are on the side of Bhamptas, the police are set
upon, assaulted, treated with indignity and turned out, the
women also joining in the fray. The police should therefore
always be in force and prepared for resistance when called on
to work in Bhampta settlements.
For breaking into houses a steel ulthani (the household
implement for turning chapdtis) and a
stock in -trade instruments pajfa (jron iacne) or a large pointed
and weapons used in commit- •£.... v i r • i • i i i •
ting crime. kmic is used ; tor picking and breaking
locks and opening boxes a small metal
hook, a korne (chunam scrape), exhibit 42 of the Bombay
District Police Museum, betel-nut cracker or a chisel
(Plate VII). The homely and domestic appearance of many
of these articles disarms suspicion.
For cutting open bags, pockets, and seams, and severing
the fastenings of neck ornaments, the Bhampta carries a small
sickle-shaped sharp knife known as ulmnkh or ivtiglunik, exhi-
bit 10, Bombay District Police Museum (Plate VII), a pair of
small scissors, or, in a bag round the waist, a piece of broken
glass. The first is readily concealed in the mouth between the
32 CRIMhNAL CLASSES, BOM MAY l>k KSI I >l..\< Y.
gum and upper lip or in a cavity in the throat, and by women
in a small pocket in the bodice or in their hair- knobs, lie
now-a-days also makes use of the ordinary small pocket
penknife. These are sometimes concealed in brass snuff boxes
or chunam receptacles of suitable sizes. Other articles form-
ing his stock-in-trade when travelling on a railway are a bunch
of keys, a needle and thread to stitch up bags which have been
cut open, an umbrella, a carpet bag containing a few neces-
saries for ready disguises, perhaps another filled with rubbish
of sorts to substitute for some similar bag containing valuables
belonging to a fellow traveller and from a recent instance on
record, it seems that Bhamptas have now taken to providing
themselves with a railway map of India with the names of
stations translated into the vernacular.
On his return from a thieving expedition a Bhampta in the
Deccan has to pay a tax of two annas
Ways and means of con jn the rUDCC to the pt'ttil (also Called
cenhng or disposing of stolen ,11 i V\ r i • i • i •
property. thalmud ) of his caste, who in his turn
pays to secure the silence of the village
officers, who are well aware of the doings of the Bhamptas.
As a rule stolen property is first buried, often near their
halting place when away from home, and after the hue-and-cry
is over, it is disposed of piece by piece or wholesale as practi-
cable, through complaisant goldsmiths, Marwadis, liquor-vendors
and the like. Property obtained in one province is freely and
openly sold in another.
In their villages and at .any temporary head -quarters when
away on thieving expeditions, Bhamptas soon form connections
and find a ready market for the proceeds of their crime among
the numerous goldsmiths and Marwadis, only too anxious to
turn a dishonest penny. Sometimes they send stolen property
to their distant homes by parcel post to some relative for use
or disposal according to fancy. But generally they consider it
safer or more convenient to turn the stolen property into cash
locally and to make remittances home by post office money
order to those dependent on them. In this way they and
others of the criminal fraternity find the post office a most
U-M ful medium for the disposal of their ill-gotten gains.
\Yhen sending parcels or money through the post. I'hamp-
tas invariably make use of false names, agreed upon before
leaving home or by letter, both for the sender and consigner or
payer as the ea>r may be. Money orders and parcel etc,
are also sometime? addressed to village /^,7/A or silwki'.rs.
BHAMPTAS. 33
When making enquiries at and near Bhampta villages regarding
the arrival and delivery of parcels and money orders, it
should always be remembered that Bhamptas are open-handed
and quick in making allies where it pays them to do so.
It is needless to say that they, and especially their women,
are very clever at secreting small articles of value about their
persons, so when arrested, the latter should be most carefully
and thoroughly searched by female searchers everywhere.
Property if small, especially coins, will sometimes be found in a
cavity in the throat, and occasionally are swallowed. Similarly
searches in their houses must be most thorough, every nook
and corner must be examined and suspicious-looking places in
floors and walls dug up, for property has been found between
double walls, in beams of the roof and other queer places.
Seldom if ever however, is property identified as stolen, re-
covered from Bhdmpta houses, and the great difficulty is to
get property found with a Bhampta, identified. Search in
a room or apartment occupied as a temporary abode by a
Bhampta living under an assumed name and in disguise, while
away from his village, will often result in the discovery of pro-
perty which obviously has been dishonestly acquired. But
probably because the property was stolen in another province,
or at any rate a great distance away, and information of the
theft has not reached the local police, identification becomes
impossible for want of information or knowledge as to the
victim of the theft.
It is a fair assumption that the village officers of all villages
in which Bhamptas have settled are more or less in league
with them and receive a subsidy from the ill-gotten gains of
these thieves. It occasionally happens that misunderstandings
and quarrels occur among Bhamptas over the divisions of spoils
and that the police in consequence obtain a clue.
514—3
Rajput Bhamptas.
Distinct from Bhamptas forming the subject of the preced-
ing note, is a class of pick-pockets and
Name of criminal class pilferers known as ' Raj put Bhamptas '
who owe their origin to the tribe of
Sanorias, the great diurnal thieves of Bhopal and Bundelkhand.
They are also known in some districts as Pardeshi Bhamptas,
and are probably identical with the Jowari Bhamptas of
Edalabad in His Highness the Nizam's Dominions.
They are to be found in the Ahmednagar and Sholapur
Districts and the Jath State, also in
the Usmdnabad District of the Nizam's
Dominions. In the Ahmednagar District they reside at Kharda
and its hamlets Daradwadi, Gitewadi, Pandharychiwadi and at
Khandwddi, a hamlet of Balgavan in the Jamkhed taluka. in
the Sholapur District they are settled in Sonand, Pare, Hingargi
and Narala of the Sangola taluka. These Sholapur villages
being situated on the borders of the Jath State, offer a conve-
nient shelter to those of the tribe who being wanted by the
police, can cross the border immediately danger is sniffed.
They travel all over India, notably the Madras Presidency
and attend the fairs of Kartikswami,
Sphere of activity and wan- Hampi and Gokarn Mahableshwar,
accompanied by their females, and are
usually absent from home for a year at a time.
They number about 200 in the Ahmednagar and the Shola-
pur Districts according to a census
Population. taken by the District Superintendents
of Police.
A few are dark but most are fair or of sallow complexion.
. They dress like Marathas, wear the
Appearance, dress, etc. 1,1 i i , » , / •
sacred thread, also kunanlas (rings
or pendants) in the ears. Women never bore their nostrils nor
wear nose ornaments nor tattoo the corners of their eyes ; those
who are not married wear a row of red beads, with a single gold
one in the centre, round the neck ; widows wear two and
married women wear a double string of black beads with a
small gold tali or charm attached. Women tie their s<iris
as Brahmin women do, but the front folds of it are left hanging
loose instead of being hitched up.
RAJPUT BHAMPTAS. 35
The Rajput Bhampta is a great consumer of liquor and
opium and being a first rate braggart often gives himself away
when intoxicated.
Among themselves they speak Hindustani. They can also
speak Marathi. Kanarese, and Telegu
Dialect and peculiarities fluently. A peculiarity in their speech
is that they pronounce cha as chya.
The following slang terms are
S.ang used. .. ,
peculiar to them : —
Slang. Meaning.
tholia ... chief constable.
pondad ... police.
kapapya ... patil.
cherakalin ... kulkarni.
kukad ... watchman.
watmal . . . Mar.itha.
dokara ... old man.
dokari ... old woman.
chawa ... child.
ghabha ... house.
pondad aichhe ... | h u
ghabeku chaide ... j
dhoti udhaya ... the gang has commenced opera-
tions.
Many possess land but rarely cultivate it, they let it out on
terms. The men are nearly always
Ostensible means of live- absent from their villages but some of
their women stay at home and attend
to field work.
When visiting fairs they assume the garb of Bairagis or
Sadhus and add the suffix ' Das ' or
Disguises adopted and means < Sing ' to their names ; but when ex-
of identification. , . F , .. , '. ... - _ .
ploiting the railway they dress like Mar-
wadis and Brahmins. While moving about in the country they
put up in the open at some distance from towns or villages and
do not use tents or huts.
They commit thefts in crowds, at fairs, places of pilgrim-
, . , , age, etc., and in railway trains, gener-
Cnme to which addicted. f? ' ' J .. ' *> . .
ally by day only. Stealing by night
is punished by excommunication.
36 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BO.MHAY PRESIDENCY.
As a rule they work in threes ; one engages the victim's
.... attention, the second secures the booty,
Methods employed in com- , . . . . ~. . . . . -.
mining criire.and distinguish- and the third makes on with it to their
ing characteristics likely 10 encampment where it is hidden till the
afford a clue. , r. , , ., . ,
hue-and-cry has subsided. They are
experts at removing jewellery from the persons of children,
and pocket-picking. They also hover on the banks of rivers
and steal the clothing of bathers. When hard pressed they
accept domestic service but invariably decamp with their
employer's property or pass it out to a confederate who visits
the house generally in the garb of a mendicant. A dhotar is
usually thrown carelessly over the head when engaged in
criminal operations.
They use a short penknife, quite unlike the uluiukh of
stcok-in-irade, insirun-.enis the Bhampta, or a pair of scissors or
and weapons used in commii- piece of glass and in addition carry the
\\heie\vithal for their disguises.
Jewellery is sold as soon as possible. Other property is
buried at some distance from the camp
Waysandrneansofconce.il. and carried in. ad vance when the gang
ing or disposing of slolen pro- ,_. .. , .
periy. moves. 1 hey dispose or stolen pro-
perty to their ' receivers,' accepting
very low prices, and remit the proceeds by money-order to
their homes. Articles of considerable value are not as a rule
disposed of but sent home by parcel post.
Bhils.
Khandesh and Deccan Bhils may conveniently be
Name of criminal class arranged under three groups,
or tribe. namely:—
Plain Bhils,
Hill and Forest tribes,
Mixed tribes.
The Plain Bhils, among whom are included Khotils, are
known simply as Bhils and in parts of Khandesh as Khotils.
The Forest and Hill tribes are as follows : —
Nahals. Mathwadis or Panaris.
Pavras. Mavchis.
Bardas. Varlis.
Dhankas. Dangchis.
Dhorepis.
The Mixed tribes are three, namely : —
Bhilalas (half Bhil and half Rajput).
XT- ju- i half Bhil and half Musalman.
Nirdhis )
The large class of ordi lary or Plain Bhils and most of the
wilder Hill and Forest tribes are again subdivided into an end-
less number of clans, such as Pavar, Mali, Barda or Sonone,
Mori, Ahir, Gaekwad, Shinde, Jadhav, Thakria, Vagh,
Ghania, Pipale, etc.
Gujerat Bhils belong to two main divisions, one of partly
Rajput and the other of pure Bhil descent. The former have
adopted certain Rajput clan names, such as Baria, Dangi,
Ganva, Katara, Makvana, Parmar and Rathod.
The pure Bhils found chiefly in Rewa Kantha and the
Panch Mahals are of two kinds : Hill and Plain Bhils. These
two kinds are further divided into numerous clans. But as all
intermarry and differ in no way in their habit and custom, it
would serve no useful purpose here to name the various clans.
Bhils inhabiting some of the Native States under the
Rewa Kantha and Mahi Kantha Agencies and other States
adjoining the Modasa taluka of the Ahmedabad District and
38 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Jhalod of the Panch Mahals are called Vagadia Rhils. With
these Vagadia Bhils the Gujerat Bhils of the Panch Mahals,
Rewa Kantha and Mahi Kantha Agencies are said to be
socially and criminally intimate.
Bhils inhabit, in considerable strength, the wilder and out-
lying parts of Central India, Raj-
Habitat. J & ' .
putana, Gujerat and Khandesh. rur-
ther north they are found in parts of the United Provinces.
South they live in considerable numbers in Ahmednagar
and Nasik and there are a few families in Poona. Bhils are
also met with scattered over Kathiawad and Cutch, in greater
strength in the wilds of Thar and Parkar and in small numbers
over almost the whole of Sind.
A cluster of Bhil huts is called a ' Bhil-hatti.'
Bhils are not a wandering tribe. They do not leave the
district in which they are born unless
n' obliged and are great home lovers.
The sphere of their activity does not
as a rule extend beyond the taluka in which they live and
others bordering on it. But when individuals or gangs take to
outlawry they may overrun a considerable tract of country and
can cover large distances in pursuit of crime or in evading
capture.
Subjoined is a statement showing the Bhil population in
Population according to last the Bombay Presidency according to
census, and distribution. f-Jjg cenSUS of 1 90 1 :
Hindu Bhils.
Males. Females.
Bombay City ... ... 26 7
Ahmedabad ... ... 1,350 1,244
Broach ... ... 4,963 4,860
Kaira ... ... 367 320
Panch Mahals ... ... 36,935 37,618
Surat ... ... 2,761 2,690
Thana ... ... 115 43
Cutch ... ... 175 210
Kathiawad ... ... 815 810
Palanpur ... ... 7,451 6,900
Mahi Kantha ... ... 6,559 5.547
Kc\\a Kantha ... ... 45,982 45,404
Surat Agency ... ... 4 4
Ahmednagar ... ... 7,183 7, -9*
Khandesh ... ... 73,268 72,216
Nasik ... ... 26,002 26,016
Poona ... ... 431 324
BHII.S. 39
Hindu Bhils — contd.
Males. Females.
Satara ...
e.
Sholapur
65 53
Khandesh Agency
... 10,073 9,618
Surgana
68 46
Belgaum
8 12
Kanara
56 33
Kolaba
2
Ratnagiri
9 6
Karachi
i,473 J,5i3
Hyderabad
3,553 3,273
Shikarpur
2,601 2,067
Thar and Parkar
... 11,310 9,734
Upper Sind Frontier
376 257
Khairpur
43 43
v v ;
Total
4,82,188
Musalman
Bhils.
Ahmednagar
2
Khandesh
4,885 4,970
Nasik
4 3
Sholapur ...
^
Khandesh Agency
7 6
Surgana
2
Rewa Kantha ...
6 8
Ahmedabad
ii 5
<c j
Total
9,912
Animistic
Bhils.
Broach
... 12,577 12,252
Panch Mahals . . .
11,037 12,102
Rewa Kantha ...
9,001 9,119
Ahmednagar
13 28
Khandesh
5,669 5,9i6
Nasik
19 9
Total
>
77,742
Though belonging to one large family, the habits, appear-
ance and mode of life of Bhils, influ-
Appearance. dress, etc. , 1111 • i-
enced no doubt by the varying condi-
tions of their environment, differ more or less with the part
of the country in which they are domiciled. In respect to
those living in Khandesh, the Pavra of the Akrani is describ-
40 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
ed as a simple, honest and diligent cultivator, and a good,
contented, law-abiding subject, giving very little trouble to
either the Revenue or the Police authorities.
The Dhankas of Taloda are a lazy, indolent class. Fur-
ther west, the Mavchis of Nawapur are similar to the Pavras
but not quite so industrious. They are a timid, inoffensive,
quiet and well-behaved people, much given to drink and fond
of finery but truthful withal. Very ignorant and superstitious,
they trace all disasters to the influence of witches. Quite
different to them are their neighbours the Dangchis or Dang
Bhils with the Nahals (some of whom are Mahomedans), the
most uncivilized of all the Bhil clans. Stunted in body by their
drunken, dissolute life, and dulled in intellect by hardships and
poverty, they are shy and unenterprising.
The Tadvis, who are Mahomedans, are a superior race, of
fairer complexion and with finer features, more inclined to
agriculture than others of this restless class. They are,
however, lazy, poverty-stricken and dislike hard work. They
make fairly good armed policemen but are poor cultivators.
The small Musalman clan of Nirdhis, who dwell in the Jamner
and Pachora talukas, are now a fairly well behaved com-
munity. But no matter whether they hail from the hills or
from the plains, the principal characteristics of the majority of
Bhils are the same — incorrigible improvidence, total lack of
responsibility, chronic laziness, aversion to work and love of
women and liquor, weaknesses from which originate many of
their misdeeds, a cheerful disposition and living a happy-go-
lucky life, with no thought for the morrow. The Panch
Mahals Bhils live in detached houses on their own lands, or in
small scattered hamlets, and are generally industrious, hard-
working agriculturists, though, like the Khandesh Bhils, they
are fond of fishing and shikar and are greatly addicted to
drink. Their speech, appearance, manners and customs vary
considerably from those of the Khandesh Bhils.
The Nasik and Ahmednagar Bhils in their mode of life
more closely follow the Khandesh Plain Bhils and are mostly
cultivators or labourers. They appear to have lost to a great
extent, though not altogether, the love of shikar so charac-
teristic of the Bhil and resemble more in character thr
Kunbi.
The Bhils of Mahi Kantha, Rewa Kantha and Palanpur
approach the Panch Mahals Bhils in their appearance and
ways and are on the whole a quiet though thriftless class.
BHII.S. 41
The costume of the Hill Bhil is mostly very scanty. He
occasionally wears a bandi, or coat or covers himself with a
blanket, but as often as not wears nothing above the waist.
For nether garment he wears, as a rule, a dhotar extending
only to the knee.
The Plain Bhil is generally better clad, and differs but
little in his dress from the lower classes in the district he
inhabits.
In Gujerat the Bhil prefers to go about with but a loose
sheet to cover the upper part of his body, a skimpy scarf or
cap adorns his head and a short waist-cloth or langoti com-
pletes his attire. His wrists will generally be found to bear
an odd number of brand marks, and his locks are usually
long.
Bhils are mostly dark in complexion a*nd have squat noses,
flat round faces and are active, hardy, wiry, quick of vision, of
medium, sturdy physique and capable of much endurance.
Some in Khandesh are tall and well built, with good features.
The women possess most of the characteristics of the
men and are to them what the Kaikadi or Bedar women are
to their male folk, namely, capable and faithful assistants and
helpmates in criminal enterprises. In features they much
resemble the men, but among some tribes, as for instance
Pavras and Tadvis, the young women are fairer than the men
and distinctly good-looking.
In the Deccan and Khandesh they wear sans and as a
rule, bodices ; are not very particular about covering their heads,
and as often as not go uncovered. Round their necks they
wear tight bead or shell necklaces and in parts of Khandesh a
profusion of heavy brass anklets extending in some cases from
knee to ankle.
The Gujerat Bhil woman's costume consists of a sdlla or
sdri, an open-backed bodice and a petticoat, all of coarse
country cloth. The sdlla is loosely thrown over the head and
body, and the petticoat, instead of hanging down to the ankles,
is tucked up, leaving the lower part of the leg uncovered.
For ornaments they wear the bor, rakhdi and jhdbu ; the first
over the forehead, the second on the top of the head and the
third attached to the back hair. Their ears are ornamented
with metal or wooden rings and chains, the latter hooked into
the hair, and their noses with rings. Round the neck the
majority wear strings of shells or of glass, or stone beads, while
their legs and arms are profusely decked with large brass
42 CRIMINAL CLASSES, 1JO.MMAY I'KKSI DKNV Y.
anklets or armlets often entirely covering the legs from knee
to ankle and the arms. Their ornamentation is completed by
extensive tattooing on arms and hands and some few marks on
the face and chest.
As a class Bhils are dirty in their appearance and ha hits
but very clannish and will seldom give information against one
another. In Khandesh they are mostly tattooed on the fore-
arms and between the eyebrows. Their principal deity in
Khandesh is the ' Vag Deo ' (tiger god) and in Gujerat ' Devi '
(goddess). The most binding oath to a Gujerat Bhil is that
taken on the name of ' Bara Bij ' (twelve new moons of the
year).
Bhils believe generally in witchcraft and much of the violent
crime amongst themselves is due to this belief.
Of the Bhils found scattered about in small numbers over
various districts, little need be said. They appear to have
emigrated from their homes in the past in search of work and
to have settled down to earn an honest livelihood.
The Plain Bhils of Khandesh and the Deccan have a dia-
lect of their own, known as ' Bhilori
DialectoafnsdpSHa bhasha,' the basis of which appears to
be corrupt Hindustani and Marathi,
with Gujerati terminations and variations more or less pro-
nounced according to the tribe to which they belong.
In respect to the Hill tribes each has its own peculiar dialect
varying again with its locale. The Dhankas talk corrupt
Gujerati.
In Gujerat and Kathiawad, Bhils speak corrupt Gujerati
containing some Marathi and other foreign words, with the
accent peculiar to the part of the province they inhabit, and
sometimes Marwadi. Their pronunciation is broad and they
are fond of using the aspirate.
Bhils have few slang expressions but they are able to con-
vey a great deal of meaning by gesti-
Slang used. i^-& ir, 11 *5,-7^
culation. In Khandesh a dacoity is
referred to as ' vatpadi.' In the Panch Mahals a policeman
is called a ' kagda ' or ' tarakdu,' a bow and arrow ' hario
kampto.'
The Hill Bhils live mostly by the col!<-rlion and sale of
Ostensible means of live- jungle produce, gum, honey, gi
•mlunvm flowi-r, felling trees, manu-
facture of charcoal and cultivation of uig/i, a coarse grain
B1IILS.
43
grown in the hills. During harvest time many work as reapers
and support themselves by field labour generally. The produce
of the ' moha ' (m/wwra) forms an important item of Bhil
domestic economy. The flowers when dried are cooked in
various ways and eaten. A potent liquor is also distilled from
them and large quantities are collected and sold to distillers
throughout the country. A few among Pavras earn a living
as carpenters and blacksmiths.
Many of the Bhils of the plains are diligent cultivators,
some own land, some are village watchmen, field labourers,
railway gangmen, carpenters, blacksmiths and many enter
Government service as policemen and forest guards.
The Nasik and Ahmednagar Bhils are mostly agricultural
labourers, village or private watchmen over standing crops.
The Panch Mahals and Gujerat Bhils are cultivators,
labourers, village watchmen, and some, though not so many as
before, enlist in the police. They also ply carts for the convey-
ance of timber, grain and other commodities, and collect and
sell forest produce, manufacture charcoal, catechu, baskets, etc.
In 1905 out of about 2,600 Bhils in Ahmedabad, roughly
2,000 were to be found in and around Ahmedabad city alone,
where the labour market attracted them during hard times.
They live there quietly and peaceably working in mills and
drawing hand-carts. Bhil women as a rule take part with
their male relatives in earning a livelihood.
As a tracker of game and shikari the Bhil is unsurpassed.
In Khandesh and the Deccan, when on the war-path they
will occasionally wear dark or klmki
'"'ondendfTcaUon. m coats in order to create an impression
that the gang is a body of policemen
or forest guards. When committing serious crime they muffle
their faces, sometimes smear them with ashes or earth, and
women occasionally accompany outlaws in male disguise. When
committing crime Bhils do not attempt to conceal their identity
by the adoption of disguises. In Gujerat their only precaution
against recognition is to tie up their faces.
The Bhil is not preeminently a criminal in the sense the
Kaikadi is. He goes into open out-
Cnme to which addicted. , , ° ,
lawry on a large scale only as the result
of bad years, want, the exactions of money-lenders or some
other disturbing cause. WThen the pinch of agricultural distress
is felt, or any other provocation arises, Bhils readily go out in
44 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY I'K I- SI 1 >K.\CY.
gangs and take to looting and widespread depredations For
the rest, his activities are mostly confined to minor trim -s
against property, an occasional murder the outcome of jealousy,
revenge, or a belief in witchcraft. Civilizing influences have of
recent years done much to redeem the Bhils from the preda-
tory habits which characterised them in the past. Neverthe-
less the criminal instinct remains sufficiently strong in tin-
present day to need but little temptation to induce him to revert
to the roving life of the freebooter and depredator.
Among the various tribes, the Khotils and the Tadvis are
the most criminal, and it is a noteworthy fact that during the
last fifty years the- most dangerous Bhil outlaws have been
Khotils. These are at once the most lawless and sporting of
all the Bhil tribes and it is from their ranks that the most daring
and reckless outlaws, who from time to time have preyed on
the countryside and made their names a terror, have sprung.
Notorious outlaws are often at large and keep the field at the
head of gangs for years together, but apart from these, a large
number of Bhils ' go out ' for petty offences and for some
time give little or no trouble to the police till fired by some one
more daring they readily join a criminal gang.
Dacoity or highway robbery of parties returning from weekly
markets is a favourite form of crime. Those living in the plains
and the Dhankas of the hills, commit house-breaking and theft
and are given to looting goods trains during times of scarcity.
Tadvis often indulge in crop raiding and burglaries. Khan-
desh lowland Bhils on the Taloda side are further credited with
a disposition to enter into league for the commission of dacoity
with Rohillas and Pathans who play the part of instigators and
'receivers.'
Speaking broadly, the Hill Bhil is less criminal than his
brother of the plains. The commonest crime attributed to the
Mavchis of Nawapur is the illicit distillation of liquor and the
occasional murder of some old woman supposed to be a witch.
With the exception of a few villages bordering on the
Khandesh District, the Bhils of Nasik can hardly be considered
criminal as a class, but those of Ahmednagar are addicted to
dacoity, highway robbery, burglary and theft, occasionally
breaking out into open outlawry.
The Panch Mahals and Gujerat Bhils are not as a class
criminal and take to serious crime only \\hen driven to it by
privation. They however occasionally commit highway dacoity,
BHILS. 45
cattle lifting and burglary, and in the plains, crop stealing and
petty thefts.
Before embarking on the commission of crime, Bhils always
obtain the necessary information as to
Methods employed in com- , • ri i , ,
mining crime, and distinguish- the resistance likely to be encountered,
ing characteristics likely to the locality, surroundings of the house
to be looted or burgled and the ap-
proximate value of the booty to be secured. They are cautious
in their return, endeavour to mislead pursuit by creating false
scents, and guard against being tracked by splitting up and
going in different directions, taking advantage of hard ground
etc. while travelling. When gangs of Bhils are in open out-
lawry and have become emboldened by success and the
failure of the authorities to effect their capture, they are not so
particular in respect to the adoption of measures to frustrate
pursuit or foil trackers. The tracking of outlaw gangs is, there-
fore, less difficult, as it is of course not easy for a large gang
to travel unnoticed as it leaves tracks and traces of its pro-
gress, often articles dropped by the way, as it goes. Police
are apt to give up all efforts to follow and catch up Bhils if
they cannot pick up the tracks within say a mile or so of the
scene of crime. But it should be remembered that ordinary
Bhil gangs will disperse, in order to mislead the police, im-
mediately after the commission of an offence, but only to fore-
gather again at some pre-arranged rendezvous. Therefore the
police should always make more extensive casts around for
footprints and traces of the gang.
There are no special characteristics about the Bhil's modus
operandi in committing crime. His method is to first terrorize
and if resistance is shown, to overcome it by force. Dacoities
on an extensive scale are usually the outcome of poverty due to
famine, revenge, or some financial injustice, and are generally
accompanied by great violence. Till recently the Bhils were
greatly in the hands of money-lenders and raids on the most
usurious of these were of frequent occurrence — papers and
deeds were destroyed, and the money-lender and his family rarely
escaped very rough treatment, sometimes even losing their
lives. The ' naik ' or headman usually takes an active part in the
commission of crime. He generally manages to form friendship
with some influential Gujars, Rajputs, Rohillas, or patils in the
neighbouring villages. These men, not infrequently to pay off
a grudge, and friendly liquor-vendors give him information about
the houses in different villages that are worth looting and supply
the gang with food and drink and in every way try to assist and
46 CRIMINAL (MASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY
shield it. Criminal gangs usually "camp on a hill within five or
six miles of villages where they have local friends. They
generally have their wives or mistresses with them to cook their
meals, but when kept on the move or driven to a strange
locality they are dependent on such local assistance as
they can secure for their supplies. At such times they are very
watchful and shift their ground at short intervals. Away from
the protection of local friends the gang finds it difficult to keep
its whereabouts secret. Piessed for food it is often marked down,
surrounded and captured. Bhils, unless proclaimed outlaws,
rarely show fight. When they do, their shooting is very inferior,
and they generally throw away their arms and bolt rather than
come to close quarters. When attacked they resist with much
pluck up to a certain point, and when pursued, their activity,
endurance and knowledge of the hills and jungle-paths makes
it almost impossible to overtake them.
A clue to their whereabouts is usually obtained through
' informers ' of their own caste, or by watching the houses of
their relatives whom they visit. A gang can often be traced by
carefully watching the liquor shops in the neighbourhood of the
locality in which it is suspected to be operating. The liquor for
the daily consumption of the gang is conveyed to it either by
those harbouring it or by one or two of their trusted servants,
generally women. A ' farari ' Bhil should always be looked
for at a wedding feast. Women, especially young women going
to and coming from the jungles, are worth watching, as the love
affairs of the Bhils are numerous, and the dashing young
' farari ' is a persona grata among the Bhil women, who often
leave their husbands and homes for his sake. They also act as
scouts and informers to the gang and very expert they are at
this work.
Bhils have no prejudice against, admitting men of other
castes to their gangs or joining others in the commission of
crime.
Bhils on dacoity bent do not confine their attentions to a
single house but will attack and plunder two or three houses in
the same lane or street. While committing crime they often
use Hindustani words, and address each other as ' fouzdar,'
' jemadar/ etc. In committing burglary the Bhil gnu-rally
effects entrance either by boring a hole near the door-frame
(' bagli ' fashion) or in the wall of the house ('rumali'
fashion). He escapes with any thing, no matter how
trifling, on which he can lay hands. Boxes are usually carried
off before being rifled.
BHII.S. 47
In Gujerat, Bhil dacoit gangs usually number between ten
and twenty and, as a rule, are armed with bows and arrows,
shields, swords, sticks and sometimes fire-arms. They exploit
roads as a rule, and are not addicted to house dacoity. The gang
prepares itself for action by partaking of liquor. One or two of
the members are posted in trees as look-outs to warn the main
body, which lies in ambush, of the approach of carts and
travellers. At a given signal the gang rushes out of hiding
and proceeds to first stone and afterwards attack at close
quarters the quarry. Bullocks are unyoked, carts ransacked
and individuals belaboured to make them disgorge their valu-
ables. Any resistance is overcome by rough treatment. The
carts and the persons of inmates and travellers having been
thoroughly searched, the gang decamps, perhaps driving off
the bullocks belonging to the unfortunate wayfarers.
In lifting cattle out grazing in the jungles in charge of cattle-
herds, usually children, the latter are seized and blindfolded,
sometimes even tied hand and foot, while their animals are
driven off. The time selected for this is usually shortly before
noon or sunset when the cattle are more or less grouped
together for watering purposes.
The Gujerat Bhil is not an expert burglar ; house-breaking
and thefts are, therefore, usually confined to isolated kutcha
built houses which present no difficulty to break into and
involve no great risks.
In Khandesh and the Deccan on criminal expeditions, Bhils
mostly carry bows and arrows which
stock in trade instruments tney make at home and are experts in
and weapons used in commit- . J „-,, , , i • i
ting crime. using. I hey also arm themselves with
sticks, slings, swords (real or sham),
spears, and fire-arms when obtainable. Ladders are not used.
Heavy hatchets are carried for breaking through doors.
In the Panch Mahals and the Rewa Kantha Agency every
Bhil goes about with his bow and quiver of arrows, exhibit
29 of the Bombay District Police Museum (vide Plate I).
They are good shots, being trained to the use of the weapon
from childhood. In drunken brawls they frequently use their
bows and arrows with fatal effect on each other. When
committing highway robbery and other serious crime in gangs
they also arm themselves with shields, swords, sticks, stones
and sometimes fire-arms.
The Khandesh and Deccan Bhil's house-breaking imple-
ments are, an iron rod sharpened at one end like a crowbar, or
48 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PKKSIDF-'.NC \.
a large iron nail (kanthoda) about nine inches long and some-
times fitted with a wooden handle. The latter is ostensibly kept
for dislodging crabs etc.
The Gujerat Bhil has no special instrument for house-
breaking but relies on his ordinary agricultural implements.
His Palanpur brother is said to use the khdtariyd^ exhibit 46
of the Bombay District Police Museum (vide Plate IV)
and to be a more finished burglar.
Usually the ' naik ' or leader of the gang receives two shares
of the spoil and the rest of the parti-
and means of conceal- cipators share alike in the division.
ing or disposing of stolen pro- „* -111
perty. But occasionally there is no regular
division of booty ; every man keeps
what he gets. Property is usually buried or concealed at first
and afterwards disposed of with some among their many
'receivers' who are either Gujars, Rajputs, Thakurs, village
officials, villagers or liquor-vendors.
The Bhil when flush of money is very liberal and pays
without stint for any help he receives. A rupee for a b ijri bread
has often been given and there are instances on record where
a silver kada (a wristlet) worth Rs. 15 changed hands for three
bottles of country liquor, and a good necklace, part of loot, was
given by a thirsty Bhil to a shoe-maker for information regard-
ing the whereabouts of water.
Bhils are not original or clever at hiding their stolen
property; they conceal it as a rule in rubbish heaps or stacks,
their roofs and generally where it is easy to find. In searching
a Bhil hut, particular attention should be paid to fire-places,
the floor beneath them, the ground under grinding-stones and
receptacles for storing grain. Rafters and roofs should also be
carefully searched. If there is a woman in the gang, she is
sometimes given at once a few of the stolen ornaments to wear.
Stolen cattle are diposed of at distant markets and some-
times to relations, connections or friends, by whom the animal's
appearance is sometimes changed by trimming horns, branding
or other devices.
A Bijapur Chhapparband.
Chhappar bands.
Chhapparbands are known also as Fakir coiners. In a
report submitted to Government in the
*orCSLnaI C'aSS year 1850 it is stated that among
themselves Chhapparbands are known
as ' Bhadoos ' and up-country as ' Khulsooryas/ i. e., false
coiners. The community is divided into two classes, ' Bara-
gunde ' and ' Chhqgunde.' The former pay twelve ' hoons '
(a gold coin worth about four rupees) and the latter six to the
guardians of a bride before they can secure her hand. The
two classes dine together but do not intermarry.
In a report on Chhapparbands, submitted in 1891 to the
Commissioner of the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, the
Inspector General of Police, Hyderabad Assigned Districts,
makes mention of a tribe called Rends or Beluchis found in
the Muzuffarnagger District of the United Provinces who
have the same characteristics as the Chhapparband Fakirs
and who seem to follow much the same calling. He states he
has not been able to connect the two tribes beyond ascertaining
that the Chhapparbands from the south and the Rends from
the north seem both to travel as far as Ajmere in pursuit of
their trade of passing counterfeit coin. These Rends, like
the Chhapparbands, affix ' Shah ' to their ordinary names and
absent themselves from their homes for long periods. The
above information is quoted merely to prevent the two tribes
being confused and the members of the one mistaken for
those of the other.
Chhapparbands are Sheik Mahomedans and originally
H.lbitat belonged to the Panjab, more espe-
cially the country surrounding Delhi.
Their present habitat and head-quarters are the Muddebihal
and Bagevadi talukas of the Bijapur District of the Bombay
Presidency. There are possibly a few isolated Chhapparbands
residing here and there in other districts of the Bombay Presi-
dency, Berars, Central Provinces and His Highness the
Nizam's Territory. It is only the Bijapur Chhapparband how-
ever who is the inveterate coiner and consequently the subject
of these notes.
50 CRIMINAL CLASSES, MOMI5AY PRKSIDKNTY.
The Chhapparband, like the Bhampta, travels* all over
_ , . . . India. He has been encountered
Sphere of activity and wan- . .-, ,
dcring proclivities. CVCn in Ceylon.
The figures returned by the Bombay Presidency census of
1901 give the obviously incorrect total
of 7 females and no males in the
Bombay Presidency. The explanation
lies probably in the fact that all but the 7 honest females
who were enumerated, returned themselves as Mahomedans.
In a report by the District Superintendent of Police, Bijapur,
in 1893, the population was shown as follows:—
Bagevadi taluka ... 1,626
Muddebihal taluka ... 856
Enquiries instituted by the Criminal Investigation Branch
of the Bombay Presidency towards the end of the year 1902
showed that there were then 734 adult males, 826 females and
1,025 Chhapparband children, making a total of 2,585.
The following is a list of villages in the Bagevadi and
Muddebihal talukas of the Bijapur District in which Chhap-
parbands reside : —
In Biigevddi taluka.
Abbihal. Jaywadgi.
Akuhvadi. Jiralbhanvi.
Agasbal. Kanil.
Ambalnoor. Kankal.
Angadgeri. Karibantnal.
Areshankar. Kowlgee.
Baloti. Kirsal
Basvantpur Hatti Kodganoor.
Byalyal. Majre Jain a poor.
Bidnal. Mannur.
Byakod. Masuti.
Chiraldini. Muddapur.
Gani. Mukarlihal.
Gonal. Nagur.
Gudadinni. Nagvad.
Halihal. Narsangi.
Hanchinal. Onibhanvi.
Hangargi. Kijnal.
Hebbal. Sanknal.
(Hunsbyal) Nidgundi. Shikalwadi.
(Hunshyal) Ili|)j)ar^i. Salvailsji.
Iwangi. I ''1.^'
CHHAPPAR BANDS. 5!
In Mnddebihdl taluka.
A'lkoppar. Kasinkunti.
Balabatti. Kopp.
Balawat. Masooti.
Budihal. Padiknoor.
Gudadini. Rudagi.
Gund-karjagi. Shiddapur.
Handergal. Tarnal.
Hullur. Wadwadgi.
Kalagi. Yerzari.
Kandagnoor.
Chhapparbands, as a rule, travel in gangs, large numbers
leaving their homes when the touring
its, appearance, dr ^^ ^^ ^^ generally CQm.
mences a little after and ends a little
before, the Mohurrum festival. Only those males who by
reason of age, infirmity or illness are incapable of undertaking
long and arduous journeys remain .behind. The paying nature
of the business may be gathered from the fact that during
the season for these expeditions scarcely a male Chhappar-
band used to be found at home. Now-a-days special efforts
have been made to settle them and check their movements,
with the result that they are unable to slip away unbeknown to
the authorities in the way they used to. Chhapparbands,
especially their females, are fairly clean in their dress and
habits. The ordinary costume of the male consists of a
pairan or shirt, a loosely-folded turban and a cthoti such
as is usually worn by Hindus. The females wear much
the same garments as do Hindu females of the district they
live in. The choli or bodice is worn either in the Deccan
or, in case of young girls, the up-country fashion. Ornaments,
both Mahomedan and Hindu, are indiscriminately worn.
Women other than widows invariably wear a silver ring in the
left nostril and bear on the whole a good reputation.
Beyond that the Chhapparband's features conform to the
poor Mahomedan type, there, is nothing distinguishing about
his physiognomy. As a rule he is slim and wiry and an
excellent walker, and it is astonishing the number of miles the
oldest member of a gang can and will travel to throw persons
off their track. Though he is not above taking alms at the
hands of a stranger, he will decline the hospitable offer of a
roof of even a co-religionist, preferring the outskirts of the
village where he and his party will camp by a well, river, tank
or in a garden or some disused and secluded shrine.
52 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
The Chhapparband drinks freely and openly in his caste.
When on tour (fer'i) he keeps up the appearance of a holy man
and few would suspect the harmless fakir to be a clever rogue,
swindler and counterfeiter in disguise. Travelling long dis-
tances on foot or by rail, as circumstances permit, and begging
as he goes, he completely disarms suspicion.
It may not be out of place here to mention how Chhappar-
bands make provision for the maintenance of their wives and
children when leaving home on their expeditions. Some return
within the year, others who have the misfortune to be caught
and convicted may not return for years. Having a very care-
ful regard for all such exigencies, the head of the household,
before he leaves his village, makes adequate provision for his
family in one of the following ways —
(a) If he is well enough off, he leaves them with cash sufficient
to last for several months, sometimes even for one or two years.
(£) He consigns his family to the care of the village sdwkar
or pdtil, who in return gets double the amount spent on them
during his absence.
(c] Amongst a party of six or eight there is usually one rich
enough to provide, not only for his own family, but for those of
others who are prepared to attach themselves to the party and
make and utter counterfeit coins for his benefit during the
expedition. By virtue of this bondage the poorer Chhappar-
band works for the richer till such time as he liquidates his
debt and then only is he allowed to ply to his own advantage.
The return of Chhapparbands from an expedition is marked
by festivities and dissipation, slaughtering of goats and offer-
ings to the local pir and by the gift of presents to accom-
modating village authorities. Each family, it is believed, pays
a small annual subsidy to the village authorities.
Chhapparbands are said to occasionally visit the shrine of
Zinda Shah Madar situated on the river Bori near the village
of Dudni in the Akalkot State. The mujaivar at this shrine,
who is honoured with the title of Fakirs' Guru or preceptor, is
held in reverence by Chhapparbands as a class.
They speak a dialect of their own akin to Hindustani of the
Dialect and peculiarities eastern part of India with certain
i speerh. peculiarities, for instance, —
tu (thou) is corrupted into te /
ti'ra (thy, thine) into torn .-
nn'ra (my, mine) into mora.
CHHAPPARBANDS.
53
They are quick at picking up the language of the district
in which they temporarily reside, and speak ordinary Hindu-
stani and Kanarese. The latter is a convenient medium for
intercommunication up-country, in the presence of strangers
and of those by whom they do not wish to be understood.
Like other wandering criminal classes, Chhapparbands
have a jargon of their own. The fol-
lowing are some of the slang expres-
Slang used.
sions they use : —
Slang.
khaga or khagdA
baitnara or baithnewalla .
bhondar
nandva
handiwal or hanthilawalla
londia
kutta-khaprala
raynk or hera
kham or pit
ghotari or mandal
pheri or ghoti
agoo
karcha
gutara
bh:itu
numtah or kajwa
sees or rang
kain
dumda
chibda
buthani
pharshi
baigi
thiari
kham bhurlo
thiara
niar
gimalo
towagaya
tabbajo
jodi awati hai
ooprelhogaya, tekolin, or
dharlisai.
khaprala anke heragaya ...
naroti
tipi
rappatni
Meaning.
>• leader of the gang.
utterer of false coins.
a boy.
a boy who usually accompanies a gang.
a girl.
a sepoy.
flesh.
a mould.
a party on tour.
expedition.
a counterfeit rupee.
liquor.
the well-to-do Chhapparband who pro-
vides for the families of poorer Chhap-
parbands.
Chapparband.
a stranger.
lead.
tin.
lot of gold.
an official.
woman.
slang.
disguise.
a genuine rupee.
commence counterfeiting.
copper money.
rendezvous.
hide.
eluded the police.
run away.
our companions are coming.
arrested.
police suspect us.
ladle.
bread.
a sharp knife for milling.
54 CRIMINAL ( l.ASSKS, BOMBAY PKKSIDKNCY.
Slang. Meaning.
niika deo ... conceal it.
badhimkanilay . hide rupees in rectum.
k( nsa be cholemut ... say nothing.
Ix nah . .. gold,
jinibole ... do not give out.
donk ... house,
niarbuddi ... proceed to rendezvous,
renda ... road.
pana ... signs and marks made on the road,
nana ... village,
navdi ... police chowki.
chimti ... clay used for moulds,
kulkuli ... toddy.
chibda £ya hai tumri tumri an official (police) has come, beware
jaga hushar raho. everywhere.
Chhapparbands leave information to their caste fellows be-
hind of the road they have taken, by making at crossings a heap
of mud or earth measuring about a foot long, six inches broad,
and six inches high and drawing an arrow in front of it showing
the direction taken. Three such heaps are made at intervals ol
a hundred yards or so to provide against accident to any one
of them. Or, heaps of earth are made on the edge of the road
by dragging the foot sideways along the ground. The broad
mark, culminating in a heap, thus made, points to the road
along which the Chhapparbands may be looked for. Sometimes
in lieu of these signs a line with a curl at one end is drawn in
the dust on the side of the road followed, alternative routes
being closed by a cross. The straight end of the line indi-
cates the route taken. Or again, a few twigs may be placed
under a stone on the side of a road, the broken stalks pointing
the direction followed. Two lines, each curled at one end,
drawn in the dust on a road thus
indicate to members detached from a gang the neighbourhood
in which they should cast about to find their comrades.
Chhapparbands ostensibly live by begging ; some cul-
tivate lands and a few are village
Ostensible means of live- „- i i rv-
lihood. watchmen. In Bijapur one or two are
to be found in the ranks of the subor-
dinate Forest and Postal services. The contents of an ordin.m
Chhapparband's house are certainly not consistent with the nil
repeated story that the men depend on public charily while the
women toil hard in the fields (;U most three nxmths'out of the
twelve) and make mats and quilts.
CHHAPPARBANDS. 55
The Chhapparband will always be found dressed as a
fakir with the characteristic tongs
and JMi (bag for alms) and tishta
(beggar's bowl) and he acts the part
to perfection. When arrested, he exhibits no fear but protests
that he is a poor Maddr'i fakir who chants for alms or catches
and trains young bears. If two or more are arrested together
they will usually give different accounts of themselves and
their movements. The women, who never accompany their
husbands, when questioned, have many and varied explana-
tions to offer as to the absence of their bread-winners.
Each member of a gang leaves his village in his every-day
garb, but on reaching a rendezvous he transforms himself into
a typical mendicant, rigge'd out in all the essentials of a fakir,
catching the sawdl (the sing-song manner of beggars) per-
fectly. He wears beads and professes to follow firs or saints,
perhaps at Gulbarga, perhaps at Ajmere, or in the Himalayas,
according to circumstances. When questioned he will always
give a false name and address, but generally names which
are somewhat similar to the real ones. The father's name
often takes the place of his own, but the suffix 'Shah' is invari-
ably adhered to. A Chhapparband seldom shaves his beard,
which, scraggy and lank, combined with a puny voice and the
whining patter of the mendicant of the East, enables him to
join that large fraternity and thus pass unnoticed, till a slip in
the sleight-of-hand, to which he always has recourse when
uttering false coins, exposes him. A Chhapparband thus caught,
a sharp look-out should be kept and quick search made so that
the remainder of the gang do not make themselves scarce,
for it is a noteworthy fact that Chhapparbands always work
and travel in gangs.
Nominal rolls and finger impressions of, as far as possible,
all male members of this class have been and are being pre-
pared and taken. This will admit of their being identified
with greater facility than heretofore when found away from
their homes. Frequent references are made from all parts of
India to the District Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, regard-
ing suspected Chhapparbands, the reference usually taking the
form of a request to state whether a man giving a particular
name resides in the Bijapur District. As such references do
not admit of satisfactory replies, it should be noted that the
quickest and best way of getting the information required is to
send photographs (6 copies) of the suspected persons to the
56 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
District Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, and finger slips to
the F'inger Print Bureau, Poona.
A Chhapparband rarely if ever adopts the disguise, speech
or actions of a Hindu beggar.
The Chhapparband is first and foremost a manufacturer
and utterer of cast counterfeit coin,
Criir.e to which addicted. , . J 11 *i
both rupees and smaller silver coins.
Through all the years that he has been known as a coiner,
dating back to General Harvey's account of 1852, and perhaps
even earlier, he has neither improved in his methods nor
attempted systematically to take up any more paying form of
crime. Despite this characteristic, it must not be supposed
that the Chhapparband with his criminal instincts is above
purloining small articles when the opportunity offers. That
he occasionally does so there are instances on record to show.
A casual inspection of the hut of a Chhapparband woman in the
Bijapur District disclosed amongst other household effects no
fewer than thirteen knives of different shapes and sizes, from an
ordinary table knife to a Nepaulese chopper. There were
brass pots, unmistakably Bengali, a pair of brand new shoes
worn by people in the south of Mysore, and no less than
two gunny bags full of wearing apparel, from the ra^s worn by a
fakir of an inferior order, to the silk bodices worn by well-to-do
Hindu women.
They are also addicted to pony lifting and getting hold,
under suspicious circumstances, of children, whom they bring
up and eventually adopt as their own. If taxed however,
about the latter, they will say they obtained the child in return
for some pecuniary consideration. They also entice here and
there destitute women to follow them and accompany them to
their homes. There is again evidence on record of Chhappar-
bands having taken to swindling by means of some of tin-
better known ' confidence ' tricks. Their modus operandi in
this direction is well described in the following extract from
the Supplement to the Madras Police Gazette dated I2th
January 1907 : —
" Two of the convicts related how that, accessory to their usual
operations, they occasionally make a good haul in the large cities of
Bengal and the other provinces to the north of Madras. Half a do/en
of them dress rather expensively — their disguise 2& fakirs being given
up for the time being. Two bags identical in appearam e art-
prepared. In one are placed a number of discs of lead, the diameter
of a sovereign, and in the other a few seeds of black-grain or the like.
Approaching a man who sells sovereigns, a couple of them open a
CHHAPPARBANDS. 57
bargain for a number equal to the discs in one of the bags. The
sovereigns are counted and put into the bag containing the seeds.
Just at the moment for payment a third man turns up and suggests
consulting their master. The bag containing the sovereigns (and
the seeds) is left with the dealer. Presently they return and propose
a lower rate, whereupon the dealer closes the bargain. They demand
return of the bag. The sovereigns are poured out, and if the seeds
fall on the sovereigns unnoticed by the dealer, they conclude that he
is a person who may be duped. A couple more of them turn up and
profess to have brought an offer of better terms from their master
and the bag is again refilled with the sovereigns. Another Chhappar-
band, apparently unknown to the others, now begins to make a
fresh bargain for the sovereigns. The men who opened the first
bargain manage to substitute the bag of leaden discs for the bag of
sovereigns and go away asking the dealer to keep it until they return
with the final decision of their master. Then they make themselves
scarce.
"Another of their tricks is thus described. They pose as dealers
in gold, selling a little below the market price. In one of these two
bags (as before) they put counterfeit rupees ; the other is empty.
Some twenty tolas of gold are also required for this swindle. The
dealer, who is approached, is generally a receiver of stolen property.
They meet in an out-of-the-way place and fix on a price correspond-
ing to the number of counterfeits in the bag. The dealer counts
out his rupees, which are put into the second bag, and they hand over
to him the gold. One of the gang, who has been keeping in the
background, turns up at the psychological moment and makes a fuss
threatening exposure. In the excitement and movement which
follow they change the bags, giving the dealer a bag of counterfeits
which he thinks are his own rupees returned, and get back their gold."
Chhapparbands when on their expeditions usually proceed
in groups of from three to ten, though
Methods employed in com- • • • , , '
mitting crime, and distinguish- as many as thirty in a single gang have
ing characteristics likely to been known. When leaving home they
afford a clue. • i i .,1 •
are unaccompanied by their women.
After waiting for the manifestation of some favourable
omen, Chhapparbands take their departure surreptitiously, in
ones and twos, striking across country, generally on foot but
at times by rail, buying short-distance tickets in order to avoid
suspicion. They return in the same way, alighting at different-
places two or three stations away from the one nearest their
villages.
One of them, usually an old and experienced hand, is
appointed leader and is called ' khagda.' His orders are impli-
citly obeyed. He receives a larger share of the earnings
than any of the others. There is also a boy attached to every
gang and he is called ' handiwal.' It is his duty to do odd
58 CRIMINAL C I.ASSKS, BOMBAY PR KSl DKNCY.
jobs, such as bringing water, tending any animals belonging to
the gang, assisting in cooking and serving, as a look-out, spy
and so on. Chhapparbands carry their goods and chattels
themselves but occasionally pick up or lift ponies and use them
as pack animals, or for riding. The gang generally encamps
on high ground commanding a good view all round and close
to water, such as the bun dot a tank or the bank of a river.
A halting place in the proximity of water is preferred as it
affords a ready means for effectually getting rid of false rupees,
moulds etc. in case the camp is raided. The ' khagda ' and the
boy do not pass counterfeits. This is the work of the others
who are called ' bhondars.' The ' khagda ' does the cooking,
always remains at the halting place and when on the march
carries the earnings of the gang, also the moulds, clay, and the
metal (never the false rupees). When the gang moves on,
the ' khagda ' generally rides a pony and is accompanied by
the boy. The ' bhondars ' perform the journey by different
routes, do business in villages on the road, and foregather at
the new halting place, agreed upon beforehand, in due course.
When the leader reaches the new halting ground, his first care
is to bury the cash, usually close by, and to either bury the
moulds too or hide them in or near grass, bushes, hollow trees
or the like, some little distance away. But the encampments
of suspected Chhapparbands require careful searching too for
incriminating articles such as moulds and counterfeits have
been found buried there, even under their bedding. When the
' bhondars ' arrive they also conceal the false coin in a similar
manner. ' Bhondars,' when itinerating as described above, put
up in old tombs, dharamsdlds frequented by fakirs, or fakirs
makfins, etc., on the outskirts of villages.
Notwithstanding their numbers and the freedom with
which they move about the country plying their trade in their
characteristic manner, they have an excellent system of their
own by means of which they scatter in small groups and
regularly exploit the country without overlapping or laying
themselves open to the suspicion of being wandering crimi-
nals associated with one another.
Once in disguise and beyond the sphere of recognition, the
Chhapparband plies his calling busily and boldly. He manu-
factures his counterfeits as he moves along, his modus
operandi being very simple and inexpensive, the materials
obtainable almost everywhere. Gopichandan and balaph <>r
any other sticky clay finely powdered and sifted, is mixed with
CHHAPPARBANDS. 59
a little water and reduced to the required consistency. The
composition is then divided into two discs, a good rupee is
oiled a little and placed between them, and the clay is pressed
and moulded round the coin to the depth of about a quarter of
an inch. The mould, which is about the size of a watch, is
pressed and manipulated for some time, and a mark is made
across the edge of it to ensure the two halves being correctly
brought together afterwards. It is then severed longitudinally
so as to enable the good rupee to be removed, a small channel
to receive the molten metal is cut, and the mould, but for hard-
ening and finishing touches, is complete. It is now dried in
ashes and then wrapped in several layers of rag which are then
set fire to and thus the clay is baked till hard and ready for use.
The mould or moulds when about to be used are set on their
.edges in a row in wet cow-dung, the channels upwards, in a
position to receive the molten metal which is then poured in.
The manufacture of counterfeits is carried out during the
day in some out-of-the-way place and with much secrecy of
course, a strict watch being kept against detection. As
Chhapparbands are not usually suspicious of natives who are
obviously going to bathe or worship, the best way to catch
them red-handed is for detectives to get themselves up
accordingly.
The metal used is a mixture of copper or kdsa and tin ; a
spoon or ladle suffices for melting it, and after it is poured into
the mould, the counterfeit, but for some finishing touches in
respect to trimming, milling and polishing, is ready. The coin
at its best is but a crude specimen of rough workmanship and
finish, defective in every respect and not calculated to deceive
any but simple village folk. The milling in the cast shows but
faintly and is improved upon by a file or a knife. The counter-
feits are sometimes blackened to make them appear old. One
mould is capable of being used over and over again according
to the care with which it is made and the consistency and
fineness of the clay used. An ordinary mould is capable of turn-
ing out ten to twenty rupees ; a good one of turning out fifty or
even more, and some last during the whole of a tour. Having
thus manufactured a few spurious coins wanting in finish, ring,
colour, hardness and weight, the Chhapparband generally
selects as his victim some woman who, induced by a promise
of a small commission, gives a rupee in exchange' for coppers.
Ere the bargain is concluded the pseudo fakir } with \\rll
simulated surprise, discovers that the rupee given him is not
60 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
current in his country. He takes his coppers back and returns,
substituting by sleight-of-hand, a counterfeit for the genuine
coin he received.
Other methods for passing counterfeits areas follow: —
They visit markets with some articles for sale. After a bargain
is struck and money has passed, they will cancel the agree-
ment, return the money, substituting some of their spurious
coins by sleight-of-hand. Or, they enter shops and make
purchases displaying genuine rupees at first, substituting false
ones at the time of payment. They also exchange counter-
feits for genuine coins of other than British currencies and,
where the circumstances appear favourable, even tender
counterfeits in payment for small purchases or to obtain
change.
They frequent fairs and all large gatherings to pursue their*
favourite avocation. A gang has been known to earn nearly two
thousand rupees in the course of one tour.
When the Chhapparband finds himself in danger of being
exposed, he suspends business, destroys all the ready-made
moulds and other indications of his real avocation, and makes
himself scarce.
Some of the following articles constitute his stock-in-trade :
a pair of scissors, a broad-bladed knife,
Stock-in-trade instruments tongs, pincers, a spoon or ladle,
and weapons used in commit- ,r . r.r ,.
ting crime. earthen bowl or pot, a hie, some needles
concealed perhaps in a small bamboo
tube, some linseed oil, gum, antimony, some of the metal and
earth or powder used for counterfeiting, a small tin containing
black powder, a small grinding-stone, a wooden blow pipe,
right angle tube, touchstone, some mercury, lead, pewter,
sulphur, powdered charcoal, a piece of soft skin, some fine dust
or salt for polishing, a few ' Hali Sicca ' or ' Rajshahi' coins
for duping people, and, if taken by surprise or unawares, Un-
characteristic mould already described.
Chhapparbands have been known to carry the clay re-
quisite for the making of the moulds, fashioned in the shape
of a miniature mahdl or a durgah, exhibit 23 in the Bombay
District Police Museum, vide Plate II and sometimes
in the form of beads worn round the neck. If the clay for
their moulds happens to be in a powdered form, they generally
try to explain it away by describing it as earth from sonic
sacred shrine. On the move, coining implements and the
CHHAPPARBANDS. 6 1
materials for the manufacture of counterfeits are usually carried
in a leather bag.
When a gang of Chhapparbands is arrested, all should be
handcuffed at once before any search
Ways and means of conceal- js macle, and each man should be
ing or disposing of incnminat- , . , r ,
ing articles. made to sit apart. It such precau-
tions are not taken, one of the gang
will start a sham quarrel, create a disturbance and in the
confusion moulds and counterfeits are thrown away or hidden.
While travelling, the Chhapparband very cleverly conceals his
cash and counterfeits in his langoti. The front flap of this
garment, the part that hangs down, is cunningly provided with
a pocket. When a man is searched, he releases his langoti
from the back and allows it to hang down in front, and the
pocket is thus liable to escape notice. In searching a
Chhapparband therefore, his langoti should be taken off alto-
gether and the article submitted to a careful and thorough
examination. He has a still more ingenious way of secreting
a surprisingly large number of coins.
An instructive case of this nature lately came to light
when a Chhapparband was arrested on suspicion at Risod in
the Bassim District and on his person being examined by the
Civil Surgeon no less than seven rupees were found concealed
in a cavity in his rectum. The Civil Surgeon was of opinion
that it must have taken some considerable time to form such
a cavity. Medical examination of the persons of Chhappar-
bands is therefore advisable after police search is over. Nor
should the examination of the mouth be overlooked, as
instances in which Chhapparbands have concealed coins
in their mouths are not unknown. If taken by surprise the
Chhapparband will also swallow any counterfeits he may have
on his person. In suspicious cases therefore a purgative
should be administered and precautions taken to prevent the
culprit from removing from his faeces coins passed and replac-
ing them in his rectum, a trick they are apt to attempt.
As soon as possible the proceeds of their handiwork is
converted into gold coins and lately a case came to light in
Hoshangabad where as many as sixteen gold nwhnrs were
discovered secreted in the rectum, in the manner above
described.
Chhapparbands make free use of the post office to send
the proceeds of their business to their homes, and usually
62 (KI.MINA! CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY
select places where they have not been operating from which
to despatch their ill-gotten gains. The fulfils of the villages
inhabited by these ("hhapparbaiuls befriend and assist them
by misleading the police and in other ways. There is an
instance on record of a Chhapparband remitting all his gains
to his family through a /></7/7\v wife.
Another method of disposing of their earnings is to send
these in charge of some selected members of the gang to
some suitable place where they are converted into gold and
taken home by one or two trusted individuals. The unex-
pected return home out of season of Chhapparbands is a sure
indication of the arrival of a part of the spoil of some gang.
Kaikadis of the Southern Maratha Country.
Kaikadis.
In the Deccan, a sub-division of the Kaikadi class, the
profession followed or its criminal
Name of criminal class tendencies, are indicated by the addi-
tion of a prefix. Thus we have : —
(1) Chor Kaikadis, also known as Dontle" Dontalmare"
and, by reason of some of the class being wanderers, Feriste.
(2) Gaon Kaikadis, also known as Gram, Bootee and
Topjia Kaikadis. Some belonging to this sub-division, by
reason of being musicians, are called Vajantri, Bajantri, or
Sanadi Kaikadis and in some parts style themselves Grahast
(gentlemen) Kaikadis, because they are settled.
(3) Kuchadi Kaikadis or Kunchiwale, who make brushes
for weavers.
(4) Makadvale Kaikadis, who train monkeys and are akin
to No. (3) above.
(5) Kooth Kaikadis, apparently an offshoot of No. (4), as
' kooth ' means monkey. These are also known as Lalbazar-
vale or Gansur.
(6) Telingana Kaikadis (wandering Korchas, Korvas and
Pamlors from the Carnatic and the Madras Presidency, are
known in the Deccan as Telingana or Kamati Kaikadis).
In the Carnatic Districts of this Presidency the Korwas
or Korchas are divided into the following main sub-divisions :
(1) Korwas, known also as Kail (thief) Korwas,
(2) Kaddi or Agadi Korwas (who live in grass or reed
huts),
(3) Kunchi Korwas (who make weaver's brushes),
(4) Korchas,
(5) Pamlors,
(6) Bajantri, Sanadi or Oor Korwas,
and are the Deccan Kaikadis' prototype.
Kach sub-division is again divided into four clans or goths,
namely : —
(i) Sathpadi,
64 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
(2) Melpadi,
(3) Kavadi,
(4) Mendragutti.
In the Bombay Presidency, Kaikadis (in which class for
the purpose of this note are included
the Korwas, Pamlors and Korchas
of the Carnatic) are to be found more or less in all the
Districts and States of the Deccan and the Southern Maratha
Country. They are numerous too in parts of His Highness
the Nizam's Territory, of Madras, Mysore, the Berars and
Central Provinces.
So far as this Presidency is concerned, the Districts and
States mentioned above embrace the
Sphere of activity and wan- fi^ Qf operations of this highly
denng proclivities. . . r . . ° ,J
criminal class. As a rule the area in
which a Kaikadi gang operates, extends to about thirty miles
radius from its encampment, but with the prospect of a good
haul a gang will travel any distance and even by rail, till not
unfrequently a hundred miles or more separates the scene of
a dacoity from the encampment of the gang.
Kaikadis will seldom attack a village near the one in the
limits of which they are encamped. If during their stay
they mark down a promising house, in or near the village
they are encamped at, they will remove some thirty or forty
miles off, and after the lapse of a month or so, raid the house.
They are restless to a degree, and gangs will wander
about over a very extensive area. For instance, Kaikadis
who are known to have lived and committed crime in the
Poona District have been arrested and convicted in Buldhana
and Akola of the Central Provinces. Similarly, Kaikadis
from Sholapur have been arrested in the Bellary District
and vice versa. Gangs do not, however, wander aimlessly.
Their peregrinations are, generally, determined and guided
by the information they receive from their informers and
accomplices, of whom there are many over the countryside,
and the prospects of crime.
Gaon Kaikadis or Oor Korwas are settled in villages and
do "not wander.
Similarly, many of the Chor Kaikadis and Kail Korwas
have fixed abodes. For the rest, all are wanderers.
KA I KADIS.
The following table gives the strength and distribution
in the Bombay Presi-
Population according to last
census, and distribution.
of this tribe
denCV ' -
District.
Male.
Female.
Total.
Name.
Ahmednagar ...
421
462
883
Kaikadis.
Khandesh
333
362
695
Do.
Nasik
33
39
72
Do.
Poona
689
736
1,425
Do.
Do.
7
12
19
Korwas.
Satara
538
5J7
1.055
Kaikadis.
Sholapur
874
1,004
1,878
Do.
Native States in Central
Division
241
275
5i6
Do.
Do
2
i
3
Korwas.
Belgaum
6
15
21
Kaikadis.
Do.
1,611
1,746
3.357
Korwas.
Do.
i
i
Korchas.
Bijapur
3
4
7
Kaikadis.
Do.
2,173
2,392
4,565
Korwas.
Dharwar
3.236
3.256
6,492
Do.
Do.
35
25
60
Korchas.
Kanara
i
i
Korwas.
Do.
-179
H5
324
Korchas.
Kolaba
58
76
*34
Kaikadis.
Ratnagiri
i
i
2
Do.
Native States in South-
ern Division
426
470
896
Do.
Do.
2,038
1,881
3.919
Korwas.
Total . . .
12,906
I3.4I9
26,325
It is doubtful whether, in respect to a community living
the roving and criminal life of Kaikadis, census figures can
be regarded as more than approximately correct. However,
for the purpose of illustrating the relative distribution of this
tribe among the various districts, the table may prove of some
use.
Mostly, Kaikadis are a nomadic gipsy tribe. With the
exception of a relatively very small
number who have taken to agriculture,
and those who are settled in villages leading an honest life
either as musicians, mat weavers, basket and brush makers
and the like and some of the settled though criminal Chor
Kaikadis or Kail Korwas, Kaikadis travel over the country
B 5*4— 5
Habits, appearance, dress, etc.
66 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY I'k KSIDENCY.
in more or less large gangs accompanied by their women
and children, cows, ponies, bullocks, dogs, donkeys and all
the paraphernalia of a wandering gang and are all addicted
to crime.
In the Bombay Presidency gangs are to be found roving
throughout the Deccan and Carnatic districts. Their habita-
tions are temporarily constructed huts or pals, which with
their other goods and chattels they carry from place to place
on donkeys. They usually encamp some little distance from
villages in the vicinity of water. Their encampments gene-
rally command a good view of the country immediately
round them and are full of pariah dogs, fowls, and donkeys.
In some districts they are more toublesome than in others ;
for instance in Dharwar, Belgaum, Sholapur and Bijapur they
are a source of great anxiety to the police.
Ahmednagar, Khandesh, Satara and the Konkan are
comparatively but little troubled by them. But in parts of
the Konkan Kaikadis have their regularly constituted
' informers ' and occasionally commit raids below ghats.
For purposes of self protection and speedy communication
with one another, of approaching danger, Chor Kaikadis and
Kail Korwas build their huts in the particular quarter of the
village they occupy, very cunningly. They are so built
with reference to each other as to facilitate prompt inter-
communication between the occupants of each.
The Kaikadi's features have nothing sufficiently distinctive
to be noteworthy. An experienced police officer soon
learns to identify him. In build he is of medium height to
tall, sturdy, well developed, and active to a degree ; fleet of
foot, quick of vision and hearing and possessed of great
powers of endurance. Both sexes are dark, dirty, and
untidy in appearance and habits. They eat every kind <»f
flesh except that of the cow, bullock or buffalo ; both sexes
are extremely fond of liquor and toddy and all are very
superstitious.
In the Deccan, the men dress in a dhotar, loin-cloth or
short trousers reaching to the knee, a bdrdbandi or shirt,
a shoulder-cloth, Maratha turban or runu'il and occasionally
carry a red has-ci (a kind of haversack). The women \\var
a bodice and a coarse s<iri which is not drawn back and up
between the legs. They are profusely tattooed.
KAI KADIS. 67
In the Carnatic, Kaddi Korwas and Kunchi Korvvas
usually wear langotis with a girdle or kacha tied round the
waist, a nimal or head-scarf and a dhoti or kambli thrown
over the shoulders. Korchas wear chaddis short drawers)
or knee drawers (cholnas], rarely a dhotar, an angi or shirt,
r u ma I or head-scarf and a hachda (a sheet of coarse cloth)
or kainbli thrown over the upper part of the body. A dhotar
is generally tied round the waist if a langoti is worn. The
Pamlors wear a dhotar, angi, rumdl, shoulder-cloth, and
almost invariably carry a bag or jholi (a species of small
haversack) hanging from the left shoulder. Kail Korwas
and Bajantri Korwas, both men and women, dress much like
the ordinary villagers and are the best clad among Kaikadis
in the Carnatic. Kaddi Korwa and Kunchi Korwa women
dress much like those of the depressed classes and are gene-
rally unkempt and dirty. Korcha women wear the sari
in a peculiar fashion, the inner end being drawn up from left
to right and round the shoulders to cover the breasts. Unlike
other Kaikadi women they do not wear the bodice. They
deck themselves with brass (not glass) bangles, and beads
round the neck in profusion. Pamlor women wear both
bodice and sari, the latter with this peculiarity that the
front pleats are turned first outward at the waist and then
fastened off inwards under the first fold of the sari.
As already remarked, excepting Oor or Bajantri Korwas
and many of the Kail Korwas who are settled in villages, all
are wanderers leading a gipsy life. The following are some
of the distinctive features of their encampments.
Kail Korwas generally encamp under trees near a river
or ndllah, are not accompanied by their women and children
and decamp after the commission of crime. Occasionally
they will be accompanied by one or two young women who
cook for the gang. Such gangs are usually difficult to locate.
Kaddi Korwas live in huts made of reeds or grass, are
accompanied by women and children, asses, goats, dogs, etc.
Their gonis or pack-saddles are invariably lined outside with
leather.
Kunchi Korwas live in huts similar to those of the Kaddi
Korwas and are accompanied by women and children, cows,
bullocks, asses, dogs, monkeys, and pigs. They play the pnngi
(blow-gourd), exhibit 44 of the Bombay District Police Museum,
T'/'r/f Plate I, dance with bells on their ankles* and make their
monkeys perform. Women walk about the town fortune-telling.
68 CRIMINAL (LASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Korchas live in mat huts, are accompanied by their wonu-n
and children, pack-bullocks, donkeys, cows, goats, dogs, etc.
They keep cattle in considerable numbers.
Pamlors live in pals made of kambli (country blanket)
with a coarse cloth cover ; are accompanied by their women
and children, ponies, bullocks, pack-asses, cows, dogs, etc.
Mat screens are generally erected across the open ends of
the pals.
All except Kunchi Korwas, encamp at a distance from
villages.
With the exception of Kail Korwas and Pamlors, between
whom intermarriage is allowed, members of the different sub-
divisions interdine but do not intermarry.
Kaikadi and Korwa women are as hardy as the men and
are expert in spying, warning the men of the approach of
danger, obtaining information by house-to-house visitation
under the pretext of selling baskets, etc., hiding and disposing
of property, misleading and hampering the police when
occasion requires, conveying food for the males and informa-
tion regarding the movements of the police and generally
assisting their men in crime and evading justice. They are
taken into confidence when criminal expeditions are embarked
on and look out for the return of the men, intelligently antici-
pating their requirements.
They are immoral, more particularly in their community.
Often one who is young and attractive is told off to do
spokesman for the gang and even to go further, if need be,
to get round some impressionable or troublesome police or
village officer. In playing the part, many a Kaikadi woman
is an adept.
In the Deccan the headman of a gang is styled ' naik.'
He is selected by lot on his merits as a criminal and pro-
mising leader, and his word is law. In the Sholapur District
women have occasionally risen to influential and responsible
position in the caste, and the wives of ' naiks ' often carry on
the duties of their husbands if the latter for reasons of State
cannot appear in public.
In the Carnatic, the equivalent of the ' naik ' is, among
Kail Korwas, the ' rangaiet ' ; among Pamlors, the ' pulakunja ' ;
among Korchas, the ' bermunsa ' ; and among Kaddi Korwa
women, the ' pulakulsi.'
KAI KADIS. 69
The ' rangaiet ' of the Kail Korwas and the ' pulakunja ' of
the Pamlors are selected on their performances as expert rob-
bers, their capabilities as ready spokesmen and leaders. They
are married to the kangatti, house-breaking implement, exhibit
53 of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate IV,
and a knife, with the usual ceremonies, and thereafter they are
privileged to receive 20 per cent, of all loot besides the
share to which they may be entitled by reason of participating
in the crime.
Kaikadis of this Presidency can, as a rule, speak rude
Marathi or Kanarese, sometimes both.
Dialect and peculiarities in tne Deccan and among themselves
of speech. , . <= _
they speak corrupt 1 elegu or Arvi ;
in the Carnatic, corrupt Arvi, each with certain peculiarities
impossible to describe. Pamlors converse with one another
in corrupt Telegu.
They have a slang of their own and a system of secret
signs is known to be used, but details
as to all the latter are wanting and
their slang is believed to vary with the tracts occupied
by them.
In the Southern Marutha Country the following slang
expressions are used : —
By Kail Korwas.
Slang. Meaning.
koyka . . . constable.
wanchu . . . came.
pansa kollu ... implement for house-breaking.
bet wan i ... axe.
tenwolla . . . chief constable
rangaiet or pulakunja ... naik or leader of gang.
sulla . . . bribery.
kelmul ... rupees.
yalli ••• silver.
sonimu . . . gold.
kunjappa ... sling.
shidramappa ... stick.
kollulleppa ... stone.
yai yai . . pelt with stones.
tigadu . . . stolen property.
yelagu, pingali « ... torch.
nondabacka ... a hole made near the door-frame
(' bagli ' fashion),
mankalu ... a hole made in the wall ('rumali*
fashion).
CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Slang.
mullawadu hullanki
nondabacka
shilakatti or vakhpedu
ullainukh
manaklu
walkamu
yalim-kattelu
yalim
sunimu
nematu
peradu
men gad u
permashwadu
walimudu
\\arsuso
pulakunja
kavkar
sulla
unsu, kottu
unsalu
pingali, yelagu
mulpawadu
gowndlawadu
koyka or nai
\\allakadu
kangath, sillakal, or mull-
kadi,
sojni
koyka wanchu
pakka phohu
worfu
worsuso
By Pamlors.
Meaning.
... constable.
... a hole near the door-frame (' ba;_jli '
fashion).
... house-breaking implement.
knife.
... a hole in the wall (' rumali ' fashion) .
. .. stolen property.
... rupee.
... silver.
... gold.
... receiver or villager.
. . . house.
... chief constable.
... higher authorities.
. .. run, decamp.
. . . they have come.
... naik or leader.
. . . walikar.
... bribery.
... strike.
. . . dacoity, robbery.
... torch.
... liquor-vendor.
... toddy-seller.
By Deccan Kai kadis.
... sepoy, policeman.
. .. chief constable.
implement of house-breaking.
search.
police have come.
an expedition has started.
run or decamp.
they have come.
The following are some of the signs used by Kail Korwas
and Pamlors of the Carnatic :
A guttural sound with the mouth closed, somewhat resem-
bling the cry of a ' night jar,' is a signal to indicate 'the
police are coming.'
Applying the palm of the hand to the mouth, a squawking
noise between the cry of an owl and a jackal is emitted and
is the signal to ' disperse ' or ' run away.'
Kissing the palm of the hand loudly, a squeaking noise
i> made like the cry of a mungoosc when grasped by the neck.
This is a signal to those lagging behind to come up.
K.UKADIS. 71
When hiding in ambush on the look-out for a lucrative
victim among passers-by on a road, to arrest the attention
of an individual and cause him to look round and about with
a view to taking stock of the ornaments on his person and
deciding whether he is worth looting, the hand is put to the
mouth and a sound resembling the cry of an infant is
produced.
To call a man who is at a great distance, the cry of a
' bhaloo ' (solitary jackal) is imitated.
To collect the members of a gang who have dispersed on
approach of danger, the cry of a fox or an owl is imitated.
(This is in use among Deccan Kaikadis too who also whistle
on such occasions.)
To give the danger signal to a burglar who is inside the
house, his confederates outside imitate the mewing of a cat
or the bleating of a goat.
To indicate the direction taken by a gang, to others who
may follow after and come across the deserted encampment,
a spray from the bough of a tree is broken off and is
laid on the ground near the cooking stones, with the broken
end pointing in the direction taken, a foot-print being im-
pressed at right angles to the spray.
Where two or more roads meet, a sign thus —
is made at the crossing, the free end of the line indicating the
direction taken ; or a line is drawn on soft earth with the
whole side of the foot and ended off with a foot-print pointing
to the direction taken. Again, a fresh-cut twig or a leaf with
a stone placed over it is left in a prominent place, the broken
end or stem pointing to the route taken by the gang.
When off roads and striking across fields, forests or hills,
leaves of a tree are strewn at short intervals to notify the
track of the gang to friends following.
When so situated that talking or making any special
sound is undesirable, scratching the forehead with the
fingers is the sign to a confederate to make himself scarce.
In similar circumstances when it is desired to instruct a
confederate to proceed in a certain direction, that direction
is indicated by the elbow, the hand being used to scratch
the head.
/ •*
CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
These are, mat weaving, basket and brush making and
occasionally among the Deccan Kai-
Ostensibie means of live- kadis selling, retouching, and repairing
grinding-stones. Their baskets are
very coarse and in one case in which a number of known crimi-
nals of this tribe in the Deccan professed to be basket makers,
it was proved by experiment that three skilled able-bodied men
working continuously for four hours, were able to produce but
two baskets worth one and a quarter annas. Kaikadis in the
Deccan have here and there enlisted in the police and, except
that they are dirty and slovenly, have given satisfaction.
In the Deccan some make money by prostituting their
females and some do earth-work ; others are musicians, while
some train snakes and monkeys for exhibition and snare and
trap animals. A very few are honest cultivators, while some
occasionally take up land but work it by hired labour or rent
it out and there is one instance reported of a Kaikadi scnvk tu-
rn Sholapur but he is not above suspicion. In parts of India
outside the Bombay Presidency, it is understood some are
gymnasts.
In the Carnatic, some Kail Korwas are cultivators, others
basket and mat makers. Kaddi Korwas go in for mat-making
and their women beg from door to door in villages. Kunchi
Korwas play the pungit beg, exhibit performing monkeys,
snare game, make ropes, small baskets as toys for children,
net bags (skinkas) which are suspended from the roof and
are used by natives for holding pots containing oil, milk etc.
and weaver's brushes. Their women earn money too by
tattooing.
Korchas weave mats, make ropes and shinkas, deal in
cattle and are grain carriers on a small scale between the
inland and coast towns. Pamlors play the pmigi, train snakes
and beg. Vajantri Korwas are settled, cultivate lands, are
village musicians, make baskets of palm leaves, ropes, shinkas,
and brooms.
In the Deccan, Kaikadis often try to pass off as Waddars
and to this end carry spades, their
Disguises adopted and means WOmen discard t he choli (bodice) and
of identification. -11 / r •
the men occasionally wear cnolnas
(short loose knickerbockers). When moving about singly or
in twos and threes they will adopt the role of ' ghungdi
KAIKADIS. 73
tunnewalle ' (repairers of blankets), Marathas, Gosavins or
Jangarns.
Kail Korwas and Pamlors by way of disguise, dress
themselves up and adopt the role of Lingayats and Jangams
(Lingayat priests), fortune tellers, Dassayyas with conch
shell and bell, Waid or Shastri golls (medicine men) and
musicians playing the sanddi (flageolet). So disguised, they
gain admission to houses, temples etc., and pick up informa-
tion They also describe themselves sometimes as shepherds.
The criminal Kaikadi will also pose as belonging to the
harmless kind such as Kunchi or Bajantri Korwas. In the
Deccan, Kaikadis often move about singly or in pairs as
Banias and in the Carnatic as well-to-do Marathas, on the
look-out for a match for a son or a daughter.
Pamlors and Kail Korwas occasionally open zmanigdr's
(petty hardware) shop in some village or town and pass
themselves off as manigdrs in order to prospect the village.
Kail Korwas dress up as wealthy sdwkdrs and visit a town
or village putting up in the houses of concubines in order to
pick up information. Most Kaikadis have many aliases.
A criminal gang is to be marked by its general air of
prosperity, the frequent absence of the able-bodied men and
the life of ease and indolence led.
When, as is often the case, a gang is found to consist
mostly of women and children and feeble old men, it is a pretty
sure indication that the able-bodied males are absent on some
criminal expedition, are evading arrest, or are hiding not far
off in the vicinity of their camp to keep out of the way and
give the encampment an air of innocence. The same applies
in the case of the settled Kaikadis of the criminal type.
If the women and children of such gangs are shadowed,
the whereabouts of the absentee males may be traced, because
the latter are dependent on the former for their food.
Questioned, the women will usually explain that their hus-
bands, sons, brothers etc., are dead.
First and foremost Deccan Kaikadis, Pamlors and Kail
Korwas of the Carnatic are daring and
Crime to which addicted. 1,1 j TM j j v
relentless dacoits. I hey regard dacoity
as a hereditary profession. They also commit burglaries and
occasionally highway robberies. They are further addicted
to passing off brass mohurs and beads for gold ones, and to
74 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
cheating by the ' confidence ' trick, that is, decoying ' receivers'
to a lonely spot under the pretext of offering stolen property
for sale and there relieving them of their cash.
Kaikadi gangs pilfer and rob the neighbouring crops and
lift sheep, goats and fowls which they kill and eat at ontv as
a rule, and all the while they carry on some innocent occupa-
tion as an ostensible means of livelihood.
Kaddi Korwas chiefly pilfer agricultural produce, lift sheep,
open grain-pits, carry off grain and commit highway robbery and
dacoity. Their women beg, and while so employed, are experts
in breaking open and picking locks and entering houses by
day with a view to commit theft. They are incorrigible thieves.
Kunchi Korwas are the least criminal of all wand ering
Kaikadis and do not commit serious offences.
Korchas are expert highway-men, and cattle, sheep and goat
lifters. They rarely join Pamlors or Kail Korwas in the
commission of house dacoity and burglary. Their special form
of crime is dacoity and robbery on high-roads.
Oor Korwas or Bajantri Korwas are reported to be the
least criminal of all Kaikadis. They are settled, and as a class
are law-abiding like the ordinary cultivators.
Kaikadis have been known occasionally to kidnap minors
whom they part with for a consideration to persons requiring
children.
House Dacoity.
Having acquired, perhaps through women who are em-
ployed to collect information and
Methods employed in com- •* . i -i i- i , i
mitting c.ime, and distinguish- prospect buildings under the pretext
ing characteristics likely to of selling baskets and retouching
afford a clue. • j« , i
grinding stones, or been given pro-
mising information by an outsider whom they can trust,
Kaikadis, Pamlors and Kail Korwas will often travel pheno-
menal distances in the pursuit of crime. If information is given
by an outsider, the house is first reconnoitred by a member of
the gang and the day of attack is usually kept secret from tin-
informant. The member of the gang who has acquainted himself
with the position etc. of the house, imparts his knowledge to
his confederates by drawing a rough chart on the ground
showing the exact topography of the house.
Needless to say, Kaikadis take full advantage of the
opportunities afforded them by association with other bad
KA I KADIS. 75
characters in jail to acquire information and plot crime to be
committed on release. ' In their preliminaries, their methods and
the manner of proceeding to and returning from the scene of a
dacoity, whether house or highway, they show no noteworthy
difference from any other criminals and criminal classes. All are
influenced of course by the dictates of self-preservation. For
instance, they travel as far as possible after dark and before
dawn, avoid high-roads and places where police are likely to be
encountered ; if day breaks before they can get home, they will
hide in jungles and lonely places, break up into smaller parties
and so on. They will sometimes engage en route a bullock
cart for part of the journey to and from the scene of a distant
dacoity and to disarm suspicion they will tie a goat to the
tail of the cart to give the impression that the party is on the
way to a fair.
They believe in good and bad omens and of course use
violence when this is necessary, and even when not, for they
are very cruel under excitement. Before starting on a criminal
expedition they feast and indulge in liquor and toddy freely,
and propitiate the goddess Bhavani. In the Carnatic they
worship the hatchet and kangatti. This ceremony is known as
' Gavi.' Similar ceremonies and feasts are indulged in after a
dacoity and of late some in the Deccan have taken to the ' Satya
Narayan ' worship, employ a Brahmin for poojd and distribute
dakshiud (alms) to Brahmins after a successful raid. In order
to attain their object or secure their retreat they will stick at
nothing, not even homicide. In a Kaikadi- ridden area the
perpetration of a dacoity or burglary with exceptional violence
or cruelty may almost certainly be regarded as a Kaikadi
crime. At all events it is a safe working basis to begin on,
particularly if bamboo or fresh-cut sticks have been left behind
by the dacoits, betel-nut has been spat about or shoes -have
been stolen from the house. Between eight and midnight is
the usual time for delivering an attack, though sometimes
dacoities have been committed during the small hours of the
morning.
Before actually committing the dacoity, the members of
the gang divest themselves of their superfluous clothes about
a mile or so from the scene of the offence and there the leader
of the gang gives instructions regarding the disposition of the
members and the tactics to be followed. This spot is gene-
rally selected off the direct route between their encampment
76 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY l'l< I SI 1 )! .NCY
and their objective, and here, after the commission of
offence, some of ihe less valued of the stolen property is some-
times left to mislead the police in respect to the direction in
which the gang has made off home.
The building to be attacked is invariably rushed, the Kai-
kadis clambering over back walls and on to flat roofs, helping
each other up, forcing open doors with an axe (their favourite
weapon) for choice, or with heavy stones. Sometimes thorns
are placed across lanes and approaches, and doors of neigh-
bouring houses are chained from outside to prevent assistance
reaching the inmates of the house attacked.
Like other criminals they conceal their identity as far as
possible when committing crime by baring the body to the
waist, girding up their loins, wrapping up their heads and
faces with cloths, occasionally smearing their faces with
ashes or powder, and by the use of Hindustani words such as
' Kalekhdn ' ; ' Sambhdlo^ Jamaddr ' / batdo ; mdro ; garib lok
mat do ; bandook bharo etc., to scare the more venturesome
away. In the Deccan, occasionally the roughly-made ladder
or climbing pole described further on has been found on the
scene of a dacoity known to be the work of Kaikadis. While
some of the gang swarm on and into the house carrying
torches or smashing open windows and doors with axe, crow-
bar or large stones, others armed with slings, sticks etc., will
keep up a shower of stones on all approaches to the house
and attack any one who may attempt to come to the rescue,
often, in the Deccan, exploding ' potash bombs ' to terrify and
give the impression that the gang is armed with guns. Kai-
kadis, in order to ascertain the place of concealment of money
and valuables in the house, and to prevent any of the inmates
escaping, will sometimes first collect the occupants of the
house and either confine them in a room, the door of which
is chained from outside, or some of the Kaikadis will mount
guard over them while the owner of the house, or some one
whom the Kaikadis know or think is acquainted with the place
where the valuables are kept, is intimidated to make him point
out the spot. Should he refuse, the Kaikadis will proceed
to any length of cruelty to make him do so. While this is
proceeding, some .of the gang break open receptacles and
others relieve the females of the ornaments they are wearing.
When the leader of the gang thinks it is time to be
off, he gives the signal ' Nada ' or ' Khush ' in the Deccan,
' Kalia ' or ' F"ile ' in the Carnatic, and on this all the Kai-
KAIKADIS. 77
kadis clear out of the house and assemble outside, where the
leader, after satisfying himself all are present, gives the word
(' Panjra,' in the Carnatic) and the gang decamps to the ren-
dezvous and thence home, selecting if possible hard ground
so as not to leave tracks. Those carrying the stolen property
walk in the middle and are escorted by the rest of the gang.
Instances are known where Kaikadis have left behind at the
scene of the offence, shoes (probably stolen in some other
case), clothes, etc., of the kind worn by other castes in order
to mystify the police. While retreating from the scene of an
offence, Kaikadis will now and then discard part of the loot
near some village to throw suspicion on it.
If any member of the gang is wounded or secured by any
of the villagers during the commission of a crime or the
retreat, the remainder will spare no efforts and stick at nothing
to rescue or carry him off. If one of the gang is killed during
the resistance or pursuit by villagers or police the others, if
possible, carry the body away with them.
If the encampment is a long way off, jdgrt, ground-nuts,
etc., are openly purchased in some village en route by one
or two of the gang who convey these to the main body in
some secluded spot and after a hasty meal the retreat is con-
tinued.
Kaikadis, as a rule, attack but one house in the village,
one previously marked down, and do not go in for the pro-
miscuous looting of several houses.
In a case on record it appeared that one of the gang had
months before, under a disguise, done a few odd jobs for
the complainant and had afterwards been lost sight of. He
had of course marked down his prey, and his gang, after a
suitable interval, assembled in ones and twos from all points
of the compass at a pre-arranged rendezvous, committed
the crime and made off in like manner. It was more than
suspected that a Brahmin living in the vicinity had worked
hand-in-glove with the gang and this is quite probable as it
is frequently said that this form of aid is resorted to.
The above displays in a striking manner, the great advance
in methods in a comparatively primitive criminal people.
Burglary.
In committing burglary, if entry is to be effected through
a hole made in a flat roof, a piece of stick is sometimes
78 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
placed across the hole, a pagri or rope attached to it and
by this the intruder lowers himself into the house. In break-
ing into a house through a wall the Deccan Kaikadi favours
a hole at the bottom of the wall through which the burglar
enters. While one or more individuals ransack the house, the
others keep watch on all sides.
In the Carnatic, Kaikadis either make a hole near the
door-frame (in the ' bagli ' fashion) called ' nondabacka '
and inserting an arm remove the bolt or unchain the door,
or enter through a hole made at the bottom of the wall
(' rumali ' fashion) called ' manakalu.' Before ingress, a kamhli
is wrapped round the end of a stick which is then inserted to
receive the blow should any inmate of the house have been
aroused and be standing by to attack the intruder.
Pamlors and Kail Korwas are most expert burglars and the
hole they make in a wall is neat and not unnecessarily large.
Kaikadis do not, as a rule, outrage women when commit-
ting crime nor remove the mangal-sutra (necklace), kekat-
kc-iddi'i (hair ornament) or toe-rings from their persons, but
show no tenderness if other valuables have to be removed.
They respect the persons of infants.
Deccan Kaikadis if unsuccessful in the first attempt will
try other houses before giving up the venture.
Highway Dacoity.
Korchasand Kaddi Korwas are experts in this form of crime.
Gangs of varying strength, from five to twenty in number,
will leave their encampments and go long distances for the
purpose. They proceed to some secluded spot favourable for
concealment, two or three miles off the high-road to be exploited.
Here they divest themselves of superfluous clothes etc. and
the ' bermunsa ' leads the gang to a suitable part of the road
as far distant as possible from villages. The party then
breaks up into two or three groups which are disposed .11 short
intervals along the road in ambush, the ' bermunsa ' with a
confederate taking up a position on the road. On the approach
of a cart, tonga or passenger worth looting, the ' benmmsa '
gives the signal and forthwith the different detachments rush
out of hiding and commence operations. If a passenger has
a weapon of offence, the 'bermunsa' attacks him first and
Miaiehes the weapon away. Bullocks or ponies are invariahlv
unyoked and the conveyance tipped up. Passengers an-
KAIKADIS. 79
belaboured, valuables snatched away, or off their persons, and
occasionally they are left tied to trees to prevent their carry-
ing information. The foray over, the gang makes off with
the booty to the spot where their clothes have been left.
Having recovered these, they make off rapidly till a halt
is called, often twenty miles or so from the scene of the
exploit. In this way they will operate on several roads and
commit several dacoities before returning to their encampment
with the booty. Women do not accompany them on such
expeditions.
When committing crime they paint their faces and gird
up their loins and are usually armed with sticks, stones and
slings. They usually operate during the day, less frequently
after dark.
Kaddi Korwa women are expert thieves. The female
leader is designated ' pulakulsi ' and gets four shares of the
spoil, her husband being entitled to two. They will roam
about in villages and towns begging but with an eye to more
serious business. One of their many methods is as follows :
Having marked down a house with a few occupants, while
some post themselves near the back door, others in front start
quarrelling and assault one another even to the extent of
drawing blood. When the inmates of the house run out to
interfere, the confederates in the rear enter the house by the
back door and make off with what they can lay hands on.
Confessions among Kaikadis are rare.
Deserted encampments of Pamlors and Kail Korwas may
be recognized by the manner in which, before leaving them,
the cooking stones are closed up into heaps, each containing
three or more stones and a profusion of chewed betel-nut
stains, for the Kaikadi is very fond of chewing tobacco and
pnii-siipdri. Before leaving an encampment, Kaikadis, besides
collecting the stones as described above, smear their fore-
heads with the ashes from the fire-places, \ipatrawllis (trays
of leaves used as plates) made of dg or dkda leaves, are dis-
covered lying about, they are a sure indication of a Pamlor
encampment.
The division of property obtained by crime is put off to a
convenient opportunity when the affair has blown over.
Members of other castes joining a Kaikadi gang are given
cash only.
8o CRIMINAL (LASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
In some Deccan gangs the ' naik ' or leader takes all the
plunder, and where this is the practice he supports the entire
gang and has to cater for it well, especially in respect to flesh
and liquor, of which Kaikadis are very fond, providing necessaries
and luxuries for all the families. In others, whether in Carnatic
or Deccan, the leader gets two shares, each of the other
members partaking in the venture getting one. But in any
case, whether the leader takes an active part or not, he gets
a share of the loot. Usually, a convicted Kaikadi gets his
share of all spoil acquired by the gang during his absence.
If killed in the commission of crime, his family continues to
get a share till his son or some male member of the family
grows up sufficiently to take an active part in dacoity. Quarrels
about women and division of property often afford a clue,
especially when the disputants are in liquor. All Kaikadis
are intimately acquainted with the local limits of police
stations and the jurisdictions of districts, and make full use
of the knowledge. Encamping on the borders of one district
they will go long distances, occasionally taking with them one
or two women to cook for them, into another, commit a crime
and recross the borders to their encampment with great
rapidity. Thus they hope to establish an alibi, and as they
almost always have local friends and supporters among the
village police and villagers, and not unfrequently among
taluka officers as well, they find these very useful in thwart-
ing the efforts of the police whose duty it is to detect the
crime and pursue and arrest the culprits. The bigger and
more criminal gangs will generally be found on the borders
of Native States and where two or more jurisdictions meet.
A month or two after a successful raid, Kaikadis, provided
no inconvenient enquiries have been made, have a big feast
or hold SLjatra among themselves. They worship the ' Devi,'
and men, women, and children indulge freely in drink and
feasting. They often qua/rel on these occasions, and under
the influence of liquor divulge important facts. The police
should therefore always be on the look-out for these feasts
or jatras and try to collect information at them.
Kaikadis in custody must always be very carefully guarded
as they will escape if they can and adopt all sorts of ruses
to do so. Recently thirteen escaped from a good lockup by the
following stratagem. One had confessed and pointed out
property and all were under trial. At 8 p. m. the thirteen who
were confined together in one cell began to quarrel and fight.
KAIKADIS. 8l
Things looked serious, and the Kaikadi who had confessed,
& *
appealed to the sentry to save him from the rest and confine
him in a separate lockup, otherwise, he said, he would be
killed. The sentry, in defiance of Standing Orders, opened the
cell door to extricate the unfortunate Kaikadi who had incurred
the enmity of the rest by confessing. As he did so, the whole
thirteen made a rush at the door, a chatty (eaithen pot) was
dashed in the sentry's face, and all got away. Only one was
then and there recaptured. Moral: when Kaikadis quarrel
and fight in a cell, the whole guard should be turned out and
prepare to frustrate attempt to escape before the cell door is
opened.
The Kaikadi in short is an extremely intelligent and most
difficult criminal to lay by the heels : he disguises himself ;
he has brains ; he commits no offence of magnitude without
a wealth of foresight ; he commits it at a great distance from
his encampment and sticks at nothing.
Kaikadis when committing crime arm themselves with
sticks, slings, stones carried in a
stock-in-trade, instruments dhotar or kambli tied round the waist,
and weapons used in commit- -11 11 i i
ting crime. sickles, hatchets, knives, crow-bars,
and, if they can secure them, swords
and guns. They also make use of torches. They carry too
a stout iron bar a foot or more long tapering to a point called
a sillakal,pansakollu or kangatti and sometimes, in the Deccan,
use a rough ladder or climbing pole, improvised for the occasion
from the trunk of a small tree the branches being lopped off,
to gain access to the roof.
The weapons on which they chiefly rely in this Presidency
are however the kangatti, axe, often with a newly-cut handle,
sticks (often freshly cut), bamboos, slings and stones.
Their slings are unlike those in ordinary use by cultivators,
being smaller. In the Carnatic, Kaddi Korwa women are
reported to carry a bunch of keys and a big nail for opening
and forcing the locks on doors of houses on the outskirts "of
villages.
Stolen property is usually buried as soon as obtained, in
a ravine, «<7//fl//-banks, field, forest
Ways and means of conceal- JanH burial £TOUnd Or rubbish heap.
ing or disposing; of stolen pro- T • ' i r i- i -11
pe^ty. Later, use is made or dishonest village
officers, sdivknrs, money-lenders, liquor
and toddy shopkeepers, goldsmiths and villagers, to assist in
the disposal of booty. In the Carnatic when much valuable
B 514—6
82 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
property is buried and is likely to remain so for some time,
a rupee is cut, and this, with a piece of iron, is buried with it to
guard it from subterranean evil spirits. Kaikadis and Kail
Korwas are not now so dependent on outside assistance for
melting ornaments as they were. They have learnt how to
do this for themselves.
An instance is on record where a gang of Kaikadi dacoits
was accompanied by a goldsmith, who awaited the gang's
return from the scene of the dacoity at the rendezvous and
then and there bought the loot ; and another instance of four
Kaikadis belonging to a large gang having removed valuable
property by a horse tonga soon after the commission of a big
dacoity. Property is also disposed of in Bombay and other
large towns and cities by Kaikadis who visit these in the guise
of well-to-do Marathas, Patils and Deshmukhs for the
purpose.
Under their cooking places, saddles, bedding and near the
tent pegs to wrhich their asses are tethered, used to be
favourite places for hiding property ; but all this is now chang-
ed, such places being well known to the police. In a recent
case quite a number of stolen ornaments and thirty rupees in
cash were found woven into the edges of baskets and winnowing
trays and sewn up in the quilts and bedding of a Kaikadi gang.
Kaikadis are not always above-board with one another in
the matter of the property obtained during a raid, and some
will occasionally, on the way back from the scene of a crime,
throw away, unbeknown to the others, some of the property
they have secured and come back for it later, thus securing
a larger share than their due. If the gang suspects a member
of such a fraud, he is made to undergo an ordeal known as
' praman.' Oil is heated to boiling point, a two-anna piece
or a small ring is thrown in, and the suspected person is
made to pick it out with the fingers. If he burns his fingers
he is adjudged guilty ; if not, he is exonerated of the charge.
Each member of the gang conceals his own share of the loot.
The prolonged stay of a Kaikadi encampment at a village
justifies the safe inference that the village officers and some
of the villagers are making profit out of its presence and an
affording the Kaikadis some sort of encouragement and pro-
tection.
In the matter of conveying property from place to place,
and disposal or otherwise, the services of their old \v<»mrn an.-
KAIKADIS. 83
•
often utilized. The property is concealed in a saddle or bag
on a donkey and an old hag drives or rides the animal.
If a gang at its encampment is being searched, the move-
ments of any women who ask for permission to go beyond the
police cordon to obey a call of nature or for any other purpose,
will always repay watching. They are clever at secreting
property about their persons, in the folds of their saris at their
waist, in the mouth and in their arm-pits. The ground
where Kaikadis have encamped should be ploughed up before
search is abandoned as in one case on record some 1,400 rupees
worth of property was recovered in this way.
Among Korwas on the move, stolen goods of little value,
the kangatti and axe are carried by one of the gang who
avoids high-roads. Valuables are removed at night after arrival
at the new encampment (one or two of the gang returning
for the purpose) and are again buried somewhere near the
new camping ground.
Another means of disposing of the stolen property is for a
clever and good-looking female member of the gang to get
herself up as a Lingayat woman and sell it openly under the
pretence of raising money to redeem mortgaged land.
Katkaris.
Katkaris are also known as Kathodis. The tribe is divided
Name of criminal class into two classes : the Dhor KiUkari
ortribe- and the Maratha or Sone, literally
pure, Katkari.
The tribe is confined almost exclusively to the Thana and
„ , . the Kolaba Districts where go per
Habitat. ... . f . . , i i
cent will be round. A few thousands
in Nasik, Poona, Satara, Ratnagiri and the Native States
under these districts, make up the balance.
The country, covered with jungle and intersected by nallahs
and rivers, between the sea-coast and the Sahyadri range, is
their habitat. They never live actually on the sea-coast nor
do they inhabit the tract directly below the ghats. A few
have settled above ghats but were originally inhabitants of
the Konkan and have migrated.
Kathodis infest the hills and wilds of the northern Konkan.
They wander into the Surat, Nasik,
SpherdeeringaprSvUieds wan' Ahmednagar, Sholapur, Poona, Kolaba
and Ratnagiri Districts, Dharampur
State and Damaun Territory, for purposes of crime. The
sphere of their activity is confined to ten or fifteen miles from
their encampments. The majority lead an open-air roving
existence ; a good many of the more well-to-do have however
settled near villages and do not wander.
The census returns of 1901 relating to this tribe give
Population according to last the strength and distribution as
census, and distribution. under
Katkaris.
Males. Fem.'ili-;
Thana ... 11,186 11,116
Javvhar State . . . 446 405
Nasik ... 353 349
Poona ... 356 313
Satara ... 84 71
Sholapur ... i 10
Bhor State 1,449 '.331
Khandesh Agency ... 2 6
Kolaba ... 14,232 i5>55<>
Ratnagiri ... 412 434
KATKARIS. 85
Males.
Females.
Janjira
.
857
863
Kolhapur
10
14
Southern Maratha
14
8
Country.
Total .
29,402
3°»470
V.
, j
Grand
Total .
^f
59,872
Kdthodis.
Thana
6,474
6,424
Jawhar State
776
697
Ahmednagar
58
67
Khandesh
34
31
Poona
132
'5i
Khandesh Agency
14
12
Bhor State
5
...
Kolaba
416
532
Total .
7>909
7,9H
Grand
Total
15,823
Katkaris ... ... ... 59,872
Kathodis ... ... ... 15,823
Total ... 75,695
Being one of the most depressed and poorest of the forest
tribes, the hard life and hand-to-
Habits. appearance, dress, etc. , . tr • ,\ i j i
mouth existence Katkaris lead, have
to some extent undermined their constitution. Though strong,
well built and wiry in their prime, both sexes rapidly deterio-
rate later in life. They are slight, well built, of medium height
and very active. Their complexion is brown to very dark and
somewhat shiny, eyes deep sunk, bridge of nose shallow,
lips full. In both sexes the hair is often curly. Their attire
is very scanty, a loin cloth or langoti and a piece of cloth
wound round the head usually suffices the male. - Sometimes
a tattered jacket (karpi) is worn below an uparni or an old
blanket. Sone Katkaris shave the head ; Dhors seldom do
so and all as a rule wear their hair tied in a knot. They
cannot be distinguished from Sones, except that the former
occasionally wear black glass beads round their necks or wrists.
Females wear a skimpy sari braced up very tight between the
legs, cleverly just covering their nakedness, one end being
passed over the chest and shoulders, occasionally covering
the head too.
86 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
The bodice is not generally worn except on feast days
and by a few well-to-do who live near large towns or
villages. They also wear necklaces or paths consisting of
strings of small glass beads of various colours. Sone Katkari
women wear brass and glass bangles and brass armlets,
brass ear and hair chains and sometimes a string of old brass
buttons tied round the knob of hair worn at the back of tin-
head. They do not tattoo the inner part of the fore-arm.
Dhors tattoo the arm and wear only glass bangles. Ear-rings
complete the females' adornment in each division, the Sones
wearing large and Dhors small. Sones do not wear anklets
but some Dhors affect brass ones. Little attention is paid
to the hair ; in fact the whole class is squalid and dirty to a
degree and their huts are usually devoid of the ordinary
domestic and household goods. They are of low caste and
are not allowed to reside in any village, so live apart. Those
who are settled live in more or less permanent structures
with grass roofs, others in temporary huts. The latter are
typical structures, about eight to twelve feet in diameter and
conical in shape. Clusters of these and Katkari dwellings
on the outskirts of villages go to make up the ' Kat \\utli '
which is by some said to be the derivation of ' Kathodi,'
misapplied to the class instead of the hamlets.
Ndchni, warai, sdwa (poor cereals), rice and wild
roots are their staple food ; they are partial to field rats,
squirrels, some kinds of lizards, the mungoose, and are said
to eat even monkeys. When in funds they drink and smoke
to excess. The Katkari is a child of the forest. He evinces
a natural aversion to settled and civilized life. The usual wail
of the mourner over the dead body of a departed Katkari
runs thus : —
" If ever in the manifold migrations of thy soul thou hast
the chance of being born as a human being, be thou not a
Brahmin, for he has to write and write and die ; nor a Kunbi,
for he ploughs till death;'' and thus for a variety ot castes
ending with "but be thou a Katkari, for then thou shalt be
Jiingla did Raja (the king of the forest)."
Their headmen are called ' naiks,' and they are consulted
on all social matters, resort being also had to caste inert in-
Like Mahadev Kolis, Katkaris are extremely difficult to
pursue, locate and capture, as they are agile, fleet <>f f<»<>t
and can. at a pinch, live on next-to-nothing. Fortunately they
KATKARIS. 87
will often give useful information against one another and thus
assist the police if tactfully managed.
Their mother-tongue is Marathi, much abused and clipped
Dialect and peculiarities and pronounced with a nasal twang,
of speech. there being a marked tendency to
shorten words by dropping the inflexions.
They are believed to have words and expressions peculiar
to themselves which are not intelli-
blang used. ... . .. ......
gible to the ordinary individual. For
instance, for fish they use the word sdro and for fishing
lodhaila.
The Sone Katkaris are the more settled of the two
divisions of the tribe, and many of
bleii"ooad.S ' them are field labourers. For the
rest, Katkaris still extract catechu from
the khair tree, collect and sell fuel and other jungle produce
such as berries, roots etc. They also fell trees and manu-
facture charcoal. They are fond of fishing, hunting ground
game and exchange the fish and game caught for rice and
other food -grains. In the hot weather they are employed
in considerable numbers to repair the bunds in the rice fields
and during the rains, labour in the fields. They lead thus but
a precarious existence and eke out what they can earn by
resort to jungle berries, roots and field mice which they
dig out of paddy bunds. They also glean rice from paddy
fields after the harvest is over, and explore holes made by
field mice to recover the grain stored there by these little
animals.
They adopt no disguises when committing crime, but of
course conceal their features by wrap-
P^g up their faces. By their dress,
appearance and dialect they are easy
of identification.
They commit burglaries, ordinary thefts of grain, goats,
sheep and fowl, and are adept tent
Crime to which addicted. . . ... . * ,
thieves, cutting their way in through
kanats noiselessly, and removing small boxes and any other
articles they can lay their hands on. They occasionally attack
and rob grasping contractors for the purchase of forest produce,
when the latter are moving about the jungles, hold up travellers
or carts, but rarely if ever, go out into outlawry. Their crimes
as a rule are unaccompanied by unnecessary acts of cruelty
or violence.
88 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY 1'KKSIDENCY.
Here and there instances have occurred of individuals
charged with serious crime, taking to the jungles and
becoming outlaws, but such cases are very rare. The most
recent instance was that of Jania, a Sone Katkari of Kopol
in Kolaba District, who murdered his brother-in-law, armed
himself with a gun and defied capture, which was effected only
after much trouble.
No organized crime is committed by them and, when they
do indulge in a burglary, it is generally a simple affair and not
distinguished by methods characteristic of clever criminals.
1 Pilferer ' or ' sneak ' probably best describes the Katkari.
In one instance Katkaris were strongly suspected of
having desecrated a grave in a European cemetery in the hope
of securing valuables believed to have been buried with the
body.
There is practically nothing distinctive in the Katkaris'
methods when committing crime. But
Methods employed in com- , , . . P. f
mitting crime, and disiinguish- where the class is in evidence, thefts
ing characterisiics likely to accompanied by the loss of cooked
afford a clue. r , l , ,1 , i i 11 i-
tood and other eatables, small live-
stock such as poultry and goats, are characteristic of
their handiwork; or, the finding of a bamboo or a koita
(chopper) at the scene of the offence, points to Katkaris
as the probable culprits.
It is also a noteworthy fact that Katkari criminals will not,
during the commission of an offence, touch, or in any way
defile, any high caste Hindu cooking-place.
A sickle, a chopper, a thin bar of iron called palm mi,
which is used both for burglary and
Stock-in-trade instruments digging OUt StOnCS, field mice etc.,
and weapons used jn commit- . . '
ting crime. and very occasionally bows and arrows
are the weapons >and instruments
carried when committing crime.
They mostly sell their stolen property to goldsmiths,
liquor vendors, and villagers, often
Ways and means of conceal- patils , and generally through tli.-ir
ing or disposing of stolen ~ fe ' T o J t»
property. temales. It is conveyed sometimes
at the bottom of a basket containing
fresh fish which they will sell to no one but the 'receiver.'
Another dodge is to conceal small articles in a piece of
rag tied as a bandage to an imaginary sore or wound behind
KATKARIS. 89
the knee or round the thigh. If any one likely to make
inconvenient enquiries is met, much limping is of course
indulged in. If the quondam invalid is followed, it will pro-
bably be found that he goes to a goldsmith's house and
that after his visit the rag on the game leg as well as the
limp have disappeared.
Liquor shopkeepers are notorious ' receivers ' of this tribe.
Stolen poultry or small live-stock are eaten at once or sold
to villagers.
Kolis.
In these notes the only Kolis calling for notice, because of
tlu-ir criminal propensities, are the ' Mahadeo' Kolis inhabiting
tlu- Western Sahyadri Range and the Kolis of Gujerat. There
are other known varieties of the Koli caste such as ' Malhar '
or ' Panbhari ' Kolis, ' Dhor ' Kolis, ' Agri ' and ' Son ' Kolis,
etc., but these are distinct from the ' Mahadeo ' and ' Gujerat '
Kolis forming the subject of this note and are not a source of
anxiety to the police.
MAHADEO KOLIS.
This tribe includes those known as ' Raj ' Kolis so styled
because of their kinship with the
Name of the criminal class . . e .. ... T i • c-
or tribe. princely family ot the Jawhar htate,
a Koli raj.
They inhabit the rough country above and below the
Western Ghats or Sahyadri Range
lying in the Poona, Thana, Kolaba,
Ahmednagar and Nasik Districts and the Jawhar State.
Mahadeo Kolis are not a nomadic tribe but are all settled
in villages. They are intensely fond
an" of their ghat fastnesses and the wild
rough country along the ghats they
inhabit. Nothing will tempt them to leave the security of
these in pursuit of crime. Subject to these limitations the
movements of criminal Kolis, whether individual outlaws or
gangs, know no restrictions, and often thirty or forty miles are
covered during the twenty-four hours, in the extremely difficult
country they inhabit, to evade capture or commit crime.
Kolis will not of choice, under any circumstances, go into
the ' deshi bhag ' or plain country, though many of them are
to be found in Bombay City working as labourers, and
individual outlaws are shrewd enough to appreciate the advan-
tages of a large city like Bombay as a place of concealment.
The census reports do not show Mahadeo Kolis separately
and there is no source from \\hirh
Population according to last .1 • i , ,• A ••
census, and distribution. their. number and distribution can
readily be obtained. However, the
information is not of much importance as the < lass is distri-
KOLIS. 91
buted only over the limited area mentioned above, predomi-
nates there, and is not met with elsewhere.
Both men and women are short, medium to sturdy in
build, wiry, fair to dark, quick, shrewd,
Appearance, dress, etc. . , : ,/. , . , c ' , .
with intelligent bright races and keen
senses. The women are well formed and many of them
are distinctly comely and more refined perhaps than the
ordinary Kunbi women.
A hill tribe living in such country as they do, it goes
without saying that they are inured to every kind of fatigue,
can live on very little, are active as cats and can travel great
distances. Many of the men are hard-working, but as a class
they are improvident, poor, easily satisfied and excessively
clannish.
Their dress shows some slight variations, more pronounced
in the case of the women, according to the part of the
ghats they inhabit ; but as a rule the men wear a short
dhotar or panja, a bandi (coat) or pair -an (shirt), a coloured
or white turban and pdsodi (shoulder-cloth) or ghongdi
(blanket). In the Konkan a dhotar or langotit a turban or
rumdl and a ghongdi is the usual costume. Most men wear
a waist-band or girdle called kdcha.
Women wear the sari, some after the style of poor Kunbi
women, others in short dhotar fashion, the end being fastened
off round the waist and the head covered with a phadki) or
left bare according to fancy. A large nose-ring embellished
with hollow brass or gold beads, is always worn. The
women do not actually participate in the commission of
crime, but one, here and there, is occasionally picked up
with an outlaw gang. They are as active, capable of
endurance, and thoroughly conversant with the rough country
they live in, as the men, and are very clever and efficient in
communicating information regarding the movements of the
police to the men and in conveying supplies to them when
' out.'
Kolis are more or less dirty in their dress, smoke, will
drink liquor but are temperate, sober, and clean feeders.
In their dwellings they seldom burn lights, the flicker of the
fire being sufficient for all purposes. A great many of the
women are, among their own tribesmen, of loose moral
character though they do not often go wrong with outsiders.
As a result intrigues, usually ending in social and familv
feuds, occasionally in bloodshed, are numerous. Infidelity
92 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
among the women leading to elopements or abductions is a
very fruitful cause of further trouble. The aggrieved
husband or family retaliates and many a wronged Koli has
thus been driven to acts of violence and subsequent outlawry.
Their social leader is called ' karbhari ' or ' kh6t ' in the
Konkan. They live in kembli or wattle-and-daub huts witli
thatch roofs, and whole villages are populated entirely by
Kolis living in huts of this type. A few who are in affluent
circumstances live in more substantial buildings with tile or
corrugated iron roofs.
The year 1845 was rendered famous in Koli history
by the excesses of the notorious Raghoji Bhangria who,
becoming an outlaw, organized bands of Kolis with whom he
roamed the countryside revenging himself on avaricious
Marwadis by cutting off their noses. Strong measures broke
up his gangs but not till the Marwadi community for the most
part had fled in terror. Raghoji was ultimately caught at
Pandharpur by Captain Cell, convicted and hanged.
When disorder and confusion reigned in 1857-58 a corps
of these Ghat Kolis was raised by Captain Nuttal and
proved very useful in helping to put down disturbances. It
was disbanded in 1861.
The Marwadis resorting to their extortionate methods,
suffered again in 1873 at the hands of Honya and his gangs.
This famous outlaw was ultimately caught in 1876 by Major
Daniell, the then District Superintendent of Police, Poona.
Various risings have taken place from time to time since that
period among the Kolis of the ghats bordering the Ahmednagar,
Nasik, Poona and Thana Districts and are traceable for the most
part to seasons of scarcity, combined with the exacting demands
of the Marwadis with whom they had monetary transactions.
They speak the Marathi of the lower orders which in parts
suffers by reason of certain marked
K rfa?pS?lia peculiarities of pronunciation e.g., ' i '
is used for the final ' a,' and ' y ' is
substituted for ' sh ' in the middle of a word, thus, for
' tiana ' (to them) they say ' tiani ' and for ' kashala ' (why)
they say ' kayala.'
They speak with a nasal accent and clip their words, for
instance, ' ba ' for ' baba,' ' Ganpada 'for ' Ganpat dada/ and
so on, and generally accent the principal word of the sentence.
Slang used. Kolis have no slang.
KOLIS.
93
As a class they are cultivators in a small way (mostly in
the Bania's hands) and field labourers.
of live- Some have acceptec] Government
service in the Forest and the Police
departments ; a few are school-masters in the Koli villages
but mostly they live by labour and the collection and sale
of hirdd (myrabolam), grass, wood and forest fruits and
berries. Many, owing to the poverty of the soil in the ghats,
their own improvidence and bad seasons, are often sore
pressed for a square meal and subsist largely on jungle roots,
berries etc., in the hot months or have resort to crime for
their sustenance.
Beyond muffling their faces, occasionally wearing false
moustaches and beards made of goat-
t*f*5 i£&±. means skin, or, rigged up in old dark or
khdkt clothing (sometimes even putties
and boots), masquerading as policemen or forest peons, Kolis
affect no disguise in the commission of crime. There is a
case on record in which a Koli gang headed by a leader who
had made himself notorious, gained peaceable entrance to a
village at night by posing as a police escort in charge of two
prisoners. The bogus policemen were dressed up in dark
clothes, carried guns and swords and two of the gang, tied by
the arms, walked in the centre personating the prisoners. This
ruse enabled the gang to advance right through the village to
the chawdi where they at once disclosed their true character
by attacking the villagers and looting houses.
They sometimes make use of Hindustani words, and in
parts ' hoor hoor ' is a favourite utterance during the commis-
sion of a dacoity.
The Koli is not a burglar or thief in the ordinary sense.
crime to which addicted. Though given to petty thieving, he is
a source of trouble and anxiety only
when he takes to outlawry, and then he commits dacoity,
robbery, grievous hurt and sometimes murder.
In the matter of criminal tendencies, Kolis bear a strono-
resemblance to Bhils. The predatory instinct and love of
adventure is still strong in them. A season of scarcity, the
grasping avariciousness and exacting demands of money-
lenders, or some domestic grievance drives individuals into
outlawry and once an outlaw has established a reputation as
a successful freebooter he soon attracts others, with or with-
out some grievance fancied or real, to his standard. Unless
94 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
speedily dispersed, captured or disposed of, the gang thus formed
increases and multiplies and soon creates a reign of terror.
They raid villages and extort black-mail, known as khand, in the
shape of food, gunpowder or money ; loot Murwutlis, and burn
their accounts; cut off noses and slit ears; hold up solitary
policemen and forest peons, whom they beat, tie to trees and
rob, and generally harry and terrorize the countryside by crimes
of violence.
Such outbreaks are difficult to deal with by reason of the
fact that the outlaw gangs are sheltered, through sympathy or
fear, and assisted by their caste fellows, while the Kolis'
intimate knowledge of every jungle path and hiding place, and
their hardiness and activity, enable them to successfully evade
pursuit and capture by the police.
Kolis are also given to illicit distillation of liquor.
There is seldom any doubt as to the perpetrators of a
crime in which Kolis are concerned :
Meth mitttnmgPS. " firstly, because their offences are con-
fined to a tract of country seldom
affected by other classes ; secondly, because there is very
little attempt at secrecy. Their attacks, whether on dwellings,
villages or individuals, and whether by day or night, are always
open. They go straight for their objective, create an uproar,
demand What they want, intimidate and by their numbers and
recklessness, terrorize their victims, and having secured the
booty, make off into the jungles and disappear.
When the object of a gang is to wreak vengeance on some
usurious money-lender, it will enter the village, usually by night,
burn his books, take such money, jewellery and clothes as it
can lay hands on, perhaps mutilate him, sometimes kill him
and even violate the women in the house. By way of precau-
tion the doors of the neighbouring houses are sometimes
chained up. If the object is to secure supplies, levy khand or
take revenge for some insult or injury, such as the abduction
of some woman, the gang overawes the villagers by the
display of swords and the reports of guns or bombs and
openly demands or forcibly takes from several of the huts
what it requires, or attacks the victim's house and avenges
the insult, often in the most cold-blooded and brutal manner.
To show to what extent Kolis will go when smarting under
a sense of wrong, it is sufficient to mention a case on record in
which a well-to-do Koli was dragged from his house one night
KOLIS. 95
by an outlaw gang, tied to a post on the verandah, and hacked
to death with swords, for an intrigue with a woman.
Outlaw gangs have been known to ruthlessly murder ' infor-
mers,' loot police lines, surprise, ambush, attack and cut up
considerable police parties, whose uniforms and weapons they
then appropriate to their own use.
A Koli ' informer ' is most difficult to obtain and when
secured requires adequate and constant protection. In a case
on record an armed party of eight policemen were set upon,
wounded and beaten and the spy they had in their charge
wrested from them and crucified.
Koli outlaws when thoroughly roused and desperate are
extremely difficult to deal with and account for, by reason of
the terror they create, the sympathy and active assistance
extended to them by their caste fellows and their elusiveness,
great mobility and intimate knowledge of the country.
Every Koli is an ( informer ' for the gang ; every hill is a
signal station and every village sends its messenger ; and in the
ghat country a Koli will do thirty miles while a policeman is
doing ten, into the wilds and fastnesses with the latest news
regarding the movements of the police.
Apart from a few law-abiding Kolis and those who may
have suffered from outlaw raids, the great majority of the class
regard a proclaimed leader and his gang as heroes, sympathise
with them in their campaign against money-lenders, forest
officials, etc., aid them to evade the police and will, if need be,
feed and harbour them. Hence outlawry thrives, as everything
operates against the forces of the State and in favour of the
criminals.
The following three reasons have actually been advanced by
intelligent Kolis in support of the belief they entertain that the
presence and continued immunity in the ghat area of some
famous outlaw and his following are an advantage rather than
otherwise to them as a class : —
(i) The rate of interest demanded by money-lenders is
kept down and an effective check is imposed on the movements
and demands of the money-lending class.
(ii) The forest peons who have to travel about alone in the
jungle behave better generally and are less zealous in the
discharge of their duties.
96 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
(iii) A reputation for being easily excited to outlawry and
crime secures for them, a poor unrepresented hill tribe, atten-
tion, consideration and concessions from Government which
otherwise they would be unlikely to secure.
The only effective way to deal with outbreaks in the ghats
is, in the first place, to prevent individual outlaws from secur-
ing a following. Once a man of any reputation is known to
have gone ' out,' no efforts should be spared to bring about his
speedy capture before he makes himself famous. His village,
or that of his wife or mistress, and his favourite haunts should
be picketted with armed police and he should be hunted till
caught. Should he succeed in forming a gang, no time should
be lost in throwing as many armed police as possible at once
into the area likely to be affected ; villages where the gang
have friends or attractions should be guarded, patrols
organized, passes up and down the ghats held, and the armed
police be in evidence as much as possible in order to afford
well disposed villagers a sense of security, and thereby secure
their assistance and sympathy. Unless this line of action
is adopted and protection afforded, those who would prefer to
be on the side of authority have, through fear or motives of
self interest, to keep their council and either actively or
passively assist the outlaws. Some advantage may be looked
for by calling a meeting of all influential and well disposed
Kolis in the villages in the disturbed area and endeavouring to
enlist their sympathy on the side of law and order.
Many of the Kolis are good shots, and a desperate outlaw
is a dangerous man to tackle as from the nature of his surround-
ings he generally gets in the first shot. Up to a point armed
resistance is stubborn, but once Kolis realize that the tables
are turned they surrender readily or bolt.
Koli dacoits generally arm themselves with bamboos ringed
and loaded called lavangi hit hi <>r
stock-in-trade instruments ordinary sticks, and if procurable old
and weapons used in commit- ' tec
ting crime. guns, some rusty swords, a few of
which are still kept in concealment in
the ghats or obtained from Jawhar. If swords are not readily
available, they manufacture wooden ones and cover these
with silver paper to make them appear real. In the ghats,
every Koli also carries his koitd or chopper, slung in a
wooden frog, on his buttocks.
KOLIS. 97
Stolen property is distributed among the members of the
gang immediately after a dacoity, the
Ways and means of conceal- leader receiving a larger share. Pend-
ing or disposing of stolen ... ,° . <,
property. ing disposal, property is usually
buried in the forests. Sonars are their
chief ( receivers.'
Eatables, fowls and the like, are consumed at once.
GUJERAT KOLIS.
Gujerat Kolis are divided into four main divisions which
Name of criminal class appear to be territorial rather than
or tribe. tribal: —
Chunvaliyas, also called Jahangrias ;
Khants or Borderers ;
Patanvadiyas or Anhilpur Kolis, also called Kohodas (i. e.,
axes, probably in the sense of ruthlessness) or Jhangads ;
and
Talabdas, or local Kolis, also called Dharalas or swords-
men, and in parts Thakardas.
These classes are again parcelled into numerous clans, an
enumeration of which would serve no useful purpose. Besides
the main divisions mentioned above, there are Barias, Dalvadis,
Gediyas, Shials and Valakiyas, who take their names from
their original domicile.
Kolis are to be met with all over Gujerat and Kathiawar.
They are most numerous in the latter
Habitat. J. . . . . .
province and the north or Gujerat
and are more sparsely distributed towards Broach and
Surat.
Chunvaliyas are mostly found in Ahmedabad, Kathiawar
and Baroda ; Khants in the north-eastern portion of Gujerat
and in parts of Kathiawar ; Patanvadiyas in central Gujerat,
chiefly in the Kaira District, while Talabdas, the most nume-
rous of all the divisions are spread all over Gujerat, in greater
numbers in Ahmedabad, Kaira and Baroda.
B 5H—7
98 CRIMINAL (LASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Kolis are not wanderers though great numbers have, in
search of labour, migrated from the
Sphere of activity and wan- villages tothe larger business centres
denne proclivities. , °. . , ,° , . ...
and cities where they earn their living
in various ways. Individuals are known to have strayed as
far south as Madras and north to Sind.
Their criminal activities are confined to the province of
Gujerat and Kathiawar, for they do not as a rule travel far
from their villages in pursuit of crime. They are known to
visit Rutlam and the neighbouring portions of Malwa and
particularly to patronize the larger towns situated on the B. B.
and C. I. Railway. Their excursions by road may, on special
occasions, extend to a radius of thirty to fifty miles from their
homes. They have no fixed season for criminal expeditions,
nor do they embark on regular tours. They bide their time
so to say, sallying forth when a favourable opportunity offers,
returning home after their object has been accomplished. Aw.'iy
from their villages, unless temporarily settled in towns, they are
not encumbered by families and either put up with friends,
in out-of-the-way dhanunsalds or temples or in the open
some distance from villages under trees, passing themselves
off as wayfarers.
Population according to last The census figures for Gujerat are
census and distribution. ^^ follows
Males. Females.
Ahmedabad ... 97,449 90,767
Broach 3°.8l3 3°>857
Kaira ... 131,398 120,677
Panch Mahals ... 25,139 23,501
Surat 47>573 52»3°4
Cambay ... 7,020 6,510
Cutch ... 5,059 4,965
Kathiawar ... 127,898 120,666
Mahi Kantha ... 49,033 43i3o6
Palanpur ... 52,580 46,214
Rewa Kantha ... 77,750 72,680
Surat Agency ... 6,964 7»*35
658,676 619,582
The figures for places outside Gujerat cannot be given with
any degree of accuracy as the census returns do not differ-
entiate between Gujerat and other kinds of Kolis.
Owing partly to the variety of life they lead and partly to
A thrir roniNTtion with superior classes,
Appearance, dress etc. T_ ,. , f. ,
Kolis conform to no particular type of
KOLIS. 99
features. The Talabdas are the most civilized of all the
divisions and have the manners and features of Kunbis and
Rajputs. They are generally fair, good-looking, strong, well
built, active, of average height, thrifty, well-to-do and hold
the highest place among Kolis. Their females are usually
slender, well formed with a pleasing expression of features and
some are pretty.
Chunvaliyas have more of the features and characteristics
of the Bhil than whom they are only a little higher in position
and intelligence. They were at one time a body of organized
plunderers and the terror of Gujerat and among them are still
men of unruly and criminal habits. They are rather tall, well
set up, active, hardy and generally of sallow complexion.
The Thakardas or landholders among them are good-looking
and fair like Talabdas.
Khants are a wild tribe, in appearance and condition little,
if at all, different from Bhils. Excepting their leaders who are
good-looking, the lower orders are inferior in appearance to the
generality of Talabdas. They are of swarthy complexion,
robust, hardy, of average height, and well built ; as a class
they are much given to thieving.
The Patanvadiyas are somewhat dark of complexion,
stalwart, active, hardy, high spirited and daring, more closely
resembling Vaghris and Bhils. In the early part of the last
century they were credited with being the most blood-thirsty
and untam sable plunderers, mercenaries and free-booters, but
in places of trust proved staunch and honest.
Kolis as a class are reputed to be daring, artful, relentless
and even cruel, inured to fatigue and hardship, active and
fleet of foot, and though some of them are prosperous, the
majority are thriftless, lazy and fond of ease.
Speaking generally, the costume of Kolis varies but little
from that of the poorer classes in Gujerat. The usual dress
of the male Koli consists of a white or colored head-scarf,
a jacket and a waist-cloth or dhoti, all of coarse cloth,
and country shoes. Sometimes they don angarkhds reach-
ing to the waist. In parts of Kathiawar, Palanpur and
Chunval, trousers are preferred, and over these and round
the waist some fasten a cloth after the manner of Girasias.
At social gatherings a turban takes the place of the head-
scarf and a pichodi is worn over the shoulders. A few in
Chunval, Kathiawar and Patan allow the beard to grow, but
100 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
the majority shave the chin and some wear whiskers. Kolis
are flesh eaters but eschew beef. Patanvadiyas and some
Khants eat the flesh of the buffalo and are consequently held
in low estimation by the other classes. Both sexes partake
of intoxicating liquor. They are great tobacco smokers, and
in parts of north Gujerat they are given to indulgence in
opium. The woman's costume consists of a petticoat with a
backless bodice and a robe. In Surat and parts of the
Broach District the petticoat is not worn, a sari being
wound tightly round the waist and thighs and tucked up leaving
the lower portion of the limbs free, the upper end being drawn
over the shoulders so as to cover the body. The well-to-do
wear a gold or silver hansdi (necklace), ear-rings, glass
bangles, silver anklets and toe-rings. Those in indigent
circumstances wear ornaments of cheap metals and wooden
bracelets ; some wear glass and gold bead necklaces.
Dialect and peculiarities Kolis speak the Gujerati of the
of speech. lower orders.
Their argot is not very extensive.
Slang and S!gns used. , . & *¥f
1 he following are a few of their
expressions :--
Slang. Meaning.
ramava javoon ... to go on a thieving excursion.
chami javoon ... to know, to take a hint.
chavli uthvoon ... to wake up.
khangavalo ... a watch.
kalo bhairav . .. \
baladi ... la policeman.
kutaru ... j
sandh or p^do ... a police officer.
pankhdi ... a sum of money.
gadabiyo . . . ^
patharo ... V melted gold or silver ornaments.
(Ihekhalo ...)
khunto .. a skeleton key.
bando ... a confederate.
mario ... silver or gold ornaments.
zeini ... theft.
s£gar ... a Dharala member of a Y;ighri
gang. (His services arc made
use of to procure catabli-s
from towns and to \\at< h tin-
encampment while the Vagh-
ris arc absent.)
KOLIS.
101
lang,
moosibhai
dhoor unchi
dhoor nichi
renkti
jut
kanthi
Meaning.
a Vaghri member of a gang of
Dharalas.
rich prey,
poor prey,
cattle.
a companion, friend,
a difficulty or obstacle.
Ostensible means of live-
lihood.
The cry of the jackal is, on suitable occasions, imitated to
attract one another's attention or assemble a gang. They
also make use of low whistles to one another when actually
committing crime.
As a class Kolis are husbandmen and field laborers. They
accept service as private or village
watchmen and are sometimes em-
ployed as trackers. Some purchase
the right to gather mangoes, mhowra flowers, etc., from trees
and sell the produce to wholesale dealers ; others ply carts for
hire, collect and sell cart-loads of fuel, draw hand-carts, work
as labourers in mills and serve as porters, pumpers, etc., on the
railway, while not a few have entered Government service as
taldtiS) policemen, and peons. In fact Kolis living in indus-
trial centres will turn their hands to pretty well anything as
day labourers. Those living on the sea-coast are fishermen
and boatmen, and in the Surat District many a Koli works as
a mason.
Koli land -owners and men of position and influence are
called Thakors, are generally well-to-do and observe purdah
with their women.
Kolis in Gujerat seldom resort to disguises. They are
however adept in personating Rajputs,
Disguises adopted and means Thakors, Bahroths ( bard s), and Pati-
of identification. , , 1,1- • r,
dars, and their get-up is often
excellent. They also occasionally adopt the role of Nanak-
shahi Sadhus and Brahmins but the make-up is usually
imperfect and their ignorance of religious ceremonials and
requirements betrays them. When committing crime they
discard the dhoti for the langoti and muffle their faces or some-
times conceal them with bJnikas made of animal hair.
In times of yore Kolis occupied a prominent place in the
annals of crime. According to the
Bombay Gazetteer, in 1825 Bishop
Crime to which addicted.
102 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Heber found the Kolis one of the most turbulent and predatory
tribes in India. In 1832 bands of Kolis from 50 to 200 strong
and bent on plunder, infested the Kaira highroads. Ti
showed signs of an inclination to revolt in 1857, but prompt
measures were taken to punish the unruly and the country \\.-is
saved from any widespread outbreak. Though brought to their
bearings under British rule their hereditary love of plunder is
by no means extinct. At the present day they are, as. a class,
addicted to highway and house dacoity and robbery, house-
breaking and thefts, cattle lifting, thefts of standing crops and
field produce, mischief by fire, thefts from running goods
trains on parts of the B. B. and C. I. and portions of the
R. M. Railways, and acts of violence and bloodshed, in order
to take revenge or terrorize. Some of the more lawless of the
Kaira Kolis, especially the Patanvadiyas who inhabit the Borsad
and Anand talukas and the adjoining portion of the Baroda
Territory, have the reputation of being mercenary assassins.
Among the Kolis ot Kathiawar and parts of Ahmedabad,
the levying of black-mail for the restoration of lifted cattle is
prevalent, while a few from some of the Gujerat Native States
and Kathiawar have earned a notoriety as being given to
committing theft after administering some stupefying drug.
The illicit distillation of liquor, manufacture of salt and
opium smuggling are minor forms of crime to which Kolis
are given.
Those of south Gujerat, except that they are addicted to
minor offences against the liquor laws, are on the whole less
criminal than those of other parts.
The different divisions of Kolis have more or less identical
methods of committing burglary, theft,
Methods employed in com- , , . S S" J i l /-
milling crime, and distinguish- robbery, daCOlty and Cattle lifting.
lTordChracVueeristics Iikdy t0 For the commission of house-breaking
the culprits depend a good deal on
local friends for information, but as a rule, they visit and mark
down, during the day, dwellings for themselves, their calling
often facilitating their doing this unsuspected. Or, they prowl
about at night and without any previous enquiry operate on
some building which, owing to the loneliness of its situation or
other special reason, proves attractive. If the master of a
burgled house happens to have in his employ a Koli servant,
this domestic will probably repay police attention, for some-
times a Koli while in private employ, will supply his criminal
KOLIS.
103
friends with useful information respecting the premises, and
afterwards keep them informed of the progress of police
enquiries at the scene of the offence.
As a preliminary to getting to work, they sally forth after
night-fall and before the police are ordinarily out on night
patrol and bide their time either in the houses of friends or
lurking in deserted buildings or ruins, out-of-the-way temples
or mosques.
When the night has advanced and all is quiet, the party
armed with sticks (often freshly cut) and the khatariyd, exhibit
46 of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate IV,
approach the building. Arrived at the scene of offence, some
post themselves as look-outs while others proceed to make a
hole in a wall (usually a back wall it being considered unlucky
to break in from the front) in the ' rumali ' fashion. Before
passing in through the hole, the intruders insert a stick and
move it cautiously to and fro to make sure that there is no one
on the other side to give them a warm reception. One or
two, occasionally three or four, enter, while a couple stand
outside to receive the spoil. Of the former some ransack
the house, the rest, armed with lathis and knives, watch the
sleeping inmates. Should the latter be disturbed and show any
inclination to raise an alarm, they are silenced by threats of
violence and the display of weapons. With the exception of
eatables and cooked food, they take all they can lay their
hands on and depart, usually by door or window.
In order to avoid leaving foot-prints outside the house, it is
said that Kolis walk on tip-toe for some distance to and from
the scene of the crime. If the house to be burgled happens
to be situated in some village close to their own, they occa-
sionally divest themselves of their superfluous clothing and
shoes outside the former village and leave the articles in charge
of a member of the party.
The crime committed, they return to the place where their
shoes etc. have been left, dress themselves, put on their shoes,
and return home. Thus stealth during the commission of the
crime is facilitated and tracking is rendered difficult.
The hole made in the wall by the Koli burglar is generally
a good size and his handiwork rough. Other modes of
effecting an entry into a house are, by climbing up to a
terrace or upper storey and lifting windows off their hinges ;
by removing or forcing small windows ; or by breaking in
through the roof.
104 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY 1'R KSIDKNCY.
Organized dacoity in dwellings is not practised by Kolis,
except perhaps by some of the more criminal from Palanpur,
Radhanpur and Patan.
Gujerat Kolis as a class have the hereditary instincts of
highway dacoits and robbers. A gang usually lies in wait on
some road at a convenient spot. The object of attack is
frequently marked down at his last halting place and is
followed by one of the gang who acquaints his comrades of the
approach of the quarry. At a given signal those lying in wait
rush out and commence the attack. The conveyance, if there
is one, is stopped by some of the gang, while others assault
the inmates and ransack the cart, relieving the occupants of
any ornaments and valuables they have on their persons and
perhaps too of bundles and metal utensils. Resistance on the
part of the travellers is overcome by violence,; no compunction
is shown even to females or children, and occasionally the
raid ends in grievous hurt or even murder.
Cattle lifting is effected in various ways : at night, by
breaking into a cattle-shed : by driving off animals belonging to
travellers and cartmen from halting places ; or, when carts are
slowly moving along a road and the drivers are dozing in their
seats, by quietly unyoking one of the bullocks and driving it
away. It is not till the irregular movement of the cart suffici-
ently rouses the driver that he wakes to his loss.
Bullocks and buffaloes are chiefly prized ; sometimes
camels and horses are stolen. Cows are not as a rule taken,
except by Patanvadiyas ; sheep and goat lifting are not so
common as cattle thefts. Lifted cattle are forthwith driven
away to a considerable distance. It then becomes almost
impossible for the owners to trace them, and the payment of
black-mail is the quickest way of recovering the animals.
Crop raids are usually committed at night, the culprits
being armed with sticks and other weapons. If the night
watchman raises an alarm and the neighbours come to his
assistance, as likely as not a scuffle ensues and sometime^
ends in serious consequences, the crime developing into
robbery, dacoity or perhaps something graver.
Kolis, especially those of the Kaira District, are much
addicted to looting goods trains. They are exceedingly daring
in jumping on and off trains in motion. The experience
gained as railway servants in shunting and loading yards,
is turned to account in the commission of offrmvs on
KOLIS. 105
the railway. They mark down the vans of passenger trains
at night, and if they get an opportunity, either gain entrance
from the off side, or, if that is watched, they go a little
distance up the line, jump on to the foot-board when the
train is in motion and effect entrance through the door, if not
locked, or by breaking into the van — the rattle of the train
smothers any noise that may be caused by forcible entry.
After accomplishing their object the train is left either when it
slackens speed to enter a station or when running up an
incline. Goods trains are occasionally boarded by crouching
on the buffers of the wagons while stationary. After the
train has started the thieves climb on to open wagons
and throw off bags of grain etc., which are picked up by
confederates waiting for the purpose. The latter sometimes
signal their presence to the men in the trains by lighting
matches.
Trains running slowly up heavy gradients are boarded and
left by these agile Kolis without any great difficulty or risk.
Kolis are very vindictive and frequently resort to mischief by
fire in order to pay off a grudge, or, by terrorizing, to attain
some other object and they are not unfrequently employed by
Patidars and Banias to inflict injury by arson on those with
whom the latter have a feud.
Near the borders of opium -producing Native States a few
Kolis, it is said, go in for smuggling opium, which they conceal
in their fields and dispose of later by retail. This practice is
gradually sinking into disuse and at the present day it is
believed that few Kolis indulge in it.
Gangs organized for the commission of crime are usually
made up of individuals from different villages rather than from
one. In the event of any member of a criminal gang being
killed in an expedition, information of the disaster is com-
municated by throwing a spray of mm leaves on the roof
of deceased's house. Thus his family is apprised of his
death and silence is imposed on his relations.
The Koli's favourite implement of house-breaking is the
ganeshia or khdtariyd described in
Stock-in trade, instruments the note on Va^hris. When commit-
and weapons used in commit- . -.111 i
ting crime. ting crime they usually carry a large
country knife called churn, in a scab-
bard, at the waist, a lathi or karlyali dh<iug (weighted stick),
IC>6 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
exhibit 26 of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate I,
and in some parts a dhdria (sharp bill-hook at the end of a
bamboo), exhibit 31 of the Bombay District Police Museum,
mde Plate I, a vdiisi (toothed bill-hook), exhibit 54 of the
Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate I, or a ktitor or
katar'iya, exhibit 11 of the Bombay District Police Mu-
seum, mde Plate I, a crescent-shaped weapon about three
feet in length made of some hard wood occasionally strength-
ened with leather bands. The last mentioned is thrown with
a whirling motion after the manner of a boomerang and is
effective up to about fifty yards. If skilfully hurled it will
break a man's leg, bring down a buck, or kill small game.
Bows and arrows and occasionally swords are also carried by
Koli depredators. A burglar usually provides himself with
a bunch of keys, a match box and a piece of candle as
well.
Immediately after the commission of a crime, stolen
property is generally concealed by
Ways and means of conceal Kolis in the open in fields, rubbish
ing or disposing ot stolen , i fi i <•
property. heaps, underneath stacks or grass, in
.hollows in the trunks of trees, perhaps
under water in some well or pool and sometimes in their
houses under fire-places, in hollow bamboos, in roof rafters,
cattle-sheds or in holes, in the side walls near doors, made to
take cross bars.
When enquiry has languished and the coast is, so to
speak, clear, the property is removed from hiding, perhaps
melted and disposed of through goldsmiths, Patidars, Girasias,
Banias, Bohras, Memon hawkers, or blacksmiths and pretty
frequently village officers are not free from the suspicion of
sharing the spoils.
Stolen cloth is sometimes sewn into patchwork quilts or
disposed of to local Banias. If no purchaser is forthcoming
it is burnt, gold and silver borders injured by the fire being
given away. Stolen cattle are sometimes kept out of the way
at some secluded spot till the owner, personally, or through a
middleman, offers money by way of ransom, say half the price
of the cattle, in which case, after payment of the sum agreed
upon, the animals are left at some place indicated to the owner
or his friend, where they are 'found.' If black-mail is not
forthcoming, the cattle are sold at distant markets. If there
is reason to believe that the owner is not likely to come to
terms, they are sold to butchers.
KOLIS. 107
Stolen sheep and goats are killed and consumed.
For the conveyance of valuable loot from a distance to
their homes, the services of a respectable looking Patidar,
Girasia or Bania accomplice are sometimes utilized.
Stolen horses and camels are despatched if possible to the
Thar and Parkar Distriqt for disposal.
Mangs.
Mangs are known in the Carnatic as Madars or Madigru
and in Gujerat as M.in^s or Manjjvlas.
N.inu- of criminal tribe T"i 4._*u J' 'J i ' \ \
or class. * ne tn"e 1S divided into a number of
sub-divisions, the principal of which
Nuda or Khotra.
Holad.
Rakwaldar, known in parts as Ghatoli.
Dakelwar.
Fed.
Mochi, etc.
From time immemorial Mangs have occupied a prominent
__ ,. place among the tribes with criminal
Habitat. F . .& . . .
instincts inhabiting the Ueccan dis-
tricts and the districts and states comprising the Southern
Manitha Country. In both areas nearly every village has its
quota of Mangs. In some districts they are not so trouble-
some as in others, for instance in Belgaum, Bijapur and
Dharwar they are not the source of anxiety to the police that
they are in Poona, Satara and Kolhapur.
Mangs are local criminals pure and simple. They rarely
commit crime in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of their own homes or beyond
a radius of thirty miles or so from their
villages. The field of their operations is confined to neigh-
bouring talukas or districts. There is, however, an instance
on record of Mangs from the Sholapur District having com-
mitted a dacoity in the Kolhapur State, a hundred miles or
so away, but such instances are uncommon.
With the exception of ! Dakelwars ' who are wanderers,
Mangs are all settled and do not roam about the country
in gangs.
Numerically the Mang is strong, as will be seen from the
appended table taken from the census
returns, shown,, the Ma,,»j popuktion
in the Bombay Presidency : —
Mangs belonging to the Satara District.
MANGS.
Males. Females.
Ahmedabad ... ... 2
Thana ... ... 232 184
Jawhar State ... ... 9 I
Ahmednagar ... ... 10,582 10,622
Khandesh ... ... 6,532 6,359
Nasik 3,9»o 4,198
Poona 10,077 IT>573
Satara ... I3.376 I3,lo$
Sholapur ... 14,213 14^43
Akalkot 894 821
Bhor ... ... 259 224
Khandesh Agency ... 6 7
Satara Agency ... 1,385 1,363
Belgaum ... ... 10,896 11,348
Bijapur ... ... 15,040 15,468
Dharwar i9.°55 19>I25
Kanara ... ... 49 54
Kolaba ... ... 302 307
Ratnagiri ... ... 20 7
Janjira ... ... 12 13
Kolhapur ... ... 8,580 8,341
Southern Manitha Country ... 8,748 9,031
109
250,559
Mangs as a race are hardy, intemperate, cruel, passionate
drest and revengeful. In physique they are
well built, athletic, and vary between
the sturdy heavy and the wiry active types. All are endowed
with powers of great endurance. Their features are coarse
and dark with a somewhat fierce expression. They are dirty
livers and feeders.
In villages they live apart in a quarter known as the
' Mangwada ' or ' Madargeri/ separate even from the
Mahars. They are much given to drink, tobacco and ganja
smoking.
Mangs like Ramoshis swear by the ' Bel Bhandar.'
As a class they are troublesome and addicted to serious
crimes according as they preponderate in a given area
over other criminal classes such as Kaikadis, Ramoshis,
Berads, etc.
Mangs, however, will not steal from Mangs.
There are two kinds of leaders among the class : (i) Desh-
mehtrias and (2) Surnaiks. The former are religious and
social heads, the latter leaders in crime.
110 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
In dress and appearance Mangs, male and female, are
very like others of the depressed classes. There is no
characteristic difference, yet a practised eye can at once
distinguish a Mang.
The women are dark and plain. They tie their hair in a
knot, often without the aid of a piece of silk, cotton or woollen
thread. Their hands and arms are profusely tattooed, the
figures of a cypress, scorpion and snake being preferred. A
mark thus FIT will often be found tattooed on all fingers of the
right hand except the thumb and a sun-flower on the back of
the same hand. They wear the sari full without drawing it up
between the legs, a choli (bodice) with short sleeves and
back, and brass or zinc ornaments.
The costume of the men consists of a dirty dhotar, ragged
pagri, a jacket or pairan and shoulder-cloth. Barbers will not
shave them, so they have to depend on each other for a
shave and this enhances their general dirty and unkempt
appearance.
Mangs always speak the language of the district in which
they reside. Their accent and intona-
tion> however, is faulty. Those who
speak Marathi do not pronounce
nasals properly and cannot correctly sound two consonants
joined by a single vowel. Their speech is, as might be
expected, rough and coarse.
The following are some of their slang expressions col-
01 lected from different parts of the Pre-
Slang used. . .
sidency : —
Slang. Meaning.
tikari hikavito or tikria nemito . abuses.
hidka-hidki ... affray.
hiduk ... beat.
kor or lipda ... blanket.
regal, parad or tinkan ... Brahmin.
kudtul ... box.
dhadal ... to break.
khadal ... to break upon.
karpati . . . bread.
yedul, nakya ... bullock.
varavala ... came.
kuni varv.il ... some one will come.
dandal, pedla ... came to search.
kudapal .. cart.
gagaru, gangal . . . Chamar.
MANGS.
I I I
Slang.
tikhati
pedne
peda
kapadul, lipda
pakuche
khumar
tavla
hedakla
nayal, jhukail
aploo aploo shega
pedam, bhoora
dutiv or dutav
kiwanya, kijva
khumara
gavana
dhupa
tankula, yelach, ohili
nekle, gorin, nemani
yerala
halak, halaw, or halwa
thokade, chunkha
hingala
nan
kobal, kolkal
dubak, phukni
zirage
kuram or kurma
kud, kudcha
karka or korka
nali, khavdi
kasoo
tika mangla bhanpa
gavana
beya or boya
vaji
chilad or chiliad
chanapto, kanivto
sobada, sombala
ambuj
aril, godga dandal
pena, ghatar, bhukar
kharape, damula, or rokda
sasaema
oon or una
zimak, zumuk, zumain
ray a
shikhare
kahuna
zukil, zukir, moongshi
Meaning.
chillies.
to clear away.
clear away, start or go.
cloth.
cock.
door.
dacoity with murder.
dacoity with grievous
hurt.
dog.
distribute property.
a European.
eat.
eye.
face.
feet.
fire.
flesh.
goat.
god.
gold or stolen property.
goldsmith.
Gujar.
good.
grain.
gun.
hair.
horse.
house.
hand.
house-breaking.
kadbi stack.
to keep a watch.
leg.
lamp.
land.
lock.
looks.
man.
Mang.
Maratha.
Mali a r.
money or cash.
murder.
moonlight (night).
Musalman.
night.
nose.
pot.
police.
112 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Slang. Meaning,
puyal . . . poor,
matu, shega, yarn;! ... robbery,
boyala . . . ramoshi or watchman,
nirtakale ... river,
tad . . . rope, string,
hurkat, peda, hushkada ... runaway,
kingalvala, dhulkia ... scavenger,
yemul ... she-buffaloe.
goril ... sheep,
tikane ... to sit.
tolakla, tolakawla ... slept,
nilingi, kodpan, nilganti ... stick,
apal, vapal ... stone,
godala, goeda . . . sugarcane or coarse
sugar.
kadul, katnul, dharali ... sword or weapon,
seg, sed * ... to take,
chavare ... teeth,
nakarvama, nakawala ... teli (oil-seller),
mooch, nali . . . theft,
nir . . . water,
adatule ... wife or woman,
fiirman ... term used by Mangs
when greeting one
another.
Mangs are frequently employed as watchmen and those
who are hereditary village servants
ib nhTd" ( hold lands and cultivate them. In the
village constitution Mangs are the
scavengers, songsters and musicians. Some keep leeches
for bleeding purposes while others geld cattle. Numbers make
hide and hempen ropes, slings, shinkds (net bags), brooms,
and work in tanneries. Among Mangs are also to be found
shoe-makers and workers in leather. It is a Mang who
actually carries out the extreme penalty of the law.
As a class they are poor but well nourished as they will
eat everything and anything even the carcasses of animals
that die in the village.
The Dakelwar Mang is the bard of the tribe. He is not
a criminal but lives by begging solely from Mangs.
Mangs do not go in systematically for disguises but
occasionally individuals make them-
< selves up as Gosavis and thus dis-
guised, prospect houses, etc. During
MANGS. 113
the actual commission of crime, to avoid identification, they
cover the lower part of their faces, or smear them with ashes
or soot and sometimes tie a kambli (blanket) over the head
fastening it off round the waist.
Mangs of the Deccan are the most dangerous and trouble-
some of all. Those in the Carnatic
Crime to which addicted. 111 i i • «•
and elsewhere are more law-abiding
and less an anxiety to the police. The former go in chiefly
for gang robbery, dacoity, burglary, cattle lifting and poisoning,
thefts of all kinds and cheating by passing off spurious
ornaments as genuine. They are expert night thieves and
house-breakers. They are also fond of decoying 'receivers'
with money into lonely places in the open country to do a deal,
then, turning on them they either rob them of the cash
brought for the purpose or secure the cash by some ruse.
In the Satara District, Mangs bearing surnames of ' Bhishi '
and ' Sonawle ' are reputed the most criminal.
In the Carnatic, Madars are addicted chiefly to the com-
mission of petty thefts and cattle-poisoning. When they
commit the latter it is with one of two objects, either revenge
because some hak (due) has been refused by an agriculturist,
or when times are hard for the hide which is, in some
villages, by custom and usage, their right, and the carcass
which they eat.
In the Deccan the differences existing between Mangs and
Mahars in respect to the performance of customary rites on
religious and sacrificial occasions, not infrequently give rise to
serious quarrels, rioting and bloodshed.
The women, as a rule, do not assist the men in their
criminal activities, but instances are known in which they have
accompanied dacoit gangs, probably to cook for them.
Among other means of obtaining information regarding
houses to be looted or burgled, the
Methods employed in com- , , , , r , 11-1
mitting crime and distinguish- Mangs profession of selling brooms
ing characteristics likely to ancj rOpes enables them to spy out the
land and acquire valuable knowledge.
Information is also occasionally secured through Mangs or
bad characters living in the village to be attacked or from
some enemy of the owner of the house to be looted. In such
cases the informer gets a share of the ' loot.' For the rest,
advantage is taken of favourable opportunities, such as
114 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
domestic, religious or social festivities attended by a display
of jewellery and valuables.
When planning a dacoity the pros and cons are first care-
fully discussed, the design being carried into execution on the
first favourable dark night. Dacoities are committed by gangs
of ten to twenty led by the ' surnaik ' or a deputy appointed by
him. Every gang is collected and organized by some one
who is styled ' naik ' or ' surnaik.' He is elected by vote
on his merits as a robber, his intellectual capacities, his
influence with the village authorities and prominent land-owners,
his readiness in speech and his capabilities as a leader. Thus
elected he takes command of or directs all criminal expeditions
and receives a share of the spoil whether he accompanies the
expedition or not ; but should he lead an expedition, he receives
an extra share.
All arrangements as to meeting, proceeding to the village
to be attacked, and details of the attack are arranged before-
hand either in the ' surnaik's ' house or some other suitable
place. Liquor is indulged in and a consultation is held, when
instructions are issued by the leader to each member as to the
part he is to take.
At the appointed time the gang assembles in any broken
ground that may afford shelter from observation in the vicinity
of the spot which has been selected as the scene of action.
Here shoes and superfluous clothing are left, sometimes in
charge of one of the gang. A supply of stones, which are
deposited in several heaps near the house to be attacked,
is taken and these are used as missiles against counter-
attack.
Mangs are capable of slinging stones with great force and
accuracy and rely on their skill in this respect when attacked
or pursued.
In house dacoity, the village is either rushed, the dacoits
carrying torches, letting off fire-arms if they have any, or
potash bombs, pelting stones promiscuously, warning the
inhabitants not to come out of their houses and generally
creating a great noise while they make for the house to be
attacked ; or, the village is stealthily entered, the gang going
quietly to the doomed house. In the latter event one of the
gang will first try to gain peaceable admission by some
plausible story ; if he fails, the door of the house is forced with
a hatchet and walls are scaled occasionally with the aid of a
MANGS. I 15
rough ladder or climbing pole. Some of the gang enter the
house, the rest remain outside and cover the approaches to the
building.
Entrance having been effected, torches are lit and the
inmates are sought out and forced by threats of violence to
show where money and jewellery may be hidden. In some
instances the dacoits use Kaikadi or Hindustani words among
themselves to divert suspicion.
Mangs if in a tight corner stop short at nothing to secure
their escape or to resist capture.
The plunderers, if unmolested, abstain from personal
violence, but refusal to point out valuables meets with ill-
treatment. Should there be any difficulty in detaching an
ornament, a Mang will not hesitate to tear it out of nose or
ear, even of married women, otherwise they rarely offer violence
to females.
The ' surnaik ' moves about supervising and encouraging
the rest of the gang and seeing they carry out the duties
allotted to them properly. Having ransacked the house and
secured all there is to be had, the ' naik ' gives the word ' chalo,'
' peda ' or ' nibla,' which is the signal to decamp. On this
the gang beats an orderly retreat, slinging stones till clear of
the village, thence the dacoits proceed with expedition to the
rendezvous where the shoes and clothes were left. In order
to mislead enquiry they occasionally drop some articles dis-
tinctive of other castes, and to baffle pursuit return by devious
routes.
Stolen property usually remains with the member of the
gang who secured it till he is required to disgorge what he has
got, later.
Either at the rendezvous described above or two or three
miles from the scene of the crime, a halt is called by the ' naik '
and the property is pooled and distributed, the ' naik ' satisfying
himself that all has been given up. Over the distribution of
property quarrelling often takes place owing to the dishonesty
which prevails at the division of plunder and the distrust
Mangs entertain for one another when it comes to sharing
the spoil.
A village dacoity is not necessarily confined to one house,
occasionally as many as three buildings are attacked at a
time.
Il6 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Highway robberies and road dacoities are generally com-
mitted about sunset, or soon after, on carts or tongas by
gangs numbering from four to ten. The weapons carried on such
occasions are sticks and axes. Two of the men squat on the
road quietly chewing betelnut or otherwise engaged, the
remainder being concealed in some convenient hiding place
near at hand. As the conveyance approaches the men sitting
on the road jump up suddenly and stop the bullocks or ponies,
while the remainder rush out from their place of hiding, pull
the driver off his seat, secure him and then proceed to rob
the occupants. All is so rapidly accomplished that the per-
petrators are seldom identified. Occasionally the victims are
left tied to the conveyance or a tree to prevent their carrying
early information.
Burglary.
The Mang is a burglar of superior attainments. The
4 bagli' method of breaking into a house is favoured by him.
One or two enter the house while others keep watch and are
at hand outside. In tracts where houses have flat mud roofs
Mangs are said to be careful, when effecting entrance through
a hole in the roof of a house, to prevent any of the earth
falling into the room below lest some one inside should be
aroused. This they do, as the hole increases in size, by
carefully scraping the earth, as it is loosened, to one side.
Once inside the house, the Mang proceeds to business in a
calculating manner. He will use any lamp or wick he may
find in the house to light his way about and, if any of the
inmates are lying with bed clothes tossed aside, the considerate
Mang will gently replace them, carefully enveloping the
sleeper's head. Those inside the house and their confederates
outside, work together admirably, the latter covering the work
of the former, receiving whatever is handed out and giving the
alarm if necessary. Among some Mang burglars it is the
practice for the confederate outside to keep up a quiet and
regular tapping, by flicking the first finger from the thumb on
window or door, all the while those inside are at work and the
coast is clear. The cessation of this ' all well ' signal from
outside signifies danger to those inside.
Mangs are credited with a disinclination to commit crime
on the day set apart for the worship of the family deity and,
as a rule, they do not commit ordinary thefts or burglaries in
the day-time. They have no scruples about admitting or
joining other castes in a criminal venture, for instance,
MAiNGS. I i 7
Mahars, Mangs and a Lingayat Jangum have been known to
form a gang and commit a dacoity.
A Mang criminal who confesses, will not, as a rule, pro-
duce all the stolen property in his possession but only a portion
of it.
Defrauding ' receivers ' is accomplished by the sudden arrival
of a confederate in the role of a police officer while the deal is
in progress ; an alarm is raised and the Mangs decamp with
ornaments and cash in one direction while the victim makes
off in another ; or, the bogus police officer intercepts the
' receiver ' while wending his way home and relieves him of the
ornaments.
Their favourite instrument for burglary is called a khantoda.
It is made of iron, about a foot in
stock-in-trade, instruments length and chisel-shaped at one end.
and weapons used in com- , °, . . , ,. .
mitting crime. In dacoities they carry slings and
stones, sticks, torches, an axe, probably
knives or daggers, swords and fire-arms if obtainable, and
explosive potash bombs. The lathi usually carried by a Mang
reaches up to about the shoulder. It is said that in some
parts Mangs generally grasp a lathi or stick by the thicker
end, Ramoshis by the thinner, and though there may be
some foundation for the statement it would probably not always
be safe to draw conclusions from the alleged peculiarity.
It is also reported that the ladder or climbing pole used by
Kaikadis and described in the note on that class, is occasionally
used by Mangs to gain access to the roof of a house or to
assist in scaling walls.
When embarking on a dacoity some distance from their
homes, instead of taking sticks with them when they start,
Mangs, to evade suspicion, often prefer to provide themselves
with cudgels en route.
If the plunder consists of cash, the ' surnaik's ' share is
first allotted and the balance is then
Ways and means of con- divided into as many shares as there
cealme or disposing or stolen , . J , , ,
property. are members in the gang and each then
takes his share. Thus the ' surnaik,'
if he has participated in the crime, comes in for two shares.
In some gangs the ' naik ' keeps what he himself secures
during the commission of the crime and in addition receives
one share from the rest of the ' loot.'
Il8 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
The less experienced of the gang are given cash as tlu-ir
share of the plunder lest they should, if arrested by the police,
be prevailed on to produce property, or by clumsiness in dis-
posing of it, afford a clue and bring the entire gang into
trouble.
Their methods of concealing and disposing of stolen goods
are similar to those of Ramoshis, Kaikadis, Berads and the
like. They bury ' loot ' till police enquiry has languished when
it is unearthed and disposed of to goldsmiths, sir^^h-s,
Marwadis, liquor-vendors, bangle-sellers or other villagers and
usually where the culprits have some relative or connection.
Property is, as a rule, disposed of intact.
Mang-Garudis.
Mang-garudis must not be confused with either Mangs
or Garudis. They have nothing in
Name °ofr<tribLi.nal daSS common with the latter and are
socially inferior to the former who
refuse to dine or smoke the chilam with Mang-garudis.
In the Deccan and Konkan the women are known among
the villagers as Kath-kadnis owing to their dirty uncouth
appearance.
Mang-garudis are distinct too from ' Gopals/ wandering
gymnasts, for whom they are apt to be mistaken.
They are a poor roving class having no fixed dwellings.
They wander from place to place and
Habitat. J . e 111 , TA
are to be found throughout the Presi-
dency. They are also met with in the Central Provinces,
Berars and parts of His Highness the Nizam's Territory.
Mang-garudis are a gipsy tribe and as a rule do not
peregrinate over a very extensive area,
gangs confining themselves more or
less to a particular beat. They do
not go long distances in pursuit of crime, but confine
their operations to the neghbourhood of their encampments.
An instance is however on record of a single individual having
been caught picking pockets in a bazar forty miles from
the encampment.
On promising information a party will occasionally travel
as far as twenty miles in a night to commit crime.
The Bombay Presidency census returns of 1901 show no
Mang-garudis, from which it would
appear that members of this tribe have
been returned as Mangs or Garudis
or among the ( Unspecified.' The tribe is apparently not a
very numerous one.
The men are of medium height, strong, active and wiry ;
lazy and averse to hard work. Their
Appearance, dress, etc. J ...
costume consists or a short dhotar
(pancha) or tangpti according to choice, a bandi (jacket) or
atigarkha, an old turban carelessly tied and a shoulder-cloth,
120 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PKKSIDKNCY.
all of coarse cloth. Some wear a cotton kdclin or waist-band.
The well-to-do wear shoes. The women dress themselves in
the sari and choli after the manner of the depressed classes
of the Deccan, the former short and untidy. When begging
in villages they improvise out of some old cloth z.jholi or bag
which is suspended from the left shoulder and into this they
stow whatever they get. Beads, coloured or black according
to fancy, are also worn. They apply knnku only when
actually being married and on important festivals. Their
bangles are made of lead and ear-rings of brass. Nose-rings
and anklets are not usually worn. Boys sometimes wear brass
chains round the neck, sometimes coloured cotton thread neck-
laces. Both among men and women no trouble is taken with
the hair; it is seemingly never combed, is short and always
dishevelled. Both sexes are extremely dirty in their persons
and clothing and most offensive to go near. They are also
notoriously quarrelsome.
They peregrinate from village to village, avoiding police
posts, with their families, dogs, ponies and cattle, encamping,
as a rule, a long way from, but within reach of, some bazar or
good -sized village. Barren she-buffaloes are the means of
their transport, portable grass huts (jhopdds) their dwellings.
One of the gang usually acts as spokesman and conducts
business with outsiders.
The men are great drunkards and eat every kind of flesh
except that of horses and donkeys.
Here and there an individual is to be met with who has
given up wandering and has settled as a cultivator living in a
farm-house on his field.
The Mang-garudis speak corrupt
Dialect and peculiarities »* -i.u' •*.!. r /-« • x'
of speech. Maratni without any trace or Gujerati
origin, if any.
The following are some of the slang expressions used
Slan used by Mang-garudis in the Central Pro-
vinces :—
Slang. Meaning.
yelgu ... ... policeman.
kawrie ... ... thdt.
lipata or latta ... ... stolen cloth.
laf ... ... money.
damrie ... ... rupee.
kapulun ... ... runaway.
MANG-GARUDIS. 121
Slang. Meaning,
jakia ... ... dog.
zumani ... ... Musalman.
nakora ... ... bullock.
zamaisi ... ... buffaloe.
sendee ... .. girl.
sonda ... ... boy.
ketmi ... ... mother.
tiponi nako ... ... do not tell.
yelgu vairla kurhyar tala . . . look out, a policeman is coining .
lipata kapurla tugaj . . . there is some property, steal it .
In the Dec can.
asra ... ... ten.
suti ... ... twenty.
kapsuti ... ... twenty-five.
karpati ... ... bread.
khamosa .. ... money.
lipda ... ... cloth.
zukail ... ... dog.
zumani ... ... Musalman.
nakoda ... ... bullock.
irmachi ... ... buffaloe.
khariola ... ... came.
ghanala ... ... pot, vessel.
thamnia . ... ... Brahmin.
dandal or natia ... . Kunbi or Maratha.
kud ... ... house.
kurma ... ... horse.
markal . . ... goat.
niroma ... ... water.
ripai ... ... policeman.
rozdar ... ... chief constable.
kiwa ... ... gold.
khapad, pehed . . . run away,
pangti ... ... fowl.
kobal ... ... grain.
gavna ... ... shoe.
khoyra ... ... ramoshi.
bhukria ... ... Mahar.
chimgia ... ... Mang.
khapa ... ... rupee.
Mang-garudis never do a hard day's work. Begging,
performing childish conjuring tricks
Ostensible means, before villagerSj trading in barren half-
starved buffaloes and buffaloe calves,
sometimes in country ponies, are their ostensible means of
subsistence. They also purchase from Gowlis barren buffaloes
which they profess to be able to make fertile, returning
122 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
them when pregnant for double the purchase money and they
shave buffaloes for villagers.
A very few have settled and taken to cultivation. They
do not go in for snake charming. The women sell firewood,
grass etc., and wander from door to door begging and chant-
ing. They are immoral.
Mang-garudis adopt no special disguises, but when com-
mitting crimes of violence, like other
)isgUSyedn0t£tfondm criminals, to avoid identification they
muffle their faces. They however
frequently change their names.
Men, women and children are habitual thieves and pilferers.
They specially go in for stealing
Cnme to which addicted. -1^1 i r j
agricultural produce from, and grazing
their animals in, ryots' fields ; remonstrance is met with abuse
and often violence. The women steal in the day and the men
at night, the former being very clever at pilfering clothes put
out to dry, picking pockets in bazars, sneaking fowls, shoes
etc., etc.
The men of this tribe are cattle poisoners and confirmed
cattle lifters ; buffaloes being of most use to them are their
chief prey. Lifting smaller livestock such as goats, sheep
and fowrls are common crimes with them and villagers are, as
a rule, unwilling to approach their encampments to recover
their property.
During harvest time they are much given to stealing grain
and cotton. They will occasionally go in for burglary and even
highway robbery and dacoity. Recently they have taken to
thieving on the railway.
Defrauding owners of their barren she-buffaloes under the
pretext of making them fertile, carrying them off with some
earnest money for the promised service and subsequently
selling them at a distance, is a favourite mode of cheating
practised by Mang-garudis. Other forms of cheating are the
sale of false ornaments as genuine and decoying and swindling
or robbing ' receivers.'
A gang will sometimes number as many as eighty or even
more persons, and it is idle to suppose
Methods employed in com- , ,
muting crime and distinguish- that so large an encampment can
LnffordCaadueeriStiCS "^ '° maintain itself and its HUmerOUS live-
stock without continually depredating
the surrounding country.
MANG-GARUDIS. 123
Not infrequently only boys and women with children at
their breasts, will be found at the encampment and when
the latter are asked where the male members are, they unblush-
ingly say there are none.
They have a wholesome dread of being dealt with under
Chapter VIII, Criminal Procedure Code.
When committing highway robbery they picket the road to
be exploited in small groups a mile or two apart and way-
lay carts and passengers as these come from either direction.
They lift buffaloes left out to graze, drive off village cattle
with their own and adroitly alter the appearance of stolen
animals by trimming their horns and branding so as to render
recognition by the rightful owners difficult or impossible.
They rob ' receivers ' by inviting them to purchase stolen
goods at some out-of-the-way place and when there, relieve
them of the cash brought for the purchase of the property.
Stealing goats and sheep is a favourite occupation with
them. They either carry them off alive from their pens at
night or kill them whilst out grazing. This latter is done in
the following manner. Having marked down a sheep or a
goat grazing some way apart on the outskirts of the flock, the
thief awaits his opportunity till the shepherd's back is turned
when the animal is quietly and quickly seized and its neck
broken by a sudden and powerful twist ; the body is then thrown
into a bush or into some dip in the ground and the offender
slips away. When the shepherd is well out of sight^the thief
returns and removes the carcass to his encampment. The
skin, horns, etc., are immediately disposed of so as to avoid
detection.
Women are employed to visit villages and towns under the
pretext of begging, there to mark houses and make mental
notes of means of ingress etc., with a view to carrying
information to the males. They will also enter houses freely
when begging if there is nobody about and lift whatever
comes to hand. They go off in parties of four or five to
the various neighbouring bazars where they proceed to beg
or steal as opportunity offers. They steal either from houses
they find have been left empty for the time being, or else
in the open bazar. Their method in the bazar is as follows.
They see some one put down a bundle and watch until his
attention is attracted elsewhere. They then walk up quietly,
get between the individual and his property, and rapidly
transfer the bundle or bag to their basket, which generally
124 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
contains some old clothes, and make off as quickly as
possible. If they think they are likely to be seen they
first cover the bundle with their clothes and then remove it.
These thefts are only committed by the women of the gang
and their education begins when they are able to walk.
Mang-garudis if caught red-handed, repudiate connection
with any particular gang. Conversely a gang will never own
up to any connection with any Mang-garudi who has been
unfortunate enough to be caught.
If the gang has met with any marked success and obtained
a large haul anywhere, the deity is propitiated.
The men openly visit surrounding villages and behave
quietly, perform some little tamdsha to obtain alms, but always
keep their eyes and ears open with a view to getting informa-
tion likely to help them to the commission of crime.
Sticks and slings are their favourite weapons. Occasionally
hatchets are made use of for breaking
Stock-in-trade instruments open doors ancj a khailtoda (ail iron
and weapons used in commit- . * Nf .. .. . v ,,
ting crime. jemmy) tor making holes in walls.
They have been known to carry kuclila
(strychnia) and dhatura possibly for poisoning, perhaps for
the treatment of barren buffaloes.
Stolen property such as cash, jewels and clothes, should
it have been some time in their posses-
Ways and means of con- siOn. is concealed about the persons
cealing or disposing of stolen f . . . ,,
property. ot men and women or in the saddle-
bags of their buffaloes. When search-
ing individuals, the rectum of males and the private parts
of women should invariably be examined as instances are known
of property having been concealed in these parts. Plunder
freshly acquired is buried in the neighbourhood of the encamp-
ment often near or under the place where their cattle are
tethered. Liquor- vendors are almost always their ' receivers.'
A favourite place for hiding stolen grain and cotton is in kadbce
stacks in the immediate vicinity of the encampment.
Stolen property, if field produce, is usually sold at once to
some one at a distance from the scene of the crime or
deposited with Kunbis and pdtils in league with the gan^.
The women will sometimes conceal small quantities of grain
in cloth belts about their waists and if a suspected woman
appears to be pregnant a search may be desirable and pro-
ductive of useful results.
MANG-GARUDIS. 125
Valuable booty is occasionally passed on to some friendly
gang in an adjoining district or province. Sympathetic pAtils
and blacksmiths are also employed to dispose of stolen pro-
perty.
The women are expert spies for the men and when the
police have to deal with a gang, the men are apt to be
truculent and the women become very boisterous, violent and
troublesome and create scenes. To hamper and embarrass
the police they will stick at nothing even in injuring themselves
and their children to create a diversion, assaulting the police
and making false accusations of all kinds. A common trick
is to seize a child by the legs and swing it round at arm's
length threatening to dash it to the ground unless the police
clear out. Another is for the women to lift their saris or even
divest themselves of their clothing and stand up naked in order
to shame the police into making off and leaving them alone.
If stolen property is found in a search, the women to
save the men will not infrequently admit the crime.
Property pilfered by women is usually kept by the family ;
money dishonestly obtained is spent on drink for the gang.
Stolen articles of clothing are sometimes exchanged at
Kalals' (liquor-vendors') shops for liquor or sewn into patch-
work quilts (godhdis) or saddle-bags and sold later as oppor-
tunity offers.
Mianas.
Mianas should on no account be mistaken for ( Minas,' the
professional burglars of Northern India.
Name o^™™1 class The following are some of the principal
sub-divisions or clans of this class : —
Sumeja. Wagher.
MAr. Kajardia.
Jam. Ladhani.
Saintani. Paredi.
Baidani. Manek.
Khattia or Katia. Mulla.
Bhati. Jamani.
Sakhaya. Malek.
Sandhwani. Sama.
Malani. Gandh.
Zeda. Dhara.
Sumera.
Mianas are found chiefly in Kathiawad and Cutch. In the
former they are mostly confined to
their adopted home, the State of Malia
and especially to the villages of Malia, Kajarda, Chikli,
Nawagaon along the coast of Jamnagar State. A few fami-
lies are said to reside in Palanpur and Patipipalia under
Dhandhuka in the Ahmedabad District.
In Sind they are represented sparsely by more or less
temporary immigrants.
When not engaged in looking after their crops the Malia
State Mianas have been accustomed
an- to making long journeys to Sind, Cutch ,
Radhanpur and Palanpur in Northern
Gujerat as also into the Ahmedabad District and all over
Kathiawad. When hunted, after committing dacoities, they
have been known to go in small numbers to Multan, with which
place they are connected through a />//- whose remains were
originally buried just outside Malia but were subsequently
removed to Multan. Their wanderings have, however, been
greatly circumscribed by the introduction, in 1904, of certain
regulations.
MIANAS. 127
Mianas will commit a dacoity at a distance of forty to sixty
miles from their dangas or homes getting back before day-light,
and instances are on record of Miana raids from Kathiawad
into the Ahmedabad District, a hundred miles or so away.
The tribe is a settled one, not wandering or migratory.
A gross population of over 10,000 represents the Miana
Population according to last strength, which is distributed as
census, and distribution. under :
Males. Females.
Cutch ... ... 2,816 3,062
Kathiawad ... ... 2,292 2,400
Palanpur ... ... 12 12
5.474
y --- '
10,594
Mianas, originally Hindus, were converted many years
ago to Islam. In appearance they
Appearance, dress, etc. , 11,1 <-.- U • J
closely resemble the bindhis and are a
handsome virile-looking race. They are above the average in
height with wavy long hair, well-kept bushy beards and clear-
cut aquiline features, keen eyes, very white teeth and swarthy
skin. They are fond of riding and sport, are intelligent,
active, untiring, courageous, but withal treacherous.
Their women are known for their good looks and bad
morals.
The men dress in tight trousers and angarkha, pasabaudi,
or short coat and always tie a cloth (pichodi}, generally of a
khaki or dark colour, round their loins trie ends falling on each
side of the leg over the trousers. The head-dress consists of
a turban of various colours tied in a circular fashion after the
Morvi pattern ; a red or khaki skull cap or a handkerchief is
frequently worn under or in lieu of the pagri. Occasionally a
scarf is thrown over the shoulders.
Cutchi Mianas leave one end of the turban loose, in other
respects their dress is similar to that of the Malia Miana.
Though Mahomedans holding certain pirs in esteem, their
mode of life is akin to that of Rajputs.
From the subjoined story taken from the ' Rasmala '
something of the character of the Miana may be gleaned : —
"One day while an Arab of the Gaikwar's army was at his
prayers, a MiAna' passed by and enquired of him who he was afraid
128 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
of that he bent his head that way. The Arab replied that he feared
no one but God. ' Oh ! then,' said the Miana, ' come along with me
to Malia ; we don't fear even God there.' "
The Miana's fondness for joking is a distinct characteristic
of his nature and he is of a merry disposition as the following
translation of a stipulation (taken from a foot-note in the
Bombay Gazetteer) which they made out and signed in good
faith, though no doubt laughing up their sleeves all the time,
will illustrate : —
"The Holi being a Hindu festival in the excitement of which
we have no right to participate, we promise not to indulge for the
future in our habit of committing burglaries at that season. We
promise also to give up hanging about the town gates at morn and
eve and annoying female passers-by with our remarks. Malia and
Kajarda shall no longer continue to be seminaries for the propaga-
tion of our customs. We admit that it is very wrong to make
holes in the fort walls for our easier exits. We will not again so
offend."
They are apparently incapable of abiding by any bond or
agreement.
Mianas under British administration are compelled to live
in towns and villages. Some are allowed to live in grass huts,
which they call vandh, in their fields. Formerly a vandh was
a fairly large encampment of Mianas, now the term is applied
to Miana huts in fields.
Mianas amongst themselves speak ' Karo Kajadi ' or
' Kuro Kuro,' a mixture of Cutchi
and Sindhi- They can also converse
in Gujerati and Hindustani. When
attempting to speak another language they frequently betray
themselves by saying ' me chio,' meaning ' I say.'
Malia Mianas talk roughly. When angry they are fond of
using an abusive term ' dhyd ' or f gadddia.'
A few accept employ in the Agency or State police, some
are good honest cultivators, but the
;iblilhoSnsoflive" majority are loafers who eke out a
precarious existence by occasional
labour or snaring of game and perhaps as grazers of
cattle. They are also employed, though not frequently, as
' ramoshis ' and by Banias as escorts. They are however so
treacherous that they cannot be depended on. Away from
home they maintain themselves by keeping ca/ts for hire or by
manual labour.
MIANAS. 129
The adoption of disguises by change of dress or altering
the appearance is not usual among
£S£S£am Mianas. They sometimes are dis-
guised as fakirs or try to pass them-
selves off as Girasias, but more often as Sindhis or Jats. When
however they are committing a daring dacoity or are bailing
up passengers on a road in Gujerat, they often pretend to be
Customs or Police officers or to belong to the irregular soldiery
of some Chief. On such occasions they wear the uniforms
and belts which they have collected or stolen and carry swords
and guns, which they value very highly and obtain and secrete
under ground with extraordinary skill. When in large gangs
they never attempt to hide their identity but take a pride
in letting the people know that they are Mianas.
The Miana of Malia is a confirmed and desperate free-
booter defying all law and order, but
Crime to which addicted. . , J ' , . .
in the present day his movements are
controlled and checked by stringent supervision and the
enforcement of special regulations.
Fancied or real grievances against constituted authority
and blood feuds amongst themselves, brought about as a rule
by the fickleness of their women and their low ideas of morality,
on which however they rather pride themselves, are causes
which excite their criminal instincts and drive them into out-
lawry. As a dacoit the Miana still stands supreme in Kathia-
wad. History furnishes ample evidence of his prowess as such
— his cruelty, cunning, courage and stamina.
Mianas are addicted to daring highway robberies and
dacoities, sacking villages, cattle lifting, house-breaking, thefts
of all kinds, extortion by intimidating petty land-owners and
enticing away or kidnapping wives and daughters of Mianas
of other clans. A vindictive race, they have been known
to waylay and cut off the noses and lips of officials who have
proved obnoxious to them, and frequently they disfigure faith-
less women by cutting off their noses.
They are also adepts at breaking out of jail and escap-
ing from custody when being escorted from one place to
another.
They set much store by arms and ammunition and are
expert in their use. If they cannot obtain weapons by fair
means they will acquire them by theft.
Their plans are always well laid and daringly executed.
B 514—9
130 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY!
The most criminal clans of the Miana class are llu- Jam,
Sandhwani, Mor, Paredi, Manek, Gandh and Ladhani.
Armed with a permit, allowing them to leave their villages,
obtained on some pretext or other
Methods employed in com- . 1,1 • / .1
mining crinu- and distinguish- or by stealth or with the connivance
ing characteristics likely to of elders of the clan (who are to a
afford a clue. , u .,, r
great extent held responsible for any
crime traced back to the tribe), a few enterprising individuals
will leave their villages, often mounted on camels, armed with
gun or sword and hold up some unfortunate Bania, raid cattle
or rob some rich money-lender who fancies himself secure in
his village with a guard of a couple of Pathans or Arabs.
These watchmen often show fight and not infrequently
the depredators sustain fatal injuries. On such occasions the
wounded are carried off by their comrades and day-break
finds them back in their villages ready to explain to the police
how ' Maya ' is suffering from a broken leg, the result of a fall
from a tree, or ' Visa ' was gored to death by a vicious bullock.
When hopelessly involved they turn outlaw or ' Barwatia '
(literally ' out on the road ') and cause much annoyance and
loss to the public and trouble to the authorities before they are
finally captured.
Comparatively recently, dacoities on a large scale were
committed in the Ahmedabad District by a mixed gang of
Mianas and Kolis mounted on camels, with a skill, rapidity,
and fearlessness worthy of a better cause. Arrested and
convicted they were extradited to Baroda for offences in that
State and while awaiting trial at the Petlad Jail, the accused
broke out and defied, for some time, authority in the country
between the borders of Sind through Cutch and Kathiawad to
Ahmedabad. Surrounded at last by the Kathiawad Agency
and Chuda State Police after one year's freedom, they offered
a stout resistance and most were shot down or captured.
Mianas get information of houses to be looted through
local friends. The gang which, as a rule, exceeds five in
number, resorts to a suitable spot in the jungles near a tank
or well within ten miles or so of the scene of the proposed
crime. Thence, armed with guns, swords and sticks, they
make for the village marked down, the house is rushed,
perhaps under pretext of a search for contraband opium, and
the inmates intimidated and terrified. Hesitation to point out
tin- spot when- valuables are concealed meets with severe
maltreatment. While some are engaged in the house, others
MIANAS. 131
will post themselves at the approaches and outside the village
to prevent their victims from escaping and outside assistance
from arriving till the dacoity is over.
Or again, before committing a large dacoity or sacking a
village, one or two Mianas come down and carefully
reconnoitre the ground. Frequently one gets some work in the
neighbourhood and then when plans are matured word is
sent back to Malia or wherever the danga or Miana
encampment happens to be. On such occasions they walk
or ride immense distances, always keeping near a river-bed.
In exploiting highways a gang is divided into two groups
posted at an interval of a mile or so apart to intercept
passengers and carts travelling in both directions. When
retreating, the gang, in order to mislead, travels away from
the direction eventually to be taken and endeavours to keep
to hard ground or marsh land which leaves no tracks.
In order to deceive trackers as to the numerical strength
of a gang, some of the members will, it is said, occasionally
carry others on their backs for some distance to reduce the
number of foot-prints. As a rule they travel by night and
halt during the day, posting look-outs on trees etc. near the
halting place. Should a villager or a traveller come suddenly
or unexpectedly on a gang, he is not allowed to proceed till
it has departed ; not infrequently he is tied to a tree, in which
unhappy plight he remains till he is discovered by some
villager next morning.
After a large haul or escape from a jail, Mianas will, as
soon as possible, go to the Multani pirs tomb outside Malia
to offer up thanks for their success.
" The daring nature of the offence and the Miana's dis-
tinctive appearance usually afford a clue to the identity of the
culprits.
When engaged in house-breaking they use violence if
interfered with.
Admission of guilt is practically unknown, unless obtained
through the influence of elders.
Mr. Souter, a former Superintendent of the Kathiawad
Agency Police, who on one occasion greatly distinguished him-
self in a personal encounter with a well-armed and desperate
gang, writing with special experience of Mianas, says that —
" Miana outlaws when brought to bay have in past years
frequently shown fight. On such occasions they have borne out the
132 (KIMINA1. CLASSES, HOM1JAY PRKS1 HKNCV.
opinion formed of them by Colonel Watson, a former Political Agent
in Kathiawad, that they have the makings of excellent soldiers.
They ha\e always shown great judgment in selecting ground which
has made it difficult to attack them and they have invariably
improved the natural advantages of their position by either digging
trenches or piling up stones as fortifications. They have further
shown foresight in arranging for food and drink, as also discipline
in setting aside marksmen to fire for them whilst reserving the tin-
of the whole body till a charge was made on their position. Their
retreat when possible has also always been orderly and undertaken
at night. Such masterly tactics have always defeated the ordinary
Durban troops and two stones to the memory of European officers who
have fallen in such encounters will be found standing today in
Malia territory, the land of the Mianas."
Mianas on marauding expeditions frequently mount them-
selves on camels or ponies and carry
Stock-in-trade, instruments cmnS or SWOrds Or both. A Miail.'l
and weapons used in commit- n • • • i »• i
ting crime. generally carries an iron-ringed stick
wherever he goes and is also fond of
having a hatchet handy, even when driving a cart. A knife
is also part of the stock-in-trade of a Miana. They also carry
a chagal (leather water-bag) and at times a pair of binoculars.
Much skill is displayed in the concealment of stolen pro-
perty. In common with other crimi-
Ways and means of con- nals, after the commission of an affray,
Dealing or disposing of stolen . . . . . . . . <
property. they hide their booty in the ground.
When in their own country they bury
it in their fields or burial grounds. Elsewhere, as a rule, in
millahs or river banks. When the hue-and-cry is over the
property is taken out and, as nearly every Bania, Lohana,
and Brahmin is a ' receiver ' of stolen property in Malia and
in the villages on the borders of both sides of the Rann,
no difficulty is experienced in disposing of it. Many Ginisias
are also ' fences ' and as all ' receivers ' are extremely afraid
of Mianas, information is seldom forthcoming against the
latter.
Haraii Shikaris.
The centre figure is a dwarf. Me was employed by the gang; for getting
information by begging, playing the ' fungi,' shell, etc.
Pardhis.
Pardhis are of police interest because they are an offshoot
of the great Bauriah tribe, a stock from
Name of criminal class which a variety of criminal classes
or tribe. . •{ ... -
have sprung. 1 he sporting instincts of
this tribe gained for them the cognomen ' Pardhi,' from pdradh
hunting or fowling, and from their different methods some were
named Vaghri Pardhis, others Phas Pardhis. Vaghri is
derived from the Sanskrit word vaghur, meaning a net to
entrap hares etc., and the Pardhis who use nets are called
Vaghri Pardhis. Phas means a noose, so Pardhis who catch
pig, deer etc., by means of a line to which nooses are attached
are called Phas Pardhis and in some parts of India are known
as Meyvvarees. One division of the Pardhis in the Khandesh
District still employs the vaghur and is known as Vaghri
Pardhis. But as most of them now follow the profession of
fretting mill-stones, they are also called Takaris or Takankars.
Tdkne means chiselling.
The Vaghris of Gujerat and Kathiawad are quite distinct
from Vaghri Pardhis.
Phas Pardhis, also known as Pal and Langoti Pardhis,
differ from the Vaghri or Takankar Pardhis. They are known
differently as Langoti Pardhis by reason of their scanty attire
which usually consists of little else but a langoti ; as Pal
Pardhis because they live in pals ; as Gai Pardhis because
they shikar with trained cows. Some Phas Pardhis style
themselves Raj Pardhis, But by whatever name the Phas
Pardhi is known in this Presidency, he is apparently quite
distinct from the Langoti Pardhi of the Central Provinces
described in Colonel Gunthorpe's ""Notes on Criminal Tribes."
The latter are, so far as can be ascertained, not indigenous to
this Presidency .and do not visit it. As however an interesting
note on the Langoti Pardhis of the Central Provinces, written
by Mr. Sewell, District Superintendent of Police, Amraoti,
in 1906, may prove useful to Bombay Police Officers, it is
reproduced as Appendix I to this compilation.
In the Carnatic, Phas Pardhis are known as Haranshikaris,
Advichanchers or Chigribatgirs.
Another branch of the tribe is known as Telvechanya
Pardhis. The Telvechanya, as his name implies, is a vendor
of a certain mineral oil usually sold in the Deccan by people
134 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
from Northern India. It is commonly believed that this oil
restores lost vitality and when rubbed into the palm percolates
through the hand and exudes at the back.
The few Mahomedan Pardhis found in Cutch, Khandesh
and Dhanvar (30 in all) are probably converts to Islam.
Lastly, there is a sub-division of the Pardhi tribe known as
Cheetuwalla Pardhis who are far less numerous than all other
kinds and are not the same source of anxiety to the police.
This depressed tribe is to be found scattered all over the
„ , . Presidency but is most numerous in
Habitat. ... i i T • i e i • i
Khandesh. It is also round in the
Central Provinces and Sind.
Pardhis, with the exception of Takankars, may well be
described as wanderers with no fixed
Sphere of activity and wan- abodes. The sphere of their criminal
denng proclivities. .... .
activities is, as a rule, not more than a
radius of eight or ten miles from their encampments or
houses, as the case may be, though here and there on the
borders of districts of Khandesh and Central Provinces they
have been known to go considerably further, even from twenty-
five to fifty miles, in pursuit of crime.
Takankars live in the villages and have houses, but ordi-
narily do not leave their own districts for criminal expeditions
involving absence for any time and do not wander into distant
countries.
Wandering Pardhis live in grass huts or pals and generally
camp where the supply of water and grazing is good and
plentiful and where they can snare game.
In the case of a wandering tribe such as the bulk of
Pardhis, census figures are perhaps not
Population according to last altogether accurate, but for what they
census, and distribution. . . - ' „ , /
are worth those or the Bombay Presi-
dency census of 1901 relating to this tribe are given below : —
Wandering Pardhis.
Males. Females.
Cutch 431 410
Kathiawad ... 4
Surat Atn'iK-y . . . ... 3 2
Ahmedabad ... 13 n
I 'anch Mahals ... ... 2 3
Surat ... ... 32 27
Thana ... ... i i
. \hmeclnagar ... ... 68 84
Khamk-sh ... ... 2,532 2,618
PAR DHLS.
'35
Nasik
Poona
Satara
Sholapur
Bijapur
Dharwar
Kolaba
Savnur State
Karachi
Hyderabad
Shikarpur
Thar and Parkar
Upper Sind Frontier
Wandering Pdrdhis — contd.
Males.
252
55
7
264
1 60
39
43
5
486
749
604
286
270
Mahomedan Pdrdhis.
Cutch
Khandesh
Dharwar
ii
2
2
Females.
258
70
*3
234
93
33
44
4
365
637
491
257
228
12,214
10
5
Takdris or Tdkankars.
Ahmednagar
Khandesh
Nasik
Poona
Sholapur
3°
274
20
7
V
28
266
14
— v--
652
With the exception of those who have settled in villages,
Pardhis of all kinds are chiefly distin-
Appearance, dress, etc. . . •'
guished by their scanty dress and
general unkempt, dirty appearance. Their hair is neither cut
nor combed nor, as a rule, is the beard shaved. Some females
wear the sari like the Maratha women of the Deccan, others
a small skimpy petticoat. All wear the choli or bodice
covering the chest. Both males and females wear a necklace
of coloured or onyx beads, which, with tin, copper-brass and
brass bangles and ear-rings and chains form their only adorn-
ment. The dhotar or cloth thrown over the shoulders or the
shirt worn by the male is usually dyed to a shade of brown or,
originally white has become a dirty brown colour by wear.
Coat and shoes are not, as a rule, worn. The male's head-
dress varies between an old tattered rag which "twisted into a
136 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
rope barely encircles the head and a well- worn pttgri through
which the crown of the head is visible.
It is said that wandering Pardhi devotees of certain
goddesses will not wear garments of particular colours ; it
would seem that this custom was at one time observed by
Bauriahs, who had similar restrictions regulated by the parti-
cular colour dedicated to the deity worshipped by them — a
further proof of the relationship between these two classes.
The Takankars and the more settled Pardhis dress much
like the poorer Kunbis. They bear no resemblance to the
wandering division. Their females mostly wear the laluunga
or ghtigra or skirt with odni like the poorer women of Gujerat,
the fold over the head falling from right to left. Some dress
like ordinary Kunbi women and wear sdri and choli.
Intermarriage amongst the various sub-divisions of the
Pardhis is forbidden ; thus a Takankar Pardhi may not marry a
Phas Pardhi and so on. Takankars will not eat food cooked
by Phas Pardhis, but the latter will partake of food prepared
by Takankars. All Pardhis are much addicted to drink and
eat all fish and flesh except beef.
In appearance and physical attributes Takankars show no
marked variation from the ordinary agricultural classes.
As a class, wandering Pardhis vary in complexion between
brown and dark, are of medium stature, very hardy, active,
with great powers of endurance and keen senses. They
cannot possibly be mistaken. The male, with his long
unkempt locks, his large metal ear-rings, the dirty rag doing
duty as a turban, his "scanty nether garments, general wild,
squalid appearance, his sneaking gait and black wooden
whistle hanging from his neck with which he imitates the call
of the partridge, is unmistakable wherever he goes. The
female Pardhi is more elaborately attired than the male.
Wandering Pardhis move from place to place with their
families in gangs of varying strength numbering even a hundred
or more. The men 'with their snaring nets and nooses and
baskets are followed by the women and children carrying the
pals and a variety of goods and chattels. Sometimes their
paraphernalia are loaded on cows or buffaloes.
Their encampments are squalid in the extreme, overrun by
pariah dogs, fowls and miserable-looking half-starved cattle.
PARDHIS. 137
During the rains Pardhi gangs collect in the vicinity of
towns or villages ; when the harvest commences they break
up into small parties and wander from place to place.
Cheetawalla Pardhis catch young panthers and cheeta
cubs which they train and sell to ' rajahs ' or exhibit, and for
this reason probably, sometimes call themselves Raj Pardhis.
They carry these animals about in carts with low wheels and
camp under trees at a distance from villages. They do not
carry tents or shelters.
Settled Pardhis, such as Takankars or Vaghri Pardhis who
live in towns, occupy the same quarter together. In villages
they live in a cluster of huts outside known as the ' Pardhi-
wada.'
The Pardhi's home language is a corrupt guttural mixture
of dialects in which Gujerati predomi-
Diaiect and peculiarities nates. It has a strong family likeness
or speech. ^^
to ' Baori-bhasha.' They can also
talk Hindustani, and corrupt Marathi or Canarese according
as they live in the Deccan or the Carnatic. As a rule they
talk very loud and in the presence of strangers in Hindustani.
The following are some of their
Slang used. . . °
slang expressions : —
Slang. Meaning,
raj . . . chief constable,
khapai ... constable,
mul ... to run.
khapai awas mul' ... run, the constable is coming,
kaloo ... police officer,
wassai ... theft,
khonukus ... gold.
Enquiry shows that slang expressions in use in one part
of the Presidency are not always understood in another.
Though still fond of hunting and poaching, many Takankars
have taken to labour and agriculture
of live- ancj some are employed as village
watchmen. Wandering Pardhis beg,
snare game, prepare and sell drugs obtained from roots,
plants, etc., deal in black and white beads known as ' bajar
battoo ' used as charms against the evil eye, and in parts
collect and sell forest produce. They are expert in catching
and netting game and their neat snares 20 to 40 feet long are
most skilfully fashioned. Bamboo pegs six inches or so apart
138 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
hold down the main line on which the running nooses aiv
fixed. Made of gut, these lines are strong enough to hold
even pig and deer. They are skilfully laid and the animals
are cleverly driven over them. Hares and partridges are caught
with these snares, pigeon with nets thrown over the mouth of
a well and quail and small birds by being driven into nets
cunningly spread to catch ground game. To attract game,
Pardhis imitate very naturally the partridge call with the whistle
carried round the neck and can produce by mouth the calls
and cries of peacock, quail, young and old jackals, hares,
foxes etc., to the life.
Takankar Pardhis go in especially fi.r making and repairing
grinding-stones.
Cheetawalla Pardhis in addition to selling cheeta cubs also
snare birds and sell herbal medicines Some have given up
catching cheetas and have taken to snaring deer under cover
of a bullock and are therefore sometimes known up-country as
' Bahelias,' a corruption for ' Bailwallas.'
Pardhis do not adopt disguises but when committing
crime gird up their loins, muffle their
Disguises adopted and means faces wrap a cloth, which is fastened
or identification. rr i i • i • i i i i i
on behind in a knot, round the body
and make use of Hindustani words.
Takankars amongst Pardhis are the most inveterate house-
breakers and dangerous criminals.
Crime to which addicted. . . . > . ... . • ,
Ine wandering sporting divisions of
Pardhis are not so hardened or expert and as long as game is to
be found in plenty indulge in little beyond grain thefts or appro-
priation of smaller live-stock, though when pinched by hunger or
tempted by some favourable opportunity they readily take to
more serious forms of crime and are most active during the har-
vest season. But in degree of criminality, wandering Pardhis
differ with their' locale. For instance, those met with in Khan-
desh have on the whole a good reputation in that they are not
given to serious crime. In the Southern Maratha Country they
are far more troublesome.
Those with criminal propensities wherever met with, are
addicted to dacoity and robbery, often, especially by Takan-
kars, accompanied \vith great violence, even murder, house-
breaking, sheep-stealing, grazing their cattle in ryots' tit-Ids,
thefts of crops, cotton and grain from grain-pits, cattle lifting
and cheating.
PARDHIS.
Dacoities and highway robberies are committed by Pardhis
Methods employed in com- in an organized manner and are usually
mining crime and distinguish- accompanied by considerable violence.
inffirdchaaracciuee!stics Hkdy '" While some effect forcible entry into
the house or carry out the attack,
others protect their comrades by keeping off any assistance
that may arrive. Sheep and goat lifting by stealth or openly
is a favourite form of crime. In the commission of ordinary
crime Pardhis work in small gangs of two, three or four, and
there is an instance on record of an old confirmed Pardhi
criminal who worked with his wife only. Information is
acquired by the women while begging, also from friendly
liquor-vendors and through spies.
The Takankar's avocation of rechiselling grinding-stones
gives him excellent opportunities for examining the interior
economy of houses, the position of boxes, cupboards, etc., and
gauging the wealth of the inmates.
Pardhis are not averse to allowing other castes to join
them or to joining others in the commission of crime. Of
late years some of the more intelligent Takankars have taken
to a form of cheating commonly known as the ' confidence
trick ' — false ornaments being palmed off on to simple villagers
as genuine. The Pardhi, taking with him some copper gilt
ornaments, visits a village where he has an accomplice.
Through the medium of the latter an unsuspecting villager is
produced who is only too ready to purchase gold ornaments
at a very profitable rate. He is cautioned that, as the
ornaments are stolen property, he must keep them hidden for
a month or two until police enquiries have ceased. When the
purchaser eventually takes the ornaments into use he discovers,
when it is too late, that he has been deceived. The dishonest
part he has played of course deters him from complaining to
the police.
Another form of crime the Takankar indulges in, in common
with many other criminal classes, is that of decoying into a
secluded spot outside a village the would-be ' receiver ' of stolen
property and robbing him of his cash — a trick which carries a
wholesome lesson with it. Wandering Pardhis never lapse
entirely into crime, their sporting instincts, by which they keep
body and soul together, probably saving them from falling to
the level of the Kaikadis, whom they approach in physique,
boldness in execution and endurance.
140 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
The wodiis opcnindi of the Phas Pardhi varies according
lo circumstances. A house dacoity differs but little in deiails
from that committed by other local criminals. After previously
visiting the house in the day, on the pretext of begging,
they rush into the village at nighl , create an uproar,
sometimes with cries of ' Din ! Din ! ' raid the building and
beat the inmates more or less severely. They occasionally
dig up the floors in search for valuables and before depart-
ing sometimes set fire to the roof, if of inflammable mate-
rial, to create a diversion.
Ears of corn robbed from standing crops are immediately
threshed and mixed with grain stolen from other fields to
prevent identification.
After the harvest the Phas Pardhi directs his attention to
threshing floors and grain-pits and it is here that violence is
sometimes used, any watchman endeavouring to defend his
charge being ruthlessly knifed or knocked on the head with a
stick.
During the day Phas Pardhis roam about begging from
cultivators, and noting the position of grain-pits. If given
grain they refrain from molesting the donors, looting only
those who refuse to comply with their demands.
As a rule only small quantities of grain are carried off,
thereby minimising the risk of being tracked by droppings..
Stolen grain is usually stowed away in some place of
concealment outside the camp. It is always advisable to
examine the blankets of persons suspected of grain thefts
for husks adhering thereto. The discovery of these will
not improbably result in the culprits' confession of the crime.
In goat and sheep stealing if it is found impossible to kill
the animal immediately, it is carried off to a convenient hiding
place pending final disposal.
Cattle are lifted while out grazing and are generally driven
away to some distance before they are sold or ransom
exacted.
The modus operand* of the Telvechanya Pardhi in cheating
his customers is often effective if somewhat crude and simple.
He manufactures a spurious brand of oil and should an
^intending buyer require the usual test, some oiled rag or rope
is surreptitiously placed on the ground or across the Pardhi 's
knees under the victim's hand to which pressure is applied
whilst anointing the palm. Thus the trick is done.
PARDHIS. 141
Takankars are said to be very difficult to influence or to
move and seldom admit their guilt or disclose the names of
their ' receivers ' or accomplices even if caught red-handed.
In the commission of dacoity Pardhis mostly carry slings,
stones and sticks and occasionally an
Stock-in-trade, instruments axe ancl torches. Matchlocks. SDCarS
and weapons used in commit- , ,
ting crime. and swords are rare, but are not
unknown. The favourite instruments
for house-breaking are a sort of chisel called kinkra, an iron
jemmy with a wooden handle called khantia, kettur or
kutturna and a kusa (plough* share).
A knife, which he uses without compunction if hard pressed,
is the Phas Pardhi's favourite and constant companion.
Takankars rarely conceal property in their houses. Wander-
ing Pardhis often conceal their stolen
Ways and means of con- property in holes dug in the ground
ceahng or disposing of stolen } \ J 11 -r i j
property. having a small onhce, but scooped out
at the base to form a large receptacle.
This is another characteristic of the Bauriah, indicative of the
common origin of both tribes. The property is put into this, the
mouth covered up and over it occasionally one of the gang sleeps.
Sometimes stolen property is buried in beds of rivers, fields or
somewhere near their encampments. Near the pegs to which
they tie their cattle and near the back of their encampments
are favourite places of concealment with them.
Pardhis seldom dispose of valuables till a considerable
time has elapsed since the offence.
Sheep and goats are mostly slaughtered and consumed at
once, the skin being disposed of in a distant bazar or sold to
the village ' chambhar ' or ' dhor.'
They have ' receivers ' for all sorts of stolen goods among
goldsmiths, liquor-vendors, agriculturists, complaisant village
officers and sdivkdrs.
Coins of the realm are often sewn up and concealed in
their quilts.
When changing camp stolen property is conveyed by a
single member of the gang a mile or two ahead or in rear
of the main body.
Pardhis have also been known to send back to the old site
for property buried there, thus anticipating police search when
on the road. Women are credited with concealing small
[42 CRIMINAL CLASSES, 15(>MBA\ 1'RF.SI I >KN< Y.
valuables by tying them into a sham bandage round the Ir^
covering an imaginary sore, or between the legs.
The ground in and round an encampment of Pardhis
should invariably be dug or ploughed up before a search is
concluded.
The search of a gang should be carried out, so far as
possible, in force by the police, as both men and women arc-
apt to be very troublesome and in every way d<> their best to
embarrass the officers.
A Ramoshi.
Ramoshis.
Ramoshis are divided into two main branches known as
Purandhar, or Bhandate Ramoshis,
X'ame of criminal class i TT i u O - U' u i i_
or tribe. an<^ Hoigah Kamoshis. Holgah
Ramoshis seem to hold little or no
intercourse with the Purandhar Ramoshis, and will not eat food
prepared by them. The habits and pursuits, however, of the
two tribes are practically similar.
The Deccan is the home of the Ramoshi ; the Poona and
Satara Districts his chief stronghold.
These two districts and the Native
States under the Poona and Satara Agencies produce the
most hardy and daring Ramoshi criminals. A few are scatter-
ed over other parts of the Presidency. In Bombay Ramoshis
are to be met with working in the mills or docks and as cart-
men and hamdls (porters).
The Ramoshi is not a traveller like the Bhampta or Chhap-
parband. nor migratory and evasive
Sphere of activity and wan- (., , , ,r ., , ,° T -,J. , f
dering proclivities. like the Kaikadi. His sphere or
activity is confined to a radius of thirty
or forty miles round the village in which he resides, and he con-
lines his operations to the Marathi-speaking districts. An
outlaw Ramoshi is a difficult man to catch, but, as a rule, does
not put more than fifty miles between himself and his home
which he periodically and stealthily visits. Ramoshis rarely
commit serious offences in or near their own villages or within the
limits of the taluka in which they reside. In respect to thefts
and ordinary burglaries they are not so particular.
According to the last census, Ramoshis are returned as
numbering 60,554 in the whole Presid-
Population according to last j- XT ,• OA T1!.
census, and distribution. ency including Native States. The
following tabular statement gives their
distribution : —
Northern Divisio n .
Males. Females Total.
I'.oinhay City ... ... 33 J..' 55
Ahmtxkibad ... ... 6 5 n
Thana ... ... 57 39 96
144 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Central Division.
Males. Females. Total.
Ahmednagar ... 1,961 1,996 3,957
Khandesh ... 225 229 454
Nasik ... 437 479 9l6
Poona ... n,407 10,176 21,583
Satara ... ... 10,820 10, 181 21,001
Sholapur ... ... 1,387 1,326 2,713
Native States in Central Division.
Akalkot ... ... 38 29 67
Bhor ... 526 333 859
Khandesh Agency ... I ... i
Satara Agency 2,615 2,334 4,949
Southern Division.
Dhanvar ... ... 6 10 16
Kolaba ... ... 23 10 33
Ratnagiri 33 16 49
Native States in Southern Division.
Kolhapur ... ... 991 yoi 1,892
Southern Maratha Country ... 877 1,025 I.9°-
Total 3M43 29,111 60,554
They are of average height to tall, well built, muscular,
of good physique and great endurance.
A nrw*2)ra nf*fs n rf^s ft f* *-^ * J * *~3
A\ |MJ< ill <l llv t_7», UIC33, CH-. T*1 11 111* 1*
I hey are dark to black in complexion,
somewhat coarse in features and of a low standard of intelli-
gence. In their predatory habits, methods and other charac-
teristics they closely resemble Berads. In the matter of con-
fessing to crime and giving away confederates and accomplices
they are rather obdurate. The best way to get information out
of them is to work them through some influential, well-behaved
relative or important local personage with influence over them.
There is nothing peculiar about the Ramoshi's dress or
appearance. Men and women wear clothes of coarse cloth and
dress much like the poorer Hindus of the Deccan. As a rule
women do not accompany their husbands for the commission
of crime.
Ramoshis are idle, dirty in their habits and appearance and
fond of shikar in a mild way. They are flesh eaters, but
eschew beef.
RAMOSHIS. 145
From time immemorial the Ramoshi has been a dacoit and
robber and though with the march of civilization and good
government he has settled to a more or less regular life, his
restless spirit and the predatory instinct which he has
inherited, is soon roused whenever through scarcity or other
cause, necessity drives or a favourable opportunity offers.
Ramoshis chew and smoke tobacco and are addicted to
drink. As a class they are very clannish.
An oath taken on ' Bel Bhandar/ that is, a pot of water or
some grain, turmeric powder and ' bel ' tree leaves, all placed
on a ghongdi (coarse blanket) is considered most binding.
Holgah Ramoshis, it is said, take an oath by the tulsi plant,
Purandhar or Bhandate Ramoshis, by the * Bel Bhandar.'
Ramoshis live in houses on the outskirts of towns and
villages like other ordinary Hindu inhabitants ot the Deccan.
They inherit a restless spirit which the progress of civili-
zation and changed conditions have failed to altogether
extinguish. For this reason they always require careful
watching. The predatory instinct, though latent, is ever
ready to become active when favourable opportunity offers,
and a leader such as Omaji Naik, his son Tuka Mhankala, the
brothers Hari and Tatia Makaji, whose names are still house-
hold words, comes to the front. Comparatively recent history
affords instances of this. In 1879 the Ramoshis of Satara
and Poona Districts took to open outlawry in large gangs and
disturbed the peace of the countryside. To quell the move-
ment it became necessary to call in the aid of the military and
appoint experienced and additional European police officers
and a large body of extra police, and it was only after length-
ened operations over a considerable area that the authorities
gained the upper hand and broke up and captured the gangs.
They speak Marathi of the lower orders. The dialect
spoken by Holgahs is Marathi sprinkl-
Dialect and peculiarities L, . , A ,
of speech. fid with Lanarcse words.
Ramoshis have a collection of words, many of which are of
Telegu or Canarese derivation, which
Slang used. Ai_ • i
they use on special occasions, such
as when, in the act of perpetrating a crime or communicat-
ing some secret to their own kinsmen in the presence of
outsiders.
8514-10
146
CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Subjoined is a vocabulary of slang expressions used by
the class : —
Slang.
Meaning.
patav
arrest.
gardhum
ass.
tinli or tagla
ate.
yarwad, yerid
bad.
sa j
bajri.
nadvad
barber.
tupli
beard, moustache.
gon, gondhale
beat.
akul
betel leaf.
kor
blanket.
pal or nidla
blood.
yenkul
bone.
kutli
boring (hole).
chikad
boy or girl.
paraga, parud .
Brahmin.
kudmul
bread.
yedul
bullock.
patne
to catch.
chamgad
Chamdr.
chilad or chikad
child.
nalgya
chief constable.
nyanval
clarified butter.
kapduli or kapdool
cloth, clothes.
kodle or kodil
cock or hen.
gadgali, gadgil
cocoa nut.
khogad
come.
tikliya or tikto
coming.
murel or murli
copper coin.
otukli
cowdung cakes.
kosne
to cut.
much
dacoity.
rai
dark night.
geneli
dates.
devarami
day.
devaram ukanto
daybreak.
arl
detection.
sasla
died.
kukul
dog.
yargu nako
do not fear.
gudus machulya chi ka
paragyachi ?
does the house belong to a Kunbi
or a Brahmin ?
gonle tari yarv.td mat
don't tell even if you are beaten
ismadu nako.
or killed.
• valsu nako
don't confess.
nidla tagayachi
to drink liquor or water.
yenum, yenuli
ears of grain.
kokanvadya
Englishman.
RAMOSHIS.
Slang.
nakoli or kanoli
tagne
kudmuli tagayachi
paisoor
mudod, muduk, targad
yarap, yargu
dharkari
shit, dhoopa
menuli, mengul
ismad
okan
okunto
mekli ...
devram
j'itvad, jatik
halwa
nyan
nagulwalla
kolach
kadla
tubuk, nadali
kalli
padli ismada amachi
phadvad patadamali is-
mad.
jatvad ka yarvad ?
katul ismad
mokar
gereli
kidpulla
phadvad
khogad
gudumi
guram
gudus, gudsal
sitarpadi, much
bokul
shenat khogada
pyar
kanti ka kayabadh ?
gudusat shit ahe ka ?
gonne
par gondhoon takali
kadle, nagul
machulya
pillad
Meaning
eyes.
to eat or drink.
to eat bread.
fast runner.
J father, mother.
Xold man or woman.
to fear.
fighting man.
fire, torch, lamp.
fish.
give.
go, run.
going.
goat.
god.
good, plentiful.
gold or silver articles of small
value.
gold and gold ornaments.
goldsmith.
grain.
gram.
gun-
gunpowder,
give us our share,
give the headman some money.
good or bad, rich or poor, high
or low, young or old, strong
or weak ?
give me the sword.
head.
hand.
hair.
headman.
hide.
hill.
horse.
house.
house-breaking.
hole or opening in a wall.
hide it under ground.
information.
is he looking at us or sleeping ?
is there a lamp in the house ?
to kill.
killed.
key or lock or nail.
Kunbi.
knife.
148
CRIMINAL (LASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Slang.
Meaning.
wakdi
spade.
pudkul
ladder.
gereli, aduk
leg.
kam
letter.
nidla
liquor or any liquid.
kan
look.
jatwad tal gudasat khobla
leave the good turban in the
an yarvad ismad.
house and take the bad one.
ambuj
Mang.
mudkayli
mango.
aril
Maratha.
shedvad
Mahar.
pal
milk.
clamal, damkati
money.
phakat
moonlight.
nor, mokar
mouth.
mulvad
Musalm 'n.
tunkul
mutton.
nakul
nose
nedle, nidla
oil.
kadli
ornaments of white metal.
phadvud
pdtil or man of position.
gon
plunder.
g*dgil
pot.
gadgilwala or gardum-
potter.
wali.
junka, zimak
police constable.
ghummad
pumpkin.
gudus gonayache
to plunder a house.
shitachi nidlani yerid
put out the fire.
kara.
kondal
rabbit.
boyil, bhooyal
Ramoshi.
piroshi
the Ramoshi's language.
netat
rice.
teru
road.
gudumila okna
run to the hill.
raichach okna
run while it is dark.
horkadla
ran away, went.
tiskav
to snatch, steal.
khugadne
to sit.
goril
sheep.
korguli or korpade . .
shepherd.
kolgia, kolgil
shoe.
padli, patta
share.
belam
sweet thing.
tyabgadla or tyabadla ...
slept.
tad
sling.
budil
stick
ratal
stone.
RAMOSHIS.
149
Slang.
devarami
katul ...»
devram tikla
mat matul
ismad
muchvad
much
kat-katun tak
pog
aduk
tal
devram khugadle
gudusat kukul khogadla .
nalgya oorala khogadla .
kolgilivar patatyal
phadvadchya gudasa-
madi zimak khogadla.
Patil re patil.
damali ismad
shit yarapli
oorid
bungad, bungadia
bokul
phadur, oor, oorul
chanpa
godhmal
adat, adtool
pudkul
adata, childa, mat ismad
naka.
ambuj gudasala ka-
khogadlay ? Kudmuli
ismad an okna.
ka boyalis, yarvad ka
jatvad.
chiladi ami tumachi
yedasla
ppgdya
nidlatagun yarvad val ...
aduk gudusalla yeill
Meaning.
sun.
sword or cutting instrument.
sunset.
tale.
take.
thief.
theft.
to tie.
tobacco.
track.
turban.
the sun is set.
there is a dog in the house.
a police officer has come to the
village.
they will find you out from your
shoes.
the sepoy is sitting in the pdtiTs
house. Take care, he will
arrest you.
give him money.
the lamp is out.
town.
Vani.
vessel.
village.
keep watch.
wheat.
wife or woman.
wood or wooden article.
don't speak, women and child-
ren.
why has the Mang come to our
house? Give him bread and
let him go.
well, Ramoshis, are you true
Ramoshis or Ramoshis only in
name ? •
we are your children.
wept
a young goat.
you will drink liquor and become
foolish,
you will leave a trace
A large number are hereditary village watchmen and a few
Ostensible means of live- are enlisted in (he police. They also
lihood- cultivate land, hire themselves out as
field watchmen, labour in the fields, take domestic service,
150 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
ply carts for hire and even work as coolies. The women
too work in the fields and earn an honest penny.
Ramoshis do not, as a rule, adopt any disguises. When
committing gang robbery or dacoity
>is*Uio?±,&o"lmea" they tie up their faces and, if they have
reason to fear recognition, so much as
is left visible they sometimes smear with white or coloured
powder. When travelling far afield they sometimes pass
themselves off as Marathas or Kunbis.
With the predatory instinct in his veins and naturally of a
daring and reckless spirit, the Ramoshi
Crime to which addicted. ... . . ' .
will commit any crime against property
likely to yield him profit, such as dacoity, robbery, crop stealing
and other cognate offences. He is known to be a confirmed
burglar and when in straits will resort to cattle and sheep
lifting. He also levies black-mail from travellers and cart-men
putting up at his village for the night and if it is not paid, the
victim is pretty certain to be robbed during the night or shortly
after he has started in the early hours of the morning. Simi-
larly standing crops unless very carefully guarded by the owner
or watched by a Ramoshi are sure, sooner or later, to be rob-
bed by the village Ramoshis.
Heinous crimes are committed only on dark nights or in
the last quarter of the moon. Before
Methods employed in com- * .
mitting crime and distinguish- venturing on a dacoity or other cnme
ing characteristics likely to the Ramoshi carefully selects the house
afford a clue. . -11 i
to be raided or the scene of attack, as
the case may be, and ascertains such particulars concerning the
locality, his victims etc., as will facilitate the execution of his
design, carefully calculating the nature of resistance he is likely
to meet.
Information in the case of a contemplated attack on a
h'ouse, is sometimes obtained through their women who visit
the house under the pretence of borrowing money, or through
local bad characters. But in the sphere of their criminal
activities there are Ramoshis in nearly every village and from
and by these, information is easily secured and conveyed.
For the commission of an organized crime the Ramoshi
sets about forming a gang of numerical strength varying from
three to twelve or even fifteen. The leader of the gang is
styled ' naik ' and he fixes and determines the strength and
constitution of the gang, which is not made up from individuals
of only one village, for the work in hand.
RAMOSHIS.
'5'
The members of a criminal gang muffle their faces when
delivering an attack and often dispose a blanket or kambli in
a peculiar manner over their heads, fastening the ends round
the waists.
There is little difference between the Ramoshis' and the
Berads' methods, and the actual dacoity, robbery or burglary
is carried out on much the same lines.
About a mile or two from the scene of crime a halt is called
and superfluous clothing etc. is concealed in some convenient
place. When nearing the scene of operations torches are often
lighted and bombs exploded. The loud reports alarm the vil-
lagers who on seeing the gang approaching with blazing torches
barricade their doors and windows, which is exactly the effect
the depredators wish to produce in order to leave them a free
hand. On arrival at the scene of the crime some of the gang
take up positions covering the approaches to the house to be
attacked. Each of these carries with him a supply of fairly big
stones and on reaching his allotted position commences to
hurl these from slings down lanes and roads, on to the roofs
and at the doors of adjoining houses to prevent people from
coming to the assistance of the inmates of the house attacked.
Those of the gang who are deputed to ransack the house carry
hatchets with which doors are broken open. If resistance is
offered, no mercy is shown ; but if property is speedily handed
over, no personal violence is used. Having rushed the house,
Ramoshis call on the inmates to produce their property under
threats of decapitation with hatchets and not infrequently
expedite matters by the application of lighted torches to the
persons of their victims. They search women for ornaments
which they often forcibly remove. They are however credited
with chivalrous instincts in this connection in respect
to married females and will not steal the mangalsutra.
Having got all they can lay hands on, they leave, but before
doing so, caution the inmates under pain of death against
raising an alarm. During the progress of the crime, property
annexed by individual members is retained for subsequent
pooling. Having left the house they sometimes chain the doors
from outside. While members of the gang are operating in
the house, the stone throwers continue to pelt the adjoining
buildings and roads. When the gang has disappeared, heaps
of stones are often found- round about the ransacked premises.
While the attack is in progress, abusive expressions reflecting
on married women and slang threatening terms are freely used.
152 CRIMINAL CI.ASSF.S, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
It is to the credit of the Ramoshi that he will not deliberately
take life or offer more violence than the circumstances of the
case require, and rarely strikes above the shoulders. He is
usually considerate towards females and unless resistance or
opposition is shown will not use violence towards them. As a
rule, he does not associate with members of other castes and
will not join a criminal gang headed by a Mang, though he will
allow Mangs and members of other castes to join his gang.
The crime accomplished the gang decamps with all possible
speed and returns to the spot where their belongings have
been hidden. Here the booty is pooled, members searched, and
arrangements for the division of property made. The gang
then makes for home, dispersing one by one at the parting of
ways, as necessary. In order to mislead the police, they fix
their rendezvous in a direction different to the one in which they
ultimately retreat.
The ' dharkari ' (fighting man) and the ' paisoor ' (fast
runner) get larger 'shares than the rest.
There is nothing unique in their methods of committing
highway robbery or dacoity. The gang usually divides into
small groups which lie in ambush in the vicinity of the scene of
attack. On the approach of a conveyance or a wayfarer the
culprits pounce on their prey, belabour individuals and rob them
of valuables.
In committing house-breaking the Ramoshi prefers to break
in through a back or side wall in the ' rumali ' fashion.
If a lathi or club is found on the scene of an offence, an
examination of it may perhaps offer a clue as between Ramoshis
and Mangs. The former are credited with holding the weapon
by its thinner end and the latter by the thicker. But whether
this is a safe way of determining the identity of the culprits
is open to doubt and too much reliance need not be placed
on it.
As a rule they avoid as much as possible being seen when
proceeding to or returning from the scene of a crime, travelling
generally by night and through jungles avoiding main roads
and hiding in ravines and ndllahs during the day. But an
instance is known where a strong gang of twelve Ramoshis
from Purandhar took a night train 'together from Poona,
alighted at a roadside station twenty miles off, marched ten or
twelve miles, committed a dacoity in a house previously marked
HAMOSHIS.
'53
down, dispersed and returned home by road. Ramoshis com-
mitting a burglary do not usually explore the house. They
commit the crime on information obtained and do not pene-
trate further into the house than the room into which they
have broken.
Sheep lifting is usually committed about midnight by
individuals as well as small gangs. The sheep pen is
approached from the lee side and while the rest of the gang halt
about a hundred and fifty yards off, one member (not disguised
in any way) approaches boldly, rapidly and squats down near
the pen. Entering the enclosure a sheep is lifted from the
edge of the flock and carried off to his companions. The right
arm is passed between the animal's hind legs and the other
through the fore legs, the sheep's neck being pressed under
the left arm-pit, the pressure being increased if the sheep shows
any tendency to bleat. If no alarm has been caused, the lifter
repeats the process as often as he can. The gang then retreats
to a pre-arranged place where the animals are killed and their
flesh distributed.
To prevent sheep and goats lifted from bleating, the cruel
method of pinning the animal's tongue down with a large thorn is
attributed to Ramoshis, Katodis and Kaikadis, though instances
of the kind have not, so far as is known, come to light.
Torches, a sword or gun, if either can be obtained, sticks,
slings, stones, a hatchet or crowbar to
stock-in-trade instruments break down doors and potash bombs
and weapons used in commit- r • i , , i -n •
ting crime. to frighten the villagers into the belief
that the gang carries fire-arms and to
keep off assistance, are the weapons usually carried in the
commission of crime, though all are not necessarily carried in
every case.
Stolen property is usually buried in jungles, in hill-sides etc.
and afterwards unearthed and disposed
Ways and means of con- of through Marwadis, Guiars and
cealme or disposing of stolen 0 n . , • » i 7 ,, J
property. bonars. Patils and kulkarnis also
assist in the disposal of property, as
well as in misleading investigating officers and for their trouble
get a share of the plunder. Ramoshis do not bury property in
their own fields.
Stolen property is generally not divided at once. The leader
or some selected member of the gang is responsible for its safe
154 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY I'RKSIDENCY.
custody and disposal. After it has been turned into cash,
each man gets his share, the leader getting slightly more than
the others. The usual rate for gold is eight or twelve rupees
per tola.
Ramoshis prefer to dispose of stolen property to ' receivers '
through a reliable middleman of a different caste.
Vaghris.
Vaghris, also known as Baghris, are subdivided into many
Name of criminal class claSSCS, the best known of which
or tribe. are .
Chunaria.
Datania (also known as Tamburias and Godriyas).
Vedoo or Vedva.
Chunwalia.
Kankodia including Chikadia.
Patani or Patanwadiya.
Talabda.
Dhandaria or Dhandaya.
Gujerat Vaghris are distinct from a wandering class of
Baoris commonly known as Marwad Vaghris or Gujerat Baoris
who hail from Marwad. These Gujerat Baoris often try in the
Bombay Presidency to pass themselves off as Vaghris whom
they strongly resemble in dress, appearance and habits.
Again Vaghris must not be mistaken for Takankar Par-
dhis who are also known as Vaghri Pardhis.
The Vaghri's home in this Presidency is in Gujerat and
the neighbouring Native States with
the Ahmedabad and Kaira Districts
as their stronghold. South they extend as far as the Surat
District and some are generally to be found in the outlying
parts of Bombay City.
Vaghris are also scattered all over Kathiawad and a few
in the Panch Mahals. The real Gujerat Vaghri does not live in
any numbers south of the Narbada river.
Their sphere of special activity extends throughout Gujerat,
Kathiawad and includes Bombay Citv
Sphere of activity and wan- ,-p, , . , , J J '
dering proclivities. I hey are to be met with here and
there pretty well all over the Bombay
Presidency proper and are known to visit the Central Provinces
and to have been convicted in Karachi. Some travel as far
as Madras in the south, Calcutta in the east, and north to
Delhi and Agra.
As a class they are not a nomadic tribe. The majority
are settled in villages. Some however do wander in small
156 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PR KSI Dl-.NCY.
gangs with their portable huts, families, household gods
and lead the life of gipsies, while others travel about the
country putting up in akaramsd/ds, in temple premises and
where circumstances permit, live in houses, in the towns
and villages.
Vaghris who leave their homes in Gujerat, to wander,
usually do so after the ' Diwali.' During the rainy months they
settle down temporarily wherever they may happen to be,
beginning to wander again with the commencement of the
fair season.
Talabda Vaghris have no fixed period for leaving home
and do not make regular tours. Their gangs rarely exceed
four or five. They do not camp outside villages. When
leaving home by rail they generally walk some distance to a
station where they are not likely to be known or observed
and when returning, alight at a different station to the one
they started from. When on the move they are not accom-
panied by women and children.
The total Vaghri population in this Presidency is about
,. 60,000 souls and is distributed as
Population according to last ,
census, and distribution. Under :
Males.
Ahmedabad ... ... 8,728
Kaira ... ... 5,876
Broach ... ... 1,394
Bombay City ... ... 526
Surat ... ... 372
Panch Mahals ... ... 199
Native States ... ... 14,095
31,190 28,666
Vaghris are Hindus and occupy intermediate rank between
Kolis and Dheds. They are practi-
Appearanre, dress, etc. ,. i i- •
cally outcasts and live in small, huts
outside the precincts of their villages.
1 Bhuvas,' who are their priests, are often also their
social leaders.
There is nothing distinctive about their dress, which is
that of the lower Gujerati classes. The men are poorly clad
in a pair of short breeches or waist-cloth, shirt or a pair an and
a head-scarf tied in a circular fashion and usually leaving the
VAGHRIS. 157
scalp uncovered. Talabda and Chunaria Vaghris are cleaner
and better dressed than others. Vaghri women dress as a
rule in petticoats, kanchlis or bodices with the back open and
an odni or upper cloth. In some instances the sari is worn
in Gujerat fashion. Talabda females wear a long sari which
entirely covers the petticoat and body. All Vaghri women
wear ear-rings and broad wooden or glass bangles. Talabda
women excepted, those of other divisions have a prejudice
against wearing silver anklets.
The Gujerat Gazetteer well describes Vaghris as being
rather small and slightly built. Few of them are above the
middle height, but all are active, wiry and well proportioned.
Their strength and powers of endurance are great. They are
dark skinned generally, with coarse and irregular features,
but here and there distinctly good-looking Vaghri youths
are to be found. A few of the younger women are well
made and comely. Mostly both men and women are dirty
and slovenly and though occasionally well-to-do are always
poorly clad and have the whine and fawning ways of
beggars.
Those that wander do so under a head-man in bands of
from five to ten with their families and animals, staying two
or three days in a place. Excepting the cow and jackal
they eat all flesh, including that of the pig. They do not eat
carrion. Both sexes are given to drinking. They are a
naturally lazy and thriftless class, but among Chunarias and
Talabdas a few are to be found who are of a frugal turn
of mind.
Vaghri women are immoral, though the men pride them-
selves on the chastity of their females.
When a Vaghri is absent from home his wife, cleverly
.imitating his voice, will answer for him, should any policeman
call from outside to ascertain if the man is present.
Chikadia Vaghris grow long beards and wear larger
turbans than others. Round the neck a silver square pendant
is hung. It bears an inscription in Balbodh character
" <Tf^ rTR " (Ramde pir) on one side and on the reverse the
image of a horse.
Kankodias do not wear this pendant and do not grow
beards.
CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Vaghris speak the Gujerati of the lower classes. They
also speak among themselves a dialect
Dialect and peculiarities resembling corrupt Gujerati which
of speech. TV /-> •
however the average Gujerati cannot
easily understand. One noticeable peculiarity in their speech
is that they dwell on their words.
The following is a collection of a few slang expressions
peculiar to the Vaghris, current both
at home and on 'their expeditions : —
Slang. Meaning.
Slang used.
madh, mad, biladi, or
madio.
zemralu
zemee
madheno
hath wan
vechvali khavun
tanda
tanda leva
tarkho
piliun
dholiun
katki
laraplun or larapli
papkali javun
chamai javun
bhurio or makado
pelo or jelvo
ohadechhe or chitar-
echhe.
khavari
veidi
zankhlu
bhunkaru
datardu
chirio
digadun
kharpali levun
bando
norkun or dodi
ducho
bandun or mokun
chhaman
chenio
tento
vnsoo
policeman.
house-breaking and theft.
theft.
stolen jewellery.
stolen clothes.
to sell off.
grain.
to steal grain.
a rupee.
gold.
silver.
a stick, lathi.
' dharia ' (sharp bill-hook), a big knife.
to run away.
to hide.
a European, a saheb.
stranger or outsider.
is coming.
a Vaghri.
a Vaghri woman.
dog.
donkey.
instrument for house-breaking.
bunch of keys.
peacock.
to rob.
an associate in crime.
a Dharala.
a Kunbi.
a Musalman.
a Brahmin.
a Bania.
a (iirasia or a Rajput.
money.
VAGHRIS. 159
The cry of a jackal, which is well simulated by the Vaghri,
is in use among them as a signal to others to foregather at the
place whence the call proceeds, and also to notify presence.
Chunarias are lime-burners and cultivators. In the
Ahmedabad District and especially in
0stensibHh™od?S °f Hve" the city °.f Ahmedabad they deal in old
bricks which they obtain from ruins and
dilapidated buildings. They keep pack bullocks. They are
not addicted to crime.
Datanias are sellers of stick brushes for cleaning the teeth
and beat the tom-tom during marriage festivities for a consider-
ation. In the rainy season they grow cucumbers, marsh-
melons (chibdas] and other small vegetables, which their
women hawk for sale. They are also fowlers.
Vedoos are cultivators and like Datanias grow vegetables
in the rainy season. When the monsoon is over they make
and sell reed ' tatties ' and deal in bamboos. They also
trade in country tobacco pipes, made in Kathiawad, and keep
male buffaloes for stud purposes.
Chunwalias make and sell imitation honey and cultivate
vegetables.
Kankodias are small cultivators. They also collect and sell
honey, roots and herbs for medicinal purposes and rear goats.
Chikadias are inveterate beggars. They are expert in
exciting the sympathy of credulous and superstitious
Hindus by pretending either to be suffering from some incur-
able disease or to be the victims of some serious misfortune
or that some one of their women is in the pangs of child-
birth and in need of pecuniary help. They also pretend to be
scidhus of the Vaghri tribe.
Patanis trade in young bullocks which they take in droves
to all parts of Gujeiat and sell to cultivators, giving their
customers a year's credit. Castration of bullocks is also a
part of their calling.
Talabdas are cultivators. They rear goats and sheep,
serve. as watchmen and are employed as hewers of wood.
They also deal in mangoes, mhowra flowers and other fruits.
In the rainy season both men and \vomen take to field
labour.
Dh and arias are cattle dealers, in the monsoon, grow vege-
tables and trade in mangoes and other fruit in season. They
are, mostly, well-to-do and not addicted to crime.
l6o CRIMINAL CI.ASSKS, BOMBAY PRKS1DKNCV.
Vaghris as a class take to field labour spasmodically.
Many, both men and women, have settled in Ahmedabad and
other large cities where some earn an honest livelihood by
working in mills or support themselves by rearing small live-
stock, fishing and snaring ; others again wander about
begging. They find their way in considerable numbers to
Bombay during times of scarcity.
Some Vaghris are expert at snaring ground game and
animals and keep snares called fandas. They also catch
wild duck, pelican, and other aquatic birds and serve occa-
sionally as shikaris to European officers and railway servants.
They closely imitate bird-calls and other jungle sounds, catch
birds and induce compassionate Hindus to pay for releasing
them.
Datanias and Chunwalias and possibly here and there
members of other classes, travel about the country exhibiting
peep-shows.
Gujerat Vaghris are clever in adopting disguises. Some-
times they pass themselves off as
Di>£uises adopted and means j^., , ., ir v i /-• . •
of identification. Uharalas or Kolis and Girasias and
the women as Girasins, with the object
of getting employ in some family and decamping at the first
opportunity with what they can lay hands on. Elsewhere they
often pass themselves off as Malis and Phul Malis. They
occasionally disguise themselves as Banias and Sadhus when
proceeding to or returning from the scenes of crime. When
begging, Vaghris frequently assume the garb of ' Jogis ' and
astrologers. Sometimes one who happens to be fair and
otherwise suitable for the part, passes himself off as a Thakore
or some such respectable person, his companions posing as
servants. In this way an acquaintance with Banias and other
well-to-do people is struck up with an eye to business on
dark nights.
Vaghri women are also said to be able to disguise them-,
selves as women of the Brahmin, Patidar, Rajput and other
superior classes with considerable success.
In a prolonged conversation their language, and when dis-
cussing and performing religious topics and ceremonies their
ignorance, and at meals, their greediness, bad manners and
want of ease, betray their disguise.
VAGHRIS. l6l
Pilfering, house-breaking, picking pockets and cheating are
the special forms of crime to which
Crime to which addicted. T 7 . r.
Vagnns, as a class, are addicted and in
which they excel. They occasionally indulge in robbery and
dacoity. Among Yedoos and Datanias the women are the
most troublesome. They are specially given to thieving
among women and children travelling by rail.
The Vedoos, Datanias, Chunwalias and Patanis living in
populous towns and cities are greatly addicted to pilfering
and picking pockets. Talabda Vaghris and their females are
addicted to thefts of standing crops and are a nuisance to the
villagers.
The males are notorious as house-breakers and cheats.
They are also given to cattle lifting.
The Patani Vaghris are also given to cattle lifting when a
convenient opportunity presents itself. An instance or two
are on record of Vaghri women having been caught on the
railway in the act of smuggling opium concealed in their
under-garments.
All criminal divisions of Vaghris follow, more or less, the
same methods of house-breaking, nil-
Methods employed in com- . .... , r™ f
mining crime and distinguish- fcnng and picking pockets. The last
ing characteristics likely to mentioned form of crime is confined to
afford a clue. r . .
those who trequent towns and cities.
Vaghris while wandering about begging are always on the
look-out to pilfer or steal and often while so employed gain
useful information. When begging in large cities they some-
times pretend to be deaf and dumb. Thus they excite pity,
stimulate charity and all the while they spy around and mark
down suitable houses for their midnight adventures. The
part of the poor deaf and dumb beggar secures greater facili-
ties than would otherwise be allowed for prospecting premises
and at the same time is calculated to save them in awkward
situations.
Other methods they have for acquiring information are for
the men to go about from house to house with an axe asking
for wages to chop up wood and through their women who visit
houses selling vegetables.
Living scattered in villages they keep in touch with members
of their community living in neighbouring villages and
even in those at considerable distances from their own. Thus
B 514—11
162 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
they are able to arrange meeting places and plan the com-
mission of crime. As a rule they do not associate with other
castes for criminal purposes, but not infrequently they are
accompanied on thieving expeditions by ' Talabda ' and
' Chunvaliya ' Kolis.
They are dexterous in using the khdfariydy exhibit 46 of
the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate IV. With
the end of this instrument they pick out bricks and stones and
with the crook they wrench off staples of boxes or doors.
They have been known to get into upper storey rooms by
climbing up water-pipes and when houses are divided by vcrv
narrow passages, by wriggling up simply by pushing against
the opposite walls with back and legs.
At night they also prowl about and dexterously remove
ornaments from the persons of those who lie asleep in open
verandahs. Usually, Vaghris do not use violence in the
commission of crime. If discovered in the act and pursued
they will, however, when hard pressed, not hesitate to use
weapons of offence such as the vdnsi, exhibit 54 of the Bombay
District Police Museum, vide Plate I, to avoid capture.
Talabda Vaghris are credited with scruples against stealing
anything but cash and ornaments, but there is reason to
believe that they are not so particular. Vaghris, men or
women, will seldom confess or implicate their confederates.
When committing burglary they prefer to lift the door
off its hinges if possible ; if unsuccessful in this they go in
for the ' bagli ' method of making a hole at the side of
the door-frame and removing the bolt or chain, or breaking
through the back wall of the house, the hole made being
apparently, though not really, too small to admit a man.
Removing a small window-frame is another favourite mode of
ingress. A gang intent on burglary does not usually exceed
five ; a couple enter the building, one or two keep watch out-
side, while others are at hand to receive what may be passed
out. Once in the house, the intruders take care to secure a
speedy retreat by leaving a door or window open. To attract
each other's attention, the hiss of a serpent or the squeak
of a mouse is imitated.
Talabda Vaghris who are reported to be expert burglars,
visit the houses of their friends in the guise of Banias and
through them acquire useful information. Sometimes they
VAGHRIS. 163
visit the house to be burgled in the day, to mark its situation,
surroundings etc. They walk about in the streets in an
unconcerned innocent manner, but if closely watched the shifty
way they look about and use their eyes betrays them. As a
rule they do not commit crime in streets in which their
friends reside. In common with other criminals they prefer
dark nights for burglaries.
They have friends among Brahmins, Banias and other
castes who supply them with information regarding promis-
ing houses.
The following are some of the methods adopted by Vaghri
cheats : — They entice some greedy 'receiver' with false or
genuine ornaments, as the case may be, to some convenient
spot and there, while the transaction is being carried out, con-
federates acting the part of policemen put in an appearance.
The dupe is persuaded to make himself scarce, leaving of
course the ornaments and cash, till the bargain can be conclud-
ed on another more favourable occasion ; or, in the anxiety and
confusion caused by the arrival of the ' police, ' spurious
ornaments are cleverly substituted for the genuine ones and
the ( receiver ' is hurried off ; or, yet a third farce enacted is to
prevail on the ' receiver ' to part with his cash and for them-
selves to hand over the ornaments to the ' police ' as hush-
money. Way-laying and robbing the ' receiver ' on his way
home after the cash and ornaments have changed hands is
another form of villainy Vaghris are given to.
Another effective manner of cheating, usually practised in
big cities, is as follows : — The Vaghri having noticed a suitable
looking victim drops, as a bait in his path, a piece of metal
coloured and made to look like a small bar of gold freshly cut.
The victim sees it and picks it up. Now is the time for the
Vaghri to act. He accosts the finder and claims a share of
the prize. If the victim refuses, the Vaghri resorts to threats
of reporting the matter to the police and eventually with some
reluctance agrees to accept hush-money and to leave the bar
with the lucky finder. Some rupees pass hands and the victim
subsequently discovers how he has been duped into paying ten
or twelve rupees perhaps for a worthless piece of metal.
Occasionally the culprit has a confederate who comes into the
game as a mediator at a suitable moment.
Vaghri women are reported to be very clever in removing
ornaments from the persons of children. On festive occasions
164 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
among the Hindus, when the dinner is over and the company
disperses, Vaghri women will also mix with the female guests
and dexterously remove ornaments from the persons of
women and children, passing property so stolen rapidly from
one to another till the article is soon a long way off. They
even participate in a Brahmin feast, in the guise of Brahmin
women, dropping in at the last moment, and ply their avocation
among the women there assembled.
If Vaghris, men or women, see a child unattended in the
street, they will offer him sweet-meats or fruit, or show him
glass marbles and so decoy him to a secluded spot and remove
ornaments from his person. When begging in the streets they
will quietly trespass into a house and pilfer what they find
ready to hand ; if caught, they pretend to be beggars.
Vaghri women, whether pilfering from houses or on a rail-
way, usually work in small gangs of two or more. On the
railway their modus operandi is as follows : — Two or three
of them disguised as women of a superior class enter a
female compartment of a night train. One of them under
the pretence that there is no room or because she wishes
to suckle her child, who is pinched to make it cry, lies down
on the floor of the compartment and pretends to go to
sleep. Selecting a bag or a trunk on the floor of the carriage,
she either cuts it open with a piece of glass or small knife or
opens the usual flimsy lock with a nail or key. The property
is handed up to a confederate on the seat above the thief, who
in turn secretes it between her legs or in a pocket in her petti-
coat. The women then alight at the first station and decamp.
A clue to the offence may be obtained by enquiring whether,
at any stations prior to the one at which the theft was discover-
ed, any long or short distance tickets have been collected.
Some of the better looking women are adepts at ingratiating
themselves with subordinates of the station staff at roadside
stations frequented by them.
Instances have been reported where Vaghri women have
contracted marriages with monied Patidars or Kunbis who for
social reasons may have found difficulty in securing a wife and
have lived with them for some time in order to ascertain where
the duped husband keeps his valuables and money. A
favourable opportunity occurring, when the husband is away
from home, the Vaghri woman makes off with all she can lay
hands on.
VAGHRIS. 165
The Vaghri's chief and favourite house-breaking implement
is called khdtariyd, exhibit 46 of the
Stock-in-trade, instruments Bombay District Police MuSCUm, Vide
and weapons used in commit- _., ,J. . . . _. . . '
ting crime. rlate IV, or ganesniyu. Ihis instru-
ment is about eighteen inches in
length, and has a crook at one end and the other is flattened
and sharpened like a chisel.
Some other weapons and paraphernalia that they carry
when committing crime are a mnjanoo (chisel), kariydli dhdngt
exhibit 26 of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate I,
which is a weighted club or lathi with a number of iron rings
at one end, knife, the vdnsi, exhibit 54 of the Bombay District
Police Museum, vide Plate I, a dharia (sharp bill-hook),
exhibit 31 of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate I,
a bunch of keys, match box and candles. The Vaghri woman's
aids to crime are some keys and a small bag under the arm- pit
in which she stows away stolen articles and on railways a
piece of glass or a small knife for cutting open hand luggage.
Stolen property is usually buried in the fields and is not
disposed of till two or three months
Ways and means of conceal- after tne crime. It is turned into cash
ing and disposing or stolen , , T-> ' • i /-.-.• T\
property. through ratidars, Girasias, Banias,
Rajputs, village pdtils, and gold-
smiths, but now-a-days chiefly through Memon hawkers from
Kathiawad who perambulate Gujerat selling perfumes, small
jewellery, pearls, cloth etc., and are specially useful as ' receiv-
ers,' their tin boxes being peculiarly suited as receptacles for
the temporary deposit of stolen jewellery.
When away from home if a good haul is made, some of the
women are occasionally employed to convey the ' loot ' home
by rail.
When searching the male or female of this caste the
private parts of the suspect should not be overlooked, as like
Chhapparbands and Baoris, Vaghris are in the habit of secret-
ing small articles in natural passages.
The petticoats of Vaghri women, which are often provided
with cunningly secreted pockets, and the tamboora or
ek-tdra (one-stringed musical instrument) of the begging
Vaghri, should also be carefully investigated.
A Vaghri encampment should be ploughed up before a
search is given up. Success in an important venture is often
marked by feasting, drinking and revelry in which ' Bhuvas '
are invited to participate.
Waddars.
Waddars are of Telegu origin. They are divided into
Name of criminal class thfi foHowing sub-divisions :-
Mann Waddar or Mati Waddar (earth-workers).
Bhandi Waddar or Gadi Waddar (cart-men) .
Kail Waddar, Pathrat, Janti or Dagdi Waddar (stonr-
dressers) known in Madras as Issurraye (i.e.,
grinding stone) Waddars.
Ghatti Waddar, also known as Donga (thief) or Takka
(cheat) Waddar.
They are found scattered all over the Deccan, the
Carnatic and parts of the Konkan, in
Habitat. .
this Presidency.
As a class, Waddars are migratory, making temporary
encampments at places where they
Sphere of activity and wan- obtain work. Some of the Mann and
dering proclivities. . .. ..... i i •
the Bhandi sub-divisions are settled in
villages.
Bhandi and Ghatti Waddars, more criminal than the rest of
the class, will ordinarily go thirty miles or so from their encamp-
ments to commit dacoity. Their house-breaking operations are
confined to a radius of eight to fifteen miles from their dwellings.
If they mark down a house to be burgled or raided at a greater
distance than they can conveniently cover in. a day or two, they
will, if the pdtil be friendly and not likely to make inconvenient
enquiries during their absence, leave their encampment and go
a hundred miles or so in pursuit of crime, but such instances are
rare. They do not commit crime in the village in which they
reside nor in the limits of which they are encamped, and
usually go outside the taluka to commit serious crime.
The Bombay Presidency census
Population according to last report of IQOI givCS the following
census, and distribution. ,, l , , ,ir , i ,
figures or the Waddar population : —
Males Fcni
Thana ... ... 618 507
Kathiawad ... ... 92 So
Ahinrdiiagar ... ... 3,237 ^13
Khandesh ... ... 1,213 l>°32
Waddars.
WADDARS. 167
Males.
Nasik ... ... 60 1
Poona ... ... 1,492
Satara ... ... 1,853
Sholapur . . ... 2,999
Native States ... ... 633
Belgaum ... 3,413
Bijapur .. ... 6,218
Dharwar ... ... 8,795
Kanara ... ... 1,556
Kolaba ... ... 227
Native States ... ... 4,552
37.499 36,544
74,043
Waddars are of fine physique, dark complexion, capable
of much endurance, and generally hard-
Appearance, dress, etc. .. p J ,.
working. As a class they are dirty,
thriftless and hard drinkers, eat every description of animal
food including village pig and are specially fond of rats. They
however eschew beef. They smoke ganja and tobacco.
Like other depressed classes they wear scanty clothing.
The male's dress consists of a dhotar (loin-cloth) or cholna
(short drawers), angi or pairan (shirt), a rumal or a piece
of cloth for the head, and a hachda (coarse sheet), kambal
(blanket) or shoulder-cloth worn over the shoulders. Men do
not wear shoes.
Women dress in a sari with the upper end passed over the
head and across the bosom ; they do not wear the bodice,
nor glass bangles on the right hand ; they wear brass or kdsa
bracelets.
Bhandi Waddars wander about the country, encamp
outside villages, live in huts made of mat, grass etc., screens
being fixed across the open ends. They are accompanied by
women and children, and use their characteristic, low, solid-
wheeled carts.
Kail Waddars camp near the village — live in pals made of
patch-work cloth, seldom in mat huts, are accompanied by
their families, pack donkeys etc.
Ghatti Waddars encamp about a mile or two from the
village, usually in the forest or on waste lands, live in bamboo
screen huts, openings being covered with mats, and are
accompanied by their families, pack asses, goats etc.
l68 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMBAY PKKSI DKNCY.
Mann Waddars are mostly settled in villages.
Waddar encampments are known in the Carnatic as
gumpjis, each having a ' naik ' or ' peddadoo ' who is the
head-man in matters both social and criminal.
Social disputes are decided by the head-man and panchdyat
or council of elders.
Among themselves Waddars speak a corrupt form of
Telegu. They can also speak the
Dialect and peculiarities Marathi or Canarese of the lower
orders according to the district they
live in.
The following are some of the slang
bums' and signs used. . °, , ,,, , , , , °
expressions used by Waddars of the
Carnatic : —
Slang. Meaning.
shilakatti ... house-breaking implement,
mullawadu ... constable,
manaklu ... hole,
dongpani, \valkamu ... stolen pioperty.
parmeshvar ... higher official of the police etc.
nematu ... villagers or village authorities,
peradu ... house,
kottalu or unsalu ... beating or raiding,
peradu unsalu ... house dacoity.
dong ... theft,
peddadoo ... leader of the gang.
A broad line drawn with the side of the foot in soft earth
and ending with a foot-print pointing to the direction taken, is
the means Ghatti Waddars employ at cross roads or turnings
to indicate to others of the community coming behind, the
route taken.
Mann Waddars cultivate land, are field labourers, sink
wells, dig tanks and do earth -work
Ostensible means of live- for villagers. They are also largely
lihood. , «? . J . . i fe i
employed on road-repairing and earth-
work of all kinds.
Bhandi Waddars are quarrymen and carry the stones on
their distinctive carts described above, are largely employed by
the Public Works Department on road -making, etc., sink wells,
dig tanks and a few are cultivators.
Kail Waddars are stone-masons, make grinding- stones and
other stone articles of domestic use ; their females rechisel
grinding stones. Members of this class are generally well-
to-do.
WADDARS. 169
Ghatti Waddars live entirely on the proceeds of crime.
Waddars also snare and kill pig and are often employed by
the villagers to rid their crops, sugarcane, etc., of these pests.
Women assist the men in earning a livelihood.
Disguises are not adopted by Waddars. Signals are
exchanged by whistles and gestures.
Disguises adopted and means When committing dacoities they muffle
of identification. i • r j • i i- • i i
their races and, in localities where they
are likely to be recognized, smear both face and chest with
lime. Waddars of the criminal divisions' will endeavour to pass
themselves off as belonging to one of the honest labouring
sub-divisions of the class.
Mann Waddars go in specially for house-breaking, steal-
.crime to which addicted. '"£ field Police opening grain-pits
and petty thetts. Iney rarely commit
more serious offences.
Bhandi Waddars are expert burglars. They also indulge in
sheep lifting and petty thefts. Occasionally they commit
dacoity or robbery.
Kail Waddars are said to be the least criminal of all the
sub-divisions, though some, now and again, take to burglary,
sheep lifting, etc. They do not, as a rule, commit serious
crime.
Ghatti Waddars are credited with being the most criminal
of the class. They commit house or highway dacoity, robbery,
house-breaking, sheep lifting, theft, etc. Their women and
children are also given to pilfering, and attend markets and
fairs for the purpose.
The males will also sometimes exploit villages in the
neighbourhood of their encampments at night and remove
ornaments from off persons found sleeping outside houses.
Waddars have no prejudice against admitting other castes
into their gangs or joining with others in the commission of
crime.
House Dacoity.
Information is obtained through local bad characters with
whom Ghatti Waddars take care to
Methods employed in com- ., r • j i • i it i
mitting crime and distinguish- Strike Up friendship, through DOyS who
ing characteristics likely to are sent ostensibly to beg, Or thfOUgh
afford a clue. , , J. . .
the women who visit houses under the
170 CRIMINAL CLASSES, BOMHVV PKKSiniNcY.
pretence of retouching grinding-stones. On such occasions
the females are accompanied by lads or old men who after-
wards serve as guides to the able-bodied members of the gang
who subsequently commit the dacoity. If the information so
acquired requires verification, or if details are wanting, some
member of the gang will visit the village with donkeys on the
pretext of looking for one that has strayed and he then takes
stock of the house and its situation. After this has been done,
the encampment is moved to a distant village. Gangs are
usually formed of from ten to fifteen members, sometimes more,
either from one gumpu (tdndci) or more. These assemble
and discuss the plan of action. This decided on, a meeting
place in the vicinity of the scene of the proposed crime and
the exact time for assembling at that place are fixed. To
concentrate at the rendezvous the members of the gang travel
in twos and threes and by different roads at night, resting or
hiding during the day. When all are assembled the leader or
' peddadoo ' allots to each the part he has to play ; some are
detailed to throw stones, others to guard the lanes and
approaches, while the more experienced and courageous, under
the ' peddadoo,' are told off to rush the house and sack it.
Superfluous clothes are left behind at the rendezvous, faces are
besmeared, if necessary, with ashes or lime, dhotars braced up,
a kachha or girdle tied round the waist, and a kambal or some
coarse cloth tied over the shoulders and round the waist to
carry stones. They arm themselves with lathis, stones,
slings, and carry one or two torches. After nightfall when
houses are still open, the gang proceeds to the village, attacks
the house, belabours the occupants and decamps with the
booty. Women are not, as a rule, ill-treated and the mangal-
sntra, the Hindu married woman's insignia, and toe-rings
are never touched. The dacoity over, the gang leaves the
house and once outside the village, after the ' peddadoo ' has
satisfied himself that all are present, makes for the rendezvous
where the clothes have been left. Here every member of the
gang produces what he has secured and is carefully searched
by the ' peddadoo.' Stolen property is given in charge of
a trustworthy member or two with whom it remains till it is
disposed of.
Pdn~siipdri bags and such other articles belonging to
Lambanis and other castes are thrown at or near the scene of
the crime to divert suspicion and mislead the police. Great
violence is used if property is not immediately delivered or the
hiding place of jewellery not shown. If resistance is offered
WADDARS.
171
Waddars will go to any length in self defence and even
commit murder.
As a rule only one house is attacked in a single expedition.
Highway Dacoity.
Scouts are posted on the highways near villages, at landing
places, dharamsdldS) etc., to, look out for travellers or convey-
ances worth looting. The main body, which lies in wait in a
nallah, culvert, or some rough country affording concealment
is thus apprized in good time of the approach of their
quarfy and in due course the gang rushes out of its hiding
place and commences operations. Bullocks are unyoked, con-
veyances tipped up, passengers belaboured, valuables snatched
away, boxes broken open and rifled and the booty carried off to
some out-of-the-way spot in the near vicinity of the scene of
attack. If successful the gang retreats to its encampment ;
but if the attempt fails or the booty secured is not sufficiently
valuable, the gang shifts ground and tries its luck again.
Highway dacoities are generally committed before dusk
and at daybreak and outside a radius of ten miles or so
from the encampment.
Burglary.
Usually committed after midnight during the dark half of
the month, either in the ' bagli ' or ' rumali ' fashion with a knife
for scraping out the mud between stones and the implement
known in the Carnatic as kangatti, exhibit 40, Bombay District
Police Museum, vide Plate IV, or by means of a crowbar. The
clumsy blunt marks of the latter instrument on a house indicate
the workmanship of Waddars. The gang usually consists of
from two to five persons. If unsuccessful at one house they will
try their hands at others. Waddars are very dexterous and
quick at making a hole in a wall and burglary is looked upon
as a pleasurable diversion.
They will not, as a rule, confess or implicate one another.
Should the inmates of a burgled house remember to have
heard a noise as of scraping which was put down at the time
to rats or some other natural cause and an encampment of
Waddars is known to be in vicinity, endeavours to seek the
culprits among the Waddars should be made, as the noise
may have been caused by the use of the knife to remove mud
or plaster from between stones or bricks in the wall before
bringing the more formidable implement into play.
172 ( KIMINAI. CI.ASSKS, IJU.MIJAY 1'R KSI DKNc Y.
\\"hen committing robberies Waddars are usur.lly armed
with stout sticks, slings, stones and
in-trade, instruments knives and they often carry torches.
and weapons used in commit- ,~, ... * , . J . . .
tmgcrime. 1 heir implements of house-breaking
are the kangatti or a crowbar.
Stolen property is as a rule, immediately after crime,
deposited with a trusted member of
Ways and means ot conceal- tne gang who USUally buries it in a
ing or disposing of stolen r i j r i
property. held, torest, or some such convenient
spot in the vicinity of the encampment.
Later, it is disposed of to friendly goldsmiths, saivkars,
villagers, or liquor-vendors.
Stolen jewellery is never distributed as such. It is turned
into cash, the ' peddadoo ' (leader) of the gang and the
custodian of the property being entitled to larger shares
than other members.
Stolen property is seldom recovered from the possession
of Waddars.
A Dehliwal, Bauriah 'kamaoo' on the move.
FOREIGN TRIBES WHO VISIT THE
BOMBAY PRESIDENCY,
Bowris or Bauriahs.
Of all the foreign criminals who frequent this Presidency,
there is probably no class which
Name of criminal class surpasses the Bauriah in skill and
or tribe. *. . •*, • /~« .1
pertinacity. Major Ounthorpe gives
the Bauriah the cognomen of ' Badak ' and states that the
Vaghris of Gujerat, also the Pardhis of the Deccan, are
offshoots of this tribe. Certainly the dialects of these tribes,
though living far apart, have much resemblance, so also tribal
sub-divisions, some superstitions and customs.
The divisions of the class to be met with in this Presidency
are : —
Dehliwal.
Malpura or Kerowli.
Khairwada or Kerara.
Badak.
Marwada Bowri (distinct from the Marwadi Baori
coiner described in a separate note).
In addition to the above there are the Panjabi and the
Malwi or Moghia Bowri, but the former of these is believed
not to frequent this Presidency at all.
The clan names of the various classes of Bowris are
similar to those of Rajputs, the following being among the
best known : —
Solanki.
Koli.
Dabi.
Chowan.
Wadhiarey.
Dhandal.
Parmar.
etc.
The Dehliwal Bowris hail from Muzaffarnagar, Malpuras
Habitat from Bhopal, Khairwadas from Gwa-
lior, Badaks from Bhopal and United
Provinces, Marwadas from Marwar, Panjabis from the Panjab
and Moghias from Malwa.
I 74 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
There is no limit to the Bauriah's field of activity, Ceylon
alone being immune from his excur-
an- sions. The Moghia, so far as this
Presidency is concerned, does not, it is
believed, penetrate further than Gujerat and Khandesh.
The Bauriah plies his calling in village, town or city in all
parts of the Presidency with equal impartiality, small villages
at which he halts alone being exempt for the time being.
During the monsoon season the Bauriah remains more or
less inactive. He either returns to his home up-country
before the monsoon breaks, or takes shelter in or near some
Native State or lies low at some place where he has reason to
feel secure from inconvenient enquiries. With the cessation of
the rains the class begins wandering again and expeditions are
planned and embarked on.
To commit a lucrative burglary Bowris will travel as much
as forty miles in the twenty-four hours. When exploiting the
country, Bowris travel in gangs of varying strength but usually
do not exceed ten. In large cities and at important centres
these gangs concentrate and, till suspicion is roused by their
numbers and movements, work together.
Every gang is headed by a leader styled by Dehliwals and
Marwadas ' kamaoo ' ; by Malpuras ' kadoo ' ; by Badaks
' upkare,' and ' jamadar ' by Moghias. Among Dehliwals
and Malpuras the gang consists of a ' kamaoo,' or ' kadoo/
1 pitwaris ' (the rank and file of the gang who commit thefts),
' bhandari ' (cook) and ' kothari ' (one who does odd jobs such
as washing pots, clothes, etc.)
Badak, Marwada, and Khairwada gangs are usually
accompanied by families ; Dehliwals only occasionally ; Mal-
puras and Moghias never. For the transport of their families
Badaks use ponies, donkeys, buffaloes or cows ; Khairwadas
bullocks only ; Marwadas and Dehliwals ponies. Moghia
gangs are sometimes in possession of a camel or two.
With the exception of Khairwada and Marwada Bauriahs
who, as a rule, boldly put up inside towns and villages in
temples, dharamsdlas or serais, Bauriahs of all divisions
prefer to lurk in the outskirts or environs, either in the open in
or near some garden or tope of trees in the vicinity of water,
or, in some secluded temple, math or other convenient
resting place.
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. l^
During the rains Dehliwals if accompanied by their families
sometimes pitch pals ; Badaks invariably live in pals all the
year round.
No statistics are available in respect to the Bauriah popu-
Popuiation and distribution. lation in the Bombay Presidency.
The Moghia is in appearance and dress very similar to the
ordinary cultivator of Central India.
Appearance, dress, etc. ~ •'. , . . , ,. ~
lo an inhabitant or this Presidency
he would most resemble the Banjara of Khandesh or the
Labhana of the Panch Mahals.
For the rest Bauriahs as a class are strong, well built, and
of medium stature, with coarse features. Their complexion
varies between sallow and dark. They are active, keen of
sense and inured to hardships and fatigue. The female
Bowrin is generally sallow or wheat- coloured and often not
without claims to good-looks. Their morals are not above
suspicion, though it is unusual for them to misconduct them-
selves with men outside their own caste. The women do not
actually participate in crime, but are always well informed and
assist in the disposal of the property and in procuring legal
and other assistance when their husbands are in trouble.
Khairwada women are cleaner, better dressed and more
refined looking than the females of the other divisions.
Badaks are said to have one, two or three scars or burns on
the inside of their left wrists, — the statement has not how-
ever been verified.
As the Bauriahs (Moghias excepted) met with in this
Presidency are generally if not always in disguise, a description
of their customary home attire is not of much practical use,
but one or two peculiarities may be instructive. The Bauriah
will never wear dhoti and langoti together. As a rule he
wears a dhoti ten cubits in length or an angocha (a short
dhotar] measuring six cubits. Both are tied in a peculiar
fashion, the former displaying more of the right thigh, the
latter of the left. For the rest he wears a kurta or shirt and
a large feita or head-scarf tied in the up-country fashion.
Marwada Bauriahs sometimes wear the Rajput kada on the
right ankle. Badaks, though similar in their dress to other
branches of the Bauriah class, are in appearance, dress and
habits the dirtiest and most untidy of all. Bauriah women
in their home up-country wear petticoat or ghagra, odni or
head-scarf and kanchli or bodice fastened at the back, or
I 76 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
siitna (trousers) instead of a skirt, with a unrja'i or coat
over the bodice and ornaments of the up-country fashion.
Down-country a coarse sari takes the place of petticoat or
trousers.
Tattooing among females is largely indulged in, most of
them having a dot or two or some lines at the corners of the
eyes, at the side of the nose, below the lower lip, as well as on
the knuckles, wrists and arms.
Moghias, both men and women, closely resemble in dress
and appearance Marwar Rajputs, though perhaps they are
not so clean or well dressed.
At home Bauriahs cook their food in earthen vessels, but
abroad, as they travel in the guise of Sadhus, they adopt,
Badaks perhaps excepted, the customs in vogue among
Sadhus, and as a rule use metal utensils, unless accompanied
by families, when earthen cooking pots are used. They eat
all flesh except that of the cow and are addicted to drink.
They smoke tobacco and gdnja and some eat opium. They
generally live well. Experience in this Presidency goes to
show that the old superstitious prejudices among some classes
of the Dehliwal Bauriahs against touching iron, wearing red
and blue cloth and eating vermicelli, cocoanut and so on, no
longer exist. With the exception of the lowest of the de-
pressed classes, Bauriahs admit all castes into their own, and
instances are not wanting of individuals of good social position
having become Bauriahs, usually as the outcome of a love
affair with some attractive Bauriah woman.
A successful raid is followed by feasting, drinking and
merry-making.
The Bauriah dialect is a mixture of corrupt Hindi and
Gujerati, with the peculiarity that ' s '
<t3*S3!W is pronounced as ' kh.' It is suffi-
ciently hybrid to prevent the uniniti-
ated understanding it ; being copiously interlarded with slang
expressions, it affords the class a means of inter-communica-
tion with secrecy in the presence of strangers. With slight
variations it is in use among all divisions of Bauriahs.
Defying grammar they make ' khdbagddi khdchi vat ko
kahw ma ' out of ' sdheb ke age sack bnt mat bolo ' (do not tell
the truth before saheb). Spoken with a sing-song twang
peculiar to the Bauriah, the language may well be termed a
thieves' jargon.
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 177
They can speak ^Hindustani fluently ; Moghias can also
speak the Malwi language.
The following are some of the slang words and expressions
siang and signs used. commonly used among Bauriahs :—
By Dehliwdls, Khairwddas and Mdlpuras.
Slang. Meaning,
datoni or netri ... knife,
pida . . . gold
dhowli ... silver,
nakoni ... nose-ring,
bhaji ... meat,
kaladi ... liquor,
dando ... road,
gomti ... night,
bhogi .. property, loot,
gyan or gyandas ... implement for house-breaking,
terwa or tarkada ... sepoy,
mandlon , .. a gang
phodi gero ... ~\
todi gero ... > break it up.
chagdi gero ... 3
gali gero ... melt it down,
goddo marto avie ... obliterate the foot-prints,
terwa thai awe se ek ek a sepoy is coming, disperse and
ghakh khai jao. run away,
hette kari gero ... put it underneath or bury,
kamaoo, kadoo ... leader of the gang,
koldakh ... be on the alert,
balka- ... hieroglyphics,
asan ... halting place,
ujhanto ... snatch ornaments (from the per-
sons of sleeping females),
took . . . bread,
jamno ... right,
dawo ... left.
By B a daks.
mankho or nrinkhiya ... man.
mankhi ... woman,
rokhlo ... bread,
dhori . . . silver,
netri ... knife,
bawan ... kinswoman,
kali bhor . . . sepoy,
mota modno avi gayo ... an officer has come,
khabar thai gai ... a clue has been obtained,
khati jao ... hide yourself,
ramai do ... make away with it.
i» 514—12
178 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
By Badaks — contd.
Slang. Meaning.
ya mai kachu nahi iharka- ) .
. Q \ I cannot find the property.
ek jane ale lido ... a man has been arrested.
mane jhal lido ... they have arrested me.
gyan or gyandas ... the jemmy of the Badak.
hiro chudave le ... let us rescue him.
upar pada ... dacoity.
khoi ja ... go to sleep.
gyan ko thai nai ... the jemmy has not gone through.
khankro or charandasi ... pair of shoes.
patakri ... gun.
terwa ... chowkidar.
londriya pokhi raho ... a dog is barking.
talaro or khapakni ... sword.
pilo ... gold.
By some other divisions.
bhindia or bhindo ... man.
bhindi ... woman.
kajli ,,. theft,
santo ... burglary.
daulatia ... the jemmy of the Baori.
tanai liya ... In* was arrested.
bajhad lo ... rescue him.
nahi hadlo ... run away.
hara . . . dacoity.
nakhalya or gangaram ... pair of shoes.
bhutkani ... rifle.
nokia ... chowkidar.
bajtaido . . . hide the article.
naiteri ... sword.
ram raj ... gold.
bawan ... kinswoman.
bakti ... knife.
kali bhor ... sepoy.
khaura or bajniya (kaldar) . rupcf.
clabuwa ... double paisa.
Dehliwal and Malpura Bauriahs have an interesting
system of hieroglyphics or cabalistic signs which they make
in charcoal as a rule, on the walls of houses, dharanjsdlds)
temples, at important corners, ferries, bridges or cross-roads,
and on the ground by the roadside with a stick, if no building
is handy, as a means of inter-communication between gangs
and with one another.
It is not known what other sub-divisions or how many of
the Bauriahs are initiated into the mysteries of these symbols
BOWIUS OR BAURIAHS.
179
or whether different gangs have different signs, but the
following are known to be in use. The commonest is a
loop, thus -
c
the straight end indicating the direction a gang or individual
has taken. The addition of a number of vertical strokes
signifies the number of males in the gang, thus —
(un
When the strokes representing the strength of a gang are
enclosed by a circle, thus —
it means that a gang is encamped in the vicinity, intends to
return and all is well.
A square surrounded by a circle to which a line is joined,
thus —
©•
means to those in the know, that property has been secured
by friends who have left in the direction pointed by the line.
(The square is intended to represent a box.)
It is said that Bauriahs follow up one another for fifty or
even a hundred miles with the help of these hieroglyphics.
The signs are bold marks sometimes even a foot or more in
length and are made where they will at once catch the eye.
In their country Bauriahs, with perhaps the exception of
Badaks, support themselves it is said,
tensibhh™odns ' by field labour, cultivation and selling
fuel, grass etc., and many it is under-
stood are law-abiding and prosperous. Among some of the
classes men are also employed as village watchmen and
trackers.
l8o CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Badaks however, as a class, appear to follow no honest
pursuit for a livelihood anywhere, though in Malwa and the
United Provinces it is believed some live by grass-cutting and
cultivation on a small scale.
In this Presidency the Bauriahs' (Khairwadas and Moghias
excepted) ostensible means of livelihood is begging. Khair-
wadas and a few'Malpuras and Dehliwals also hawk scented
oil, mixtures and pills to which are ascribed potent properties.
Moghias met with in this Presidency have no ostensible
means of livelihood. They do not come to stay but on some
specific criminal expedition and are therefore well provided
with funds.
Dehliwal, Malpura, Badak and Marwada Bauriahs in this
Presidency are generally, if not always,
Disgu'ond±,Sionnmea"s disguised as Bairagis or Gosavis
(those with women and children as
the latter), in whose prayers, religious habits, ceremonials and
incantations some are very expert. All are, however, very
clever in their get up, mark their foreheads with ashes or
gopichandan) wear tulsi or nidrdksha mala (string of beads)
round the neck, and carry about the usual paraphernalia
of the real Sadhu including chimta (tongs) and begging bowl
(kamandal}. Generally two or three in a gang read and
drone out long pieces from Tulsi Krit Ramayana, and other
religious books. At this Malpuras are particularly good.
Some shave their heads, others allow their hair to grow, and
affix 'das' (if posing as Bairagis) or 'gir' (if as Gosavis) to
their names. They invariably have tv\o names, one given by
their parents and the other by their guru. Most Dehliwals,
Malpuras and Marwadas have the Dwarka or Ajodhia chhtips
or the brands of the religious visitor to these shrines, on the
upper arm.
Bauriahs are such adepts at the Sadhus' disguise that
ordinary people are rarely able to penetrate them and even
Sadhus themselves are taken in. It is only by the Bauriahs'
style of living, what he eats and drinks and by his manners
generally that he can be distinguished from the bona fide
Sadhu who in these respects differs totally from the spurious
article. They sometimes give themselves away by incorrect
marks or tilaks on their foreheads, a mistake in the knot of
the sacred thread, or in some other small but essential detail
in the disguise.
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. l8l
Bauriahs cook and eat together and indulge in intoxicating
drinks, consume flesh openly and as explained above, with the
exception of Khairwadas and Marwadas, always live outside
villages and towns. Real Sadhus, whose role they adopt,
differ in these respects as under.
Both Gosavis and Bairagis put up in villages and though
the former cook and eat meat they will not do so in company
nor openly, nor will they drink liquor. Real Bairagis of course
do not touch flesh or liquor at all. True Sadhus. if forced by
circumstances to cook on a road, as they sometimes are when
on a pilgrimage, will each cook and eat his own meal
separately.
Moreover, parties of true Sadhus are usually made up
of individuals from different parts of the country with different
dialects and more or less showing some difference in cast of
countenance etc. The individuals constituting Bauriah gangs
disguised as Sadhus have a general uniform appearance,
dialect, manners and customs which to the practised eye
should excite suspicion and betray them. There is how-
ever reason to believe that Bauriahs have to some extent
in recent years changed their tactics in respect to adopting
the disguise of a Sadhu in his brick-coloured garments
owing to the fact that this disguise is more or less a matter of
common knowledge.
Marwadas besides posing as Sadhus also pretend to be
up-country Brahmins, Sanjogi Bairagis, and accept, both men
and women, employment as water carriers and domestic
servants in respectable houses. In this way they will live for
months and even years in a town, meeting and committing
crime in company at night and following their ostensible
avocation during the day. Sometimes they are to be met with
carrying across their shoulders ' kavads ' supposed to contain
' Ganga-jal ' or the sacred water of the Ganges. This device
not only disarms suspicion but gains them access to respect-
able well-to-do households.
The Badak's favourite disguise is perhaps that of a
Ramanandi Bairagi.
Moghias are believed to pass themselves off as Banjaras,
but no instances of this kind have been reported in this
Presidency.
One means of identifying Bauriahs may possibly be found
in the typical family dev carried about by these people
when wandering with their families. It consists of some
182 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
grains of wheat and the seeds of a creeper known as ' ma-
markhi ' greased over with ghi, enclosed in a brass or copper
dabbi (receptacle), a peacock feather, and bell, all wrapped
up in a pair of sheets of white cloth each measuring 2$ by
2 cubits, the outer -of which bears the imprint of a hand dipped
in goat's blood. The whole is again rolled up in two pieces
of red cloth [khdrva] of the same dimensions as the white
and tied in a bundle. This dev is hung on a wall, if the
party is putting up in a building, or is used as a pillow by a
Bauriah male if encamped in the open. At home the dev
is suspended from the ceiling of a room. Being an object of
veneration great care is taken that it may not be contaminated.
None but a male Bauriah or a high caste Hindu may touch
the dev. Badaks, Marwadas, Khairwadas and Moghias
include small jingling balls or bells in the bundle and
call the whole devi, probably because of the fact that they
are worshippers of devtt especially ' Kalka Devi.'
Bauriahs change their names frequently. When moving
in gangs the leaders pose as gurus and the rest as chehis.
Their halting place is called by them dsan.
In this Presidency, the Dehliwal, Malpura and Khairwada
Bowris' only forms of crime are house-
Crime to which addicted. , .. i i <• i • i i_ • i
breaking and theft by night, which
when aggravated by violence develop into robbery or dacoity,
as the case may be, and sheep-lifting by night. They do not
commit crime during the day. Badaks are addicted to thefts
of all kinds, whether by day or night, house-breaking, cattle-
lifting and crop- stealing. Badaks, women and children
included, are also addicted to pilfering but are not experts in
the sense the Bhamptas are. Sometimes they will indulge
in highway robbery though not of a serious kind.
Moghias are burglars, dacoits, highwaymen, cattle-lifters
and crop-raiders.
Marwadas are given to house-breaking, highway robbery
and dacoity, cattle-lifting and cheating.
But house-breaking and theft by night is the speciality of
all Bauriahs frequenting this Presidency.
Dehliwals are also expert tent thieves.
According to the Bengal Police Code, Vol. 1 ot 1897,
Panjabi Bowris " call themselves ' khaswallas-' or diggers of
khas-khas. Their women frequent fairs and gatherings,
where they pick pockets and steal ornaments irom children.
BOWK IS OR BAURIAHS. 183
They take service with ladies and even go to live with rich
men as their mistresses, in order afterwards to give information
as to where valuables may be found. They are very expert
in concealing money and small articles about their persons,
and even swallow them. They actively resist the police
when an attempt is made to search a village or camp. They
thieve in disguises and are forgers and counterfeiters of coin."
Solitary Bauriahs of the Malpura, Marwada and Badak
divisions are believed sometimes to indulge in administering
stupefying drugs to railway travellers.
Bauriahs set out from their homes or from their monsoon
quarters, towards the end of the rains
Methods employed in com- L . ' . f ... ., , .
mining crime, and distinguish- Or in the month OI KaitlK, On What
ing characteristics likely to js known as ' ramath,' in other words
afford a clue. ... .. .'
their criminal expeditions, and usually
in the month of ( Ashad ' return home or lie low somewhere.
The gangs (mdndlas or girohs] are formed by the
' jamadar,' ' kadoo,' ' upkare ' or ' kamaoo,' as the case
may be. Their ostensible places of pilgrimage are (i) Jagan-
nathji on the east coast, (2) Trimbakji in the Nasik District,
(3) Dvvarka in Kathiawad, (4) Rameshwar in .Madras,
(5) Gangaji (Hardwar), (6) Prayag or Allahabad, (7) Ajodhia
near Fyzabad, (8) Kashi or Benares, and (9) Onkarji near
Indore ; but crime is their sole object and by their success or
otherwise in this respect their movements are regulated.
While ostensibly on their way to one or other of these
religious resorts, they put up in the outskirts of towns and
villages and by means of their disguise obtain an intimate
knowledge of suitable dwellings to be burgled. They do not
obtain information from strangers or admit any into their
confidence ; the leader or some clever member (( pitwadi ') of
the gang reconnoitres the town or village and acquaints
himself with all necessary details regarding the house to be
burgled and the locality. The bright half of the month is
spent in roaming about examining the exterior of houses and
prospecting ; the dark half in executing.
Bauriahs intuitively possess and by long practice have
developed to an extraordinary degree, the power of estimating
whether or not a dwelling is worth exploiting and whether a
midnight venture is likely to prove a successful undertaking.
Their method of obtaining information is as follows : — A
gang having encamped at a village during moonlight nights,
the ' kamaoo ' and one or two of the more accomplished
184 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
' pitvvadis,' or the ' kamaoo ' alone, start off singly in different
directions to prospect towns and neighbouring villages. They
will beg from door to door, make mental notes of premises,
approaches, nature of the building and apparent affluence
or otherwise of the occupants. Khairwadas do not operate in
small villages. They work in large towns and by house-to-
house visitation under the pretext of selling medicines and
oils, acquaint themselves with all necessary information about
promising dwellings.
The women of the house naturally attend to them and
while accepting alms from them the Bauriah takes particular
stock of the jewellery they are wearing.
Having thus marked down suitable houses, the gang moves
on a few miles and encamps again and prospects the neighbour-
hood in a similar manner, and so on till the dark nights arrive,
taking care not to get too far away from villages where
promising houses have been noted. During the three or four
darkest nights of the month is the time for action with
Bauriahs. They then go back on their tracks and burgle one
or more ot the nouses marked down in the manner described
above. The number of houses burgled depends on the
success or otherwise of the operations.
A large haul in the first house may lead to the postpone-
ment or abandonment of attempts on others. In a large town
a gang will call a halt for three, four or even six months, pros-
pect during the bright half of the month and operate during the
dark nights and so on till they are discovered by the police
or they have obtained their fill in the shape of ' loot.' But
whether in city, town or village, Bauriahs will never attack any
house unless it is so situated as to afford reasonable
facilities for approach unobserved and speedy retreat after the
commission of the burglary. Houses surrounded by narrow
lanes and roads which could be blocked in case of alarm
and in which the culprits could be entrapped are studiously
avoided.
The above describes the methods of Dehliwals, Malpuras,
Badaks and Khairwadas.
A filthy habit indulged in by some criminals, local and
foreign, is that of defecating on the floor in one of the rooms
of a house burgled before leaving. The act is supposed to
safeguard the culprits against detection and is ascribed com-
monly to Badaks, Chunvalia Kolis, Waddars, Pasis from
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 185
Hindustan and Marwar Naiks, though it is doubtful whether it
is characteristic of any particular tribe or class.
The methods of Marwadas who travel and live in the
disguise of Sadhus, in respect to obtaining information and
committing crime, do not vary from those of Khairwadas ; but
as regards Marwadas who travel with their families, pass them-
selves off as Brahmins and accept domestic service, they take
advantage of the opportunities afforded to them by the parti-
cular occupation they take up for prospecting, arranging
clandestine meetings and executing their designs.
A Moghia burglary in this Presidency is generally the work
of some gang invited from a distance by one individual who
has previously marked the house while living in some town or
city as a Brahmin, Rajput or Khaki Sadhu (one who covers
the body with ashes, wears a langoti and warms himself over a
fire).
For breaking into a house, the instrument used is called a
gydn or by Moghias a daulatia. The Bauriah's favourite
method is by the ' bagli ' entrance already described in the
preceding notes. A knife, sometimes an ordinary table knife
sharpened to a point and put into a wooden or leather sheath,
is also carried by the leader for purposes of defence as a last
resource and for cutting into tents. The ' pitwadis ' carry
sticks. Moghias, it is said, sometimes carry a razor in lieu of
the knife. A small strip of cloth waxed and rolled into a taper
or the flare of a match supplies the necessary light. If per-
chance the Bauriah fails to effect an entrance by the ' bagli/
he sometimes but rarely resorts to the ' rumali ' method and
makes a hole in the wall of the house large enough to crawl in
through. This hole is covered by a confederate with a cloth to
keep out light and cold draught, which might disturb the sleep
of those inside, and to screen from observation from the road
any light used in the room. The favourite alternative to the
' bagli ' entrance is breaking in through a barred window, the
bars being quickly and forcibly bent and drawn out. The
leader alone enters the house, lights his taper and from the
door- way, window or hole by which he has entered, takes stock
generally of the contents of the room. Having made a mental
note of where people are lying asleep and where boxes are
standing, he puts out his taper, crawls forward slowly and
silently and satisfies himself by listening to the breathing of
each person sleeping in the room as to the soundness of
their sleep. He then proceeds to secure all he can lay hands
I 86 CRIMINAL C'l.ASSKS.
on and transfers it to his ' pitwadis ' outside. He will take
anything and everything, even sweetmeats, glii and the like,
but cooked food and grain he will not lift. Boxes are not
opened in the house ; they are removed intact to be broken open
outside. Jewellery is skilfully and quickly removed from the
recumbent bodies of persons asleep. If disturbed or challenged,
the intruder snatches what he can from the inmates and beats
a hasty retreat. As a rule injury is not done to persons inside
the house except when in straits and to effect escape, when
those outside will speedily come to the rescue of their leader.
In a tight corner Bauriahs will go to any length in self defence
and will not hesitate to use the knife with deadly effect.
While the leader is at work inside, the ' pitwadis ' are dis-
tributed outside ; and while some have their attention fixed on
assisting their leader, others keep a sharp look-out against
interruption from outside, the danger signal being a sound
emitted from the mouth similar to the cry of a hare wrhen
caught.
Before advancing into an inner room and out of view of his
' pitwadis/ the ' kamaoo ' or ' kadoo ' first of all acquaints
the former of his intention : this in order that they may be ready
to come to his assistance if need be. He then goes forward,
lights his taper again at the door of the inner room, takes
stock of it, extinguishes the light, tests the breathing of any
one asleep in the room, secures what he can lay hands on and
passes it out.
Major Gunthorpe, in his " Notes on Criminal Tribes " pub-
lished in the year 1882, mentions a practice among Bauriahs of
throwing forward, when a light is not used, seeds or grains
to locate the position of brass or copper pots and boxes.
Enquiries instituted in this Presidency do not, however, bear
this out, at any rate in respect to Dehliwals, Malpuras and
Khairwadas, and there are grounds for the belief that the
practice is now out of date among all criminals. It no doubt
prevailed in former times \vhen the burglar's outfit contained
nothing better than a flint and steel to provide light. But with
the facilities that now exist for obtaining cheap silent matches,
the need for a substitute for a light has ceased to exist and the
somewhat risky practice of throwing forward seeds seems to
have fallen into disuse. It is a fact though that all Bauriahs
carry about among their belongings a few grains of wheat and
jawari and mamarkhi seeds (resembling in appearance vrrv
small soap-nuts) tied in small bits of rag or kept in small
BOWRIS OR BAUR1AHS. 187
receptacles, which are used in consulting omens before pro-
ceeding on a venture and in determining what particular
individuals shall take part in it ; also, that among Malpuras,
should one of the gang be a self-constituted ' Jotishi ' or sup-
posed to be familiar with mantras or charms, he will cast a
white goonj (seed) on the house before breaking into it to
ensure that the venture shall not be interrupted.
Marwadas by reason of the fact that they live in disguise
in cities and towns, are not particular as to how they effect
entrance into a house that they have decided on breaking into.
They will break through wall or roof, as circumstances permit
or are favourable. The Dehliwal and Malpura Bauriah has to
do his work expeditiously as time is of importance to him ; the
Bauriah who does not live^apart from the general public is on
the spot, so to speak, has better opportunities for laying his
plans and more of the night at his disposal for the actual com-
mission of the crime.
Tent thieving appears to have been the Dehliwal Bauriah's
hereditary speciality and even now7 he prides himself on being
an adept in eluding sentries and gaining entrance to tents.
Sheep lifting by Bauriahs has no characteristic features.
The methods of other criminals, as described in the note on
Ramoshis for instance, are followed.
With respect to other forms of crime mentioned under the
preceding heading, experience in this Presidency does not
furnish sufficient data from which any instructive information
can be compiled. It is as a notorious and inveterate burglar
that the Bauriah deserves special attention and stands out
conspicuously among foreign criminals frequenting this Pre-
sidency.
Among Dehliwals and Malpura gangs not hampered with
families, should inconvenient enquiries be anticipated, absentees
from the halting place are represented at night by sheets
spread over stones or bundles to look like sleeping forms.
Enquiry by any officious police or village officer who may have
noticed the gang during the day, is met by the two or three
Bauriahs who have been left at the encampment explaining that
they are awake and that their companions (pointing to the
dummies) are asleep. This little artifice should be remembered
by the police on their rounds when looking up suspicious gangs
of mendicants.
1 88 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Bauriahs under arrest should be very carefully guarded,
particularly when being escorted from one station to another.
Instances are not wanting in which Bauriahs have assaulted
the police and escaped from custody even with the hand-
cuffs on.
As a rule Bauriahs do not associate with other castes in the
commission of crime.
A few hints as to how to act when a Bauriah gang is
traced may be found useful. When a person suspected of
being a Bauriah is found loitering about or begging in the
streets, it is inadvisable to challenge or interrogate him there
and then ; he should be quietly followed to his encampment.
A Bauriah on being questioned never admits his identity or
that he forms one of a gang. Evidence of his tribe and
criminality, such as the fry an and other characteristic articles
described above, are ordinarily to be found in his encampment.
On a Bauriah encampment being discovered, it is desirable to
surround and search it in the early morning, as then all
members are likely to be found at home and traces of any
crime they may have committed over-night will be fresh.
Each member of the gang should be examined separately.
When thus taken unawares their stories will probably be found
to contain important discrepancies. On some pretext or other
individuals will try to move about and if permitted to do so
and at the same time carefully watched, may possibly be
discovered, burying a knife and moving bedding over the spot,
or throwing some implicating article into bushes or over walls.
There is no limit to their cunning and the search of an
encampment proceeds under volleys of abuse and loud
protestations at the zulum which the ' Sarkar ' is com-
mitting.
If the gang finds the game is up, that their identity is dis-
covered and their methods known, they are quick to adopt
another strain. " Yes, certainly, they are Bauriahs if the Sarkar
says so, but there are Bauriahs and Bauriahs. Did God make
all five fingers the same length ? " They then are at pains to
prove that they are a peaceful, law-abiding gang of Rajputs,
(" all right, saheb, call us Bauriahs ") and that really and
truly they are proceeding on a pilgrimage. One such gang
invaded this Presidency and when nothing else was of avail
produced ancient certificates given to some absent relatives of
theirs and explained how they had helped and were helping
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 189
the Government by hunting down fugitive Bauriahs and handing
them over to the police ; unfortunately for them it came to
light that they used these certificates purely for purposes of
blackmail from other gangs of their tribe.
If the gang is searched while on the move it may probably
be found in possession of stolen property and other character-
istic belongings mentioned above.
At their halting place the gydn, if in appearance not
calculated to arouse suspicion, is kept by the ' bhandari '
along with other cooking utensils ; if an unmistakable jemmy,
it is buried at some distance from the halting place if the stay
is to be prolonged, otherwise under the bedding in the lining
of a saddle or somewhere else in the encampment if the halt
is but for a few hours. In respect to the obvious jemmy, so
uneasy are they lest it should be found on them, that their
first care, even if they squat on the road for a few minutes to
have a smoke, is to bury it.
If the marks of the instrument used for making the hole
in the wall are small and such as might be caused by the
handle of a palli (ladle), a fair presumption to draw is that
the breach in the wall is the handiwork of a Dehliwal or
Malpura Bauriah with his gyAn, and if coupled with this the
culprits, if disturbed, have been heard to make use of a
dialect similar to that described as the Bauriah's, the crime
may safely be put down to this criminal class.
One of the first, perhaps the very first, recorded case of
Bauriahs discovered at work in this Presidency came to
light in the year 1887 in the Bijapur District and as a brief
account of the case may prove interesting, some instructive
details from a report on the case submitted by the District
Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, at the time, are reproduced.
The case is typical of Bauriah methods, illustrates how
successfully they are able to assume disguise and the ramifi-
cations of their widespread organization.
In the beginning of September 1887 from certain infor-
mation of a vague description, received by a policeman from
a low caste inhabitant of Bijapur, suspicion was aroused against
certain Gosavis who lived in the Taj Bowdi that they were
concerned in the serious house-breaking cases that mysteriously
took place when the dark nights came round, and that these
menwere connected with all the cases that had been taking
place, more or less regularly, during the past three years.
On receipt of this information, which was conveyed to the
190 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Superintendent of Police, it was thought advisable to institute
a watch, by means of detectives, on the movements and
general behaviour of these Gosavis, who subsequently proved
to be Bowris from Bhopal, though this was not at the time
suspected. A close watch kept on the movements of the few
Gosavis who lived in the Taj Bowdi math disclosed the
following suspicious circumstances regarding them : —
(a) their manners and customs and daily avocations were
not those of the ordinary travelling Gosavis ;
(b) that they lived in a style, i. e., ate and drank, quite
beyond their apparent means, and lived far more extravagantly
than their ostensible means of subsistence justified ;
(c) that they maintained a very exclusive attitude towards
strangers visiting the math •
(d) that they disappeared and returned in small parties
and that they were joined by others, apparently Gosavis,
with whom they seemed to have a previous acquaintance ;
(e) that some members travelled between Bijapur and two
villages, Shivangi and Hernal, distant respectively eighteen
and thirty miles, where they seemed to have intimate acquain-
tances and houses.
After a careful watch had been maintained for some fifteen
or twenty days over the villages of Shivangi and Hernal and the
math at the Taj Bowdi in Bijapur, beyond the above suspicious
circumstances, nothing which would directly incriminate these
Gosavis or connect them with the house-breaking cases that
had occurred and were occurring in Bijapur, could be dis-
covered and therefore the Dassara festival falling on the 26th
September, this opportunity was seized by the police for
bringing matters to a crisis by suddenly pouncing down on the
villages of Hernal and Shivangi, surrounding them at night
and searching for stolen property, house-breaking implements
and so on. Accordingly on the 26th September a body of
police was deputed to make a forced march to these villages
and carry out the searches. There were then no Gosavis in
the Taj Bowdi math, except the officiating priest, also a
Gosavi. The villages were surrounded on the night of the
26th and a search made of them, but no Gosavis were
discovered there. In Shivangi, however, a quantity of property
suspected to be stolen was discovered and in Hernal, in the
pi'itU's house, an ornament valued at Rs. 400 was confiscated
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 191
and subsequently identified as being property stolen in a Bijapur
case. This pdtil was reported to be in league with the Gosavis
and was subsequently prosecuted for receiving stolen property,
committed to the sessions and there discharged. These were
the somewhat unsatisfactory results of the raid made.
Subsequently information was collected regarding the
movements of the Gosavis and it was ascertained that such
men were in the habit of visiting villages in small gangs of threes
and fours, and two Gosavis who gave valuable information
were discovered.
These two men named Mooligirri and Koomangirri amply
confirmed the suspicions that had been aroused regarding the
criminal propensities of the Taj Bowdi Gosavis, but, though they
could have done so, they did not at the time state their true caste.
On the information received from Mooligirri and Koomangirri
of Shivangi. six Gosavis were taken into custody and property
valued at various amounts was recovered which was identified
as property stolen in house-breaking cases of Bijapur in 1887
and previous years, and in one case of the Belgaum District.
Further, a complete list of a gang of thirty-eight men was obtained
from one of the informants, though subsequent enquiries made in
Bhopal, by the Inspector sent up there for the purpose, disclosed
the fact that the gang was even larger, five or six individuals
whom this informant had not mentioned having been fully
identified in Bhopal as belonging to the Bijapur gang and in
consequence arrested. The informant further declared that
the Gosavis were Bowris from Bhopal ; that they gained their
livelihood by committing crime ; that they had committed a
large number of house-breaking cases in Bijapur ; that one who
had been arrested, vis.} Baldeodas, was the spiritual leader of
the gang and that there was also a 'jamadar' or executive
leader. On enquiry as to the whereabouts of the rest of the
gang, he stated that the ' jamadar ' and fifteen men had gone to
Athni in the Belgaum District on a marauding expedition and
that fifteen others had gone into the Dharwar District for the
same purpose. Some clothes belonging to the ' jamadar ' were
found in the Taj Bowdi math and also a house-breaking
implement answering to the description of the implement used
by Bowris, given in Gunthorpe's " Notes on Criminal Tribes."
On the roth November 1887 the six Gosavis who had already
been arrested were convicted in connection with three house-
breaking and theft cases and sentenced to various terms ranging
from two to four years' rigorous imprisonment, one being also
192 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
convicted and given four months for escaping from the
custody of the police while being brought in from Shivangi to
Bijapur.
It was also ascertained that another of the gang had already
been convicted of house-breaking and theft in Bagalkot, though
at the time it was not known he was a Bowri and belonged to
this gang. In this manner seven men out of the thirty-eight
whose names were known were accounted for and the first
stage of the case completed.
It will perhaps be a convenient place here to give briefly
the Bijapur history of Baldeodas bin Bhoopalsing alias Bhopda,
the spiritual leader of the so-called Gosavis and officiating
priest of the Taj Bowdi math. He came to Bijapur about four
years before the incidents being described, put up in the Taj
Bowdi math, the priest and the indmddr of which was a man
named Durgaprasad Baldeodas, became his disciple and so
ingratiated himself with Durgaprasad, that on the decease of
the latter, Baldeodas became Durgaprasad's heir and inherited
the position of officiating priest of the math. In the character
of spiritual heir to the deceased guru he even induced the
Collector to interest himself in a case of an alleged wrong
done to the temple property. As priest of the math he was
much venerated by the inhabitants of Bijapur and was regarded
as a highly religious, holy and respectable man. He had the
entree into the households of the principal influential and
wealthy inhabitants of Bijapur, officials and non-officials, and
generally impressed all with his sanctity and respectability to
such an extent that suspicion of dishonesty never occurred to
any one and yet he was nothing but a Malpura Bauriah
in disguise. As officiating priest of the math, a large place
with underground rooms, very pucca built and surrounded by
garden land, he had every facility for collecting and harbouring
Bowris, his caste-fellows, and generally directing their opera-
tions. But for his position and influence it would have been
impossible for the gang to have made a depot as it were of the
math.
On the termination of the case against the seven Bowris
referred to above, wide search was instituted by the police for
the two sub-gangs, each fifteen strong, which had gone into the
Belgaum and Dharwar Districts, but proved abortive. It was
found quite impossible to trace the spurious Gosavis among
the large number of genuine bawds who wander over the
country begging. The police had several wild goose chases
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 193
to Kolhapur, Pandharpur, Sholapur, Gadag and other places,
so the only hope of ever finding the missing Bowris, who no
doubt had heard of the capture of their leader and companions
in Bijapur, seemed to be to send an experienced officer to
Bhopal with detectives to arrest them on return home. It
seemed probable they would make for Bhopal sooner or later,
trusting to the great distance preventing or spoiling pursuit.
Accordingly a Police Inspector was sent with detectives and
an informant who could identify the Bowris, to Bhopal. Just
previous to the Inspector's departure letters received through
the post to the address of Baldeodas, the leader, were
intercepted. From the post marks on the envelopes it was
clear the letters had been posted in Poona, Satara and
Khandesh. A copy of one is attached and speaks for itself.
On arrival at Bhopal the Inspector found a large number of
Bowris in arrest on suspicion of having committed a serious
dacoity with murder in the Bhopal State. Seventeen of these
proving to be members of the Bijapur gang and being identified
were arrested formally by the Inspector and after a great deal of
correspondence between the Superintendent of Police, Bijapur,
and the Political authorities, were transferred to the Bijapur
District for trial. The ' jamadar ' and executive leader of the
gang, Akhersing alias Chetandas, was not one of the seventeen
men arrested, he was however traced to Saugor, a neighbouring
British district, where he was found in custody on a charge of
recent house-breaking and theft. All the eighteen, suspecting
a hue-and-cry would be raised, must have absconded to Bhopal
immediately their companions were arrested in Bijapur and
apparently had been concerned in crime in the former place
since their return.
The Police Inspector reported that the Bowri population
in Bhopal then numbered approximately 5,000 souls ; that they
had no ostensible means of livelihood ; that during the month
and a quarter he was in Bhopal territory, with the exception of
some 100 or 150 males, there were no able-bodied men, only
women, children and old men and cripples, in the villages.
All the able-bodied Bowris were away. He was able to trace
and identify only 18 men, so apparently the remainder had
either not returned to their villages or had managed to elude the
authorities.
Further enquiries made by the Bijapur police disclosed the
facts that several Bowris had wandered from their native
country many years before, intermarried with women of the
B 5H— 13
194 CRIMINAL (LASSES.
district and settled down. They had built chappar houses
and acquired a little property in the villages of Shivangi and
Hernal. What their antecedents may have been was not
known but at any rate they had not hitherto made themselves
conspicuous, nothing was reported against them and their true
caste had not then been discovered. They did not go about
in disguise but lived as ordinary inhabitants of the two villages.
It was only in consequence of the discovery of the Bijapur
gang of Bowris that it was ascertained these settlers were also
Bowris. Their numbers were roughly estimated at about a
hundred souls and they left the villages of Shivangi and Hernal
as soon as the true Bowris were arrested, decamping into Moglai
territory. To proceed with the account of the case against the
eighteen accused extradited from Bhopal it is sufficient to say
that the case ended in the conviction in the Sessions Court of
all the accused.
Translation of one of the intercepted letters : —
" Sidh Shri sarb Upmajog Rajeshri. Kalyandiis writes. Let it
be known to Gumandas that the news of your welfare is first of all
required, then all is well here. If you have time and have recovered
from illness, come on receipt of (this) letter. And we are in great
trouble here and no ' murti ' (i. e., member of a gang) helps, therefore
we have written to you. If you have recovered fully, then you shall
find us at Bijapur, Tasbaodi, with Baldeodas till dasmi (roth) and in
case you have no time to come, then on receipt of this note send
letter to the (following) address : — Bijapur Tasbaodi, c/o Baldeodas.
We have sent two 'murtis' (members) to mandar (home) with
kharcha (money). Ram Ram Sitaram from Kalyandas and Ragh-
unathdas to Gumandas and Lachmansing. And what can two
' murtis ' do. And three seers of flour (300 rupees worth of stolen
property) have been lost. It is not known who has taken them. $\
seers of flour (475 rupees worth of stolen property) has been sent to
mandar (home) and come soon on hearing (receipt of I the letter,
and we are getting anxious for want of men (assistance). Ram Ram
to Bachu Sonar (a ' receiver ') from Kalyansing."
The gydn (alluded to as ' Gyandas ' in the presence of
strangers in order to mislead them into
stock-in-trade instruments believing that an individual is being
and weapons used in commit- 1111 , • \ •
ting crime. talked about) or daulatia is their
chief and characteristic implement of
house-breaking. A knife, exhibit 20 of the Bombay District
Police Museum, vide Plate VI, or razor, sticks, wax taper,
exhibit 20 of the Bombay District Police Museum, rii/c
Plate VI, and match-box (taendstickers) complete the outfit
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 195
carried by Bowri burglars. The wax taper is usually carried
wrapped round the sheath of the knife which is stuck into the
left side of the leader's dhotar. The gydn is similarly carried
by one of the ' pitwadis.'
Gydns are of three kinds. That carried by Dehliwals,
exhibit 20 of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate VI,
is like an ordinary iron ladle (palli or kadcht) but is heavier and
stronger than the ordinary culinary spoon and is made of an
alloy of iron and steel, the end of the handle being sharpened
and tempered. TYiisgydn is used both for cooking and criminal
purposes. The Malpuras' and Khairwadas' gydn is an ordinary
pointed steel jemmy about fifteen to eighteen inches long with
a knob at the end. The Badaks' gydn is a steel and iron
jemmy, six to ten inches long, fitted into a wooden handle about
the same length, bound at the top and also where the metal fits
into the wood, with iron bands.
The Moghias' daulatia is believed to be an iron zig-zag
shaped jemmy fitted into a wooden handle, but an authentic
specimen has not come under observation, therefore the
accuracy of the description cannot be vouched for.
In addition to other articles mentioned above and elsewhere
in this note, a Bowri leader usually carries a ball of wax for
coating the taper and improvising a make-shift rough pair of
scales for weighing valuables, exhibit 56 of the Bombay District
Police Museum, vide Plate IV.
Property acquired by theft is first divided into five shares.
Ways and means of con- The leader gets. one, the remaining
ccaiing and disposing of stolen four are then divided into as many
shares as there are members of the
gang including the leader and even those who did not actually
assist at the crime and each man gets a share ; thus the leader
gets 20 per cent, of the spoil plus an equal share with all others
in the remaining 80 per cent. This seems to be a general rule
among all Bauriah divisions. The allocation to the leader of
a 20 per cent, share to begin with is apparently based on an
old understanding that it is a responsibility belonging to the
leader to —
(a) distribute alms to Brahmins ;
(b) pay dues to ' Doms ' ; *
* These men sometimes on hearing of a successful haul travel down south, passing
themselves off as Bhiits or bards, join up with a Bauriah gang and obtain their dues or
share of the spoil.
196 CRIMINAI CLASSES.
(c) help his female relations who may be unprovided
for ; and
(d) propitiate the deity by giving a feast to the
males of the gang.
There is often much quarrelling over the distribution of the
' loot ' and when this is the case the property, of whatever
description, is broken up and divided into shares. Should
there be no differences, articles of jewellery containing pearls
and precious stones are put aside for subsequent disposal and
division of sale-proceeds, the rest being broken up if necessary
and divided at once in the manner described above. Each
member melts down the gold and silver that comes to his
share in a crucible improvised for the occasion made of earth
with a slight admixture of cotton to bind it. He sells the
metal or disposes of such articles as come to his share intact
to ' receivers,' who are shroffs, goldsmiths, Banias, Gujars,
Borahs and the like.
Articles with pearls and precious stones in them are,
pending sale, kept by the leader who disposes of them later as
opportunity offers to ' receivers,' the sale-proceeds being
divided in the manner stated above.
Pending division or disposal, valuables are cunningly
buried, in the case of those who live outside towns and villages,
in the near vicinity of the halting place. When moving camp
each man carries his cash and the stolen property allotted to
his share on his person. Arrived at a fresh halting place
valuables are again buried. Property is not, as a rule, sent
home by parcel but is occasionally sent home in charge of one
or two members of the party who after safely delivering it
rejoin the gang. Cash is remitted by money-order, under the
usual precautions, fictitious names etc., to baffle trace and
disarm suspicion.
On one occasion when the police surprised some Dehliwals,
the men made themselves scarce and one of the women con-
cealed some stolen property in a heap of chapdtis.
Correspondence from their country by post is received
through some local friend who is kept in ignorance as to their
caste and calling. In their letters members of a gang are
referred to as ' murtis,' their home as ' mandar ' and stolen
property as dta (flour). A seer of ata means a hundred
rupees worth of stolen property, two seers two hundred
rupees worth, etc.
BOWRIS OR BAURIAHS. 197
Property is buried by individuals separately. That belong-
ing to the gang as a whole, i. e., before division, is buried by
the leader, who when returning from the place of concealment
is careful to obliterate his foot-prints. To do this he stoops
and dusts them over with the end of a cloth for some distance
as he walks backwards. On the move it is carried by one of
the able-bodied members of the gang who is specially fleet of
foot. If any serious risk is anticipated, the property is buried
and left behind, one of the gang in the get-up of a Sadhu
(among Badaks perhaps an Aughur Sadhu) remaining near
the spot till such time as he can safely remove the property or
the gang returns.
The hole dug by Bowris when concealing property under
ground, is generally wider at the base than at the surface and
the property is deposited in a small side burrow scooped out at
the base.
Bauriahs are in the habit of sewing their knives in the
edges of their quilts and when required to shake out the latter
they take care to grasp the quilt at the point where the knife is
concealed.
Marwar Baoris or Gujerat Baoris.
Marwar Vaghris or Baghris, also known as Marwar Baoris,
appear to be one of the many off-shoots
Name°orCtrriblnal of the large Bauriah tribe. They are
sometimes, though erroneously, called
Gujerat Baoris. They are not the same as the Vaghris of
Gujerat proper though they try to pass themselves off as
such, and differ widely from the latter in their habits, criminal
tendencies, and methods.
They are divided into clans, of which the following are
some : —
Parmar. Adhani.
Solanki. Rathod.
Shonkla or Vaghela. Dhengani.
Damdara. Atani.
Dabhi. Sangani.
Gelada or Gelot. Deoda.
Chohan (also pronounced
as Sohan).
The Marwar Vaghris' original habitat is Marwar. Some
families have migrated into Guierat
Habitat. . . .,..•'
where their separate identity is lost
among the Vaghri class. They are to be found in great
numbers in Kathiawad, Sind and Rajputana, and: in lesser
numbers in the Central Provinces.
Many of this class, notably those who are given to coining,
wander about the country in small
a"- gangs of varying numbers, usually „..(
exceeding ten, accompanied by women,
children and ponies. They travel as far as Calcutta, Indore
and Lahore, are to be met with in this Presidency, Madras,
the Central Provinces, Bengal and the Berars. They wander
from place to place throughout the year, but during the mon-
soon do not move camp so frequently, endeavouring to fix
up where they have formed local connections. Those who
are without encumbrances and live under false pretences in
towns, travel by train.
The tribe is believed not to exceed
Population and distribution. 2,OOO, but this is Only a gUCSS ; no
reliable figures are forthcoming.
MARWAR BAORIS OR GUJERAT BAORIS. 199
Marwar Vaghris are generally dark, of medium build and
are, with few exceptions, dirty and
Appearance, dress, etc. ' . , . . . , r, . , J .
squalid in their habits and dress.
They are capable of much endurance and can cover great
distances in the day, even thirty to forty miles when pushed.
The men wear an old dhotar, short angarkha or shirt or a coat
and a worn-out pagri or a dupatta which they fold either in the
Marwar or Gujerat fashion. Those to be met with in this
Presidency, who are more or less domiciled here, do not grow
beards nor wear the hair long. The females usually wear the
ghdghra or petticoat (never white or black), sometimes a
sdrt, bodice open at the back, odni or head-scarf, bangles
made of so-called ivory or cocoanut shell, the toti (ear orna-
ment), a lavang (a clove-shaped ornament) in the nose, silver
or kdsa (bell-metal) anklets and toe-rings.
Men as well as women are marked on the belly by scars,
the result of branding.
The tattoo markings on a woman's face are a line from the
outer corner of each eye, a dot at the inner corner of the left
eye, one on the left cheek and one on the chin. They have
also distinctive tattoo marks on each arm, the chest and the
shins. They eat all sorts of flesh, except that of the cow and
village pig, and indulge in liquor. They are superstitious
and sometimes propitiate the goddess before starting on an
expedition.
They usually encamp outside a village in a tope of trees
or field where they live in the open and sometimes in tents or
temporarily constructed huts. In the rains they hire lodgings
on the outskirts of villages or towns, or put up in temples,
dharamsdlds and the like.
The headman of a gang is styled a ' jamadar ' or ' malak '
or ' panch sati ' or ' jhagardoo ' and the gang is known as a
' tdnda.'
Marwar Baoris and Moghias feed together when they
meet.
Marwar Vaghris have a dialect of their own, ' Baori-
bhasha,' which resembles Marwadi.
"^speech"1" Those in Gujerat speak corrupt Guje-
rati. They can also speak Hindi, and
generally pick up a smattering of the language of the country
they peregrinate in.
200
CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Slang used.
Slang.
mulgo
I". i .sal
lasuria, lahoor or phogda
adiya, nanama
kadshi
•>
mundala, dala or renga
peelwa
nanami
vavri jao, sapardi jao, modi jao.
bahodi gayo
kowli
ratadia or lakdio
agto
agti
khengro or khengolio
bapra, bahua or tapua
majuha
lectee
vvaggarl
maw. 'i
nakra
kunjri
nahori
konlia
ma nh on
gunjion
nirkhun
dantion
halkas
kaunli
dungaria
rar or bunbal
phuharto
athario
pilu or namayan
tukarion
targoli
The following are some of the
slang expressions used by Mar war
Vaghris : —
Meaning.
... an officer, or saheb.
sepoy.
counterfeit rupee,
mould,
ladle in which the nn tal
is melted,
a genuine rupee,
gold,
tin.
run or decamp,
arrested,
silver,
pice.
Baori man.
Baori woman,
village or house,
bread,
wheat.
a spiral track made by
Baoris for the guidance
of those following,
alloy of kdsd, copper and
tin in equal proportions,
mixture of metals, viz.,
kdsd, copper and tin in
the proportion of i, i
and 10 respectively,
bullock,
buffaloe.
jackal,
boy.
man.
the secret pocket in a
dhoti.
water,
meat,
dagger.
earth.
axe.
the passing of counterfeit
coin,
horse,
saddle
ghi.
Brahmin,
sacred thread.
.MARWAR BAORIS OR GUJERAT BAORIS. 2OJ
Slang. Meaning.
vaniaraya ... to run away,
german . . . brass utensil,
ranga hoko ... bribe him.
aur che ... is coming,
lahi jashi ... it will be found,
narsi jashi ... it will be detected,
pee ... to change,
pee man ... do not change,
hamen pee aro ... change it now.
narsiyo poso hokro ... return the coin,
tukario thai jo ... go disguised as a Brah-
min.
hatari nako ... conceal it.
khadro ... hole,
velion ... credulous person,
verton velion che ... he is simple and credu-
lous,
babko or hokro ... exchange counterfeit coins.
To indicate to others of the caste who may follow on their
tracks, the route taken, a member of the gang, usually a
woman, trails a stick in the dust as she walks along leaving a
spiral track on the ground. Another method for indicating the
route taken is to place leaves under stones at intervals along
the route.
They make use of the above signs even when begging in
the villages round their encampments, as well as when on the
march.
In Marwar they cultivate land. A few maintain them-
selves by carrying kdvads of water
tensibHho5?s of from the holy Ganges and selling the
latter to Hindus. Some cheat by
selling ordinary water in which a little gopichandan has been
mixed to give it a slightly turbid appearance. These water-
carriers call themselves ' Gangajal Vaghris or Baoris.'
Away from Marwar when making a prolonged halt any-
where, they sometimes cultivate cucumbers etc. in Gujerat and
there and elsewhere rent land even on a year's lease ; but
begging is their chief ostensible means of subsistence.
While out on criminal expeditions they will often pass
themselves off as ' Bhats ' or bards
"T'SlSSSSi— reciting with great fluency the exploits
of heroes of old, or as ' Kabir Panthis '
reciting ' Kabir ' poetry.
202 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
When they leave their encampments singly or in pairs to
pass counterfeits they dress themselves up as ' Sadhus,'
usually ' Giri Gosavis ' in salmon-coloured clothes, \\var
rudrdksh beads and affix ' gir ' or ' das ' to their names.
They are also known to pose as Brahmins, Kumhars, Kunbis,
Rajputs or Charans. In Gujerat they generally pass them-
selves off as ' Salats ' or stone-dressers.
Occasionally in the Deccan they secure accommodation
in villages and towns and pass themselves off as ' Phul Malis '
and ' Malis ' (gardeners).
The males frequently change their names.
Marwar Vaghris as a class are inveterate and hereditary
coiners, the exact prototype of Chhap-
Crime to which addicted. , , , „ J L
parbands. Men as well as women are
experts. They coin false rupees, as well as eight, four and two
anna pieces. They also cheat Banias by the substitution of
counterfeit mohtirs for gold ones.
Their methods are very similar to those of the Chhappar-
bands. Their work is superior though
Methods employed in com- . . .. r, i i •
rritting crime, and distin- their appliances are crude and their
guishing characteristics likely handicraft confined to casting counter-
feits of an alloy of base metals. Their
moulds are very typical and are made in the following
manner. Two blocks, each about % of an inch deep by about
3 inches square, are made up from good potter's clay (a little
cotton or wool is mixed with it to make it binding), and into
one, used as the lower half of the mould, two pegs with pointed
protruding ends are driven, one into each of the opposite
angles of the block. The other half of the mould is then
carefully fitted on to the first one, holes being made to receive
the two pegs described above and keep the blocks, when used
as a mould, in position. The blocks are then set to dry, in the
shade for choice, to avoid cracking. While drying, the blocks
are polished outside with the hand to give them a finish.
After they have hardened, the inner faces are rubbed on a
stone to give each a level surface, so that when the two are
brought together they shall fit exactly. Then a hollow, rather
larger than a rupee in circumference and about $ of an inch
deep, is scooped in the centre of the inner side of the lower
block and a small channel is cut in the side of this block
leading into the prepared hollow. A circular hole, rather larger
in circumference than a rupee, is then made through the upper
block and a channel is cut in this block in exact juxta-position
MAR WAR BAORIS OR GUJERAT BAORIS. 203
to the one in the lower block, to form, when both blocks are
fitted together, one small round channel in the side of the
mould to admit the melted metal into the cavity prepared
for the rupee.
Lime-stone, called ' marad ka pathar,' is ground and
sifted down to a very fine powder which is then mixed with a
little ghi. A fine clay or plaster-of-paris is thus formed and
is filled separately into the cavity of the lower block and the
round hold of the upper one. A rupee with a clear bold
impression is then fitted into the lower block and skilfully
pressed and kneaded into it till it is half embedded. The
upper block is then fitted on to the lower one to get an im-
pression of the obverse and that having been done by the
application of pressure from above to the white clay, the rupee
is dexterously removed, a channel delicately scraped in the
white clay at the place provided in the mould for the admission
of the molten metal, and the mould is then complete. If the
clay in the mould appears to be too sticky, a little ash is dusted
over it before the rupee is placed in the mould to obtain an
impression. The metal used is a mixture of copper, kdsd
(bell-metal) and rdngd or kaldi (tin) in the proportion of
i and i to 10 respectively. The kdsd, copper and an equal
quantity of the tin, are first melted in a small earthen saucer.
This alloy is called ' waggarl.* The remainder of the tin is
now added and the alloy termed ' mdwd ' turned out and again
melted in a palli (ladle) plastered with wet mud (this is a
point to be noted) and poured into the mould.
After turning the counterfeit out of the mould, the edges
of the former are trimmed with a knife and those of a new
genuine coin are pressed round the softer edge of the spurious
article to give the latter the milling. Cow-dung usually,
occasionally soot, alum, saltpetre or turmeric are used as
required for polishing up the coin or giving it the appearance
of a genuine and handled one.
Each mould is capable of turning out a considerable num-
ber of counterfeits and usually lasts for months. The white
clay in the centre will ordinarily cast about twenty rupees,
not more, before it requires to be renewed.
After the coins have been manufactured,. those who have
to utter them separate themselves from the gang and go out
in ones or twos in different directions, the coins being kept
concealed in small pockets sewn in the front folds of their
dhotis as described further on.
204 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
The Baori utterer approaches his dupe, male or female,
the latter being preferred, poses as a country simpleton or
pilgrim to some shrine and offers a ' Rajshahi ' rupee either
to be cashed or with enquiries if it is current. On being told
that the ' Rajshahi ' coin is not current, he asks to be shown a
rupee that is, and having looked at the one shown him and
studied it he substitutes by sleight-of-hand one of his counter-
feits for the genuine coin. He invariably holds a short piece
of stick, fashioned as tooth cleaning stick as a rule, in the
right hand when palming off a counterfeit.
The base rupee is held in the right hand and the stick is
held to justify the contraction of the hand which is holding
the counterfeit. The ' Hali ' or ' Rajshahi ' is tendered with
the left. The current rupee is also received with the left hand
and while the coiner looks at it and is discussing it he cleverly
and quickly passes it into the right hand, the base coin being
substituted for it in the left ; all the while he looks his dupe
in the face and keeps up a volley of small talk to divert the
attention of the latter. An expert can thus pass some twenty
counterfeits at a time under favourable circumstances, but
usually not more than two are attempted. His modus operand]
at this stage is in fact precisely that of a conjurer, who for
the success of his trick has to divert the attention of his
audience.
With luck, a Marwar Baori will pass as many as ten to
twenty counterfeits in a day.
Other modes of passing counterfeits are for the coiner to
hand a spurious rupee in payment for articles purchased worth
an anna or two, taking the difference in cash ; or, to produce a
' Rajshahi ' (or ' Badshahi ') coin ; the victim refuses to take a
rupee that is not current, and the coiner then asks to be shown
the kind of rupee required. This being done a counterfeit is
cleverly substituted for it. Or, he pays for his purchases with
a genuine rupee, expresses dissatisfaction with the weight or
quality of the commodity purchased, altercates with the shop-
keeper and causes the latter to return his money. The dispute
continues and eventually the Baori consents to accept the
goods and plants a counterfeit in payment instead of the
genuine coin the Bania returned.
A third method is as follows : — The Baori goes to a grocer's
shop to purchase ghi or other commodity and pretending
ignorance of weights and measures prevails on the shopkeeper
to scale the ghi against rupees (twenty to a quarter seer).
MAR WAR BAORtS OR GUJERAT BAORIS. 205
Under one pretence or another he handles the money and while
doing so, substitutes the counterfeits for the genuine coins.
They never carry counterfeit rupees and smaller spurious
coins together.
Cheating by planting "false mohnrs is carried out as
follows : —Two small bags of exactly the same size (sufficiently
large to hold a mohur], material and appearance are made.
One contains a genuine gold mohur valued at about Rs. 24,
the other a spurious one. The former is mortgaged with a
Bania for Rs. 20, at twenty per cent, interest. After a time the
Baori returns and complaining of the exorbitant rate of interest
demands the bag containing his mohur back. It is returned.
The Baori and his confederates then begin to altercate among
themselves at the shop and the owner of the mohur is advised
and persuaded, apparently much against his will, by his com-
panions to pawn the article. Meanwhile the bag containing
the spurious mohur has been substituted for the one containing
the genuine coin. The Bania having already satisfied himself
when he took the bag the first time that the coin was genuine,
accepts the bag containing the counterfeit and without examin-
ing the contents further, advances the Rs. 20 and the Baoris
then depart the richer by Rs. 20 and the poorer by a small
bag containing a worthless counterfeit.
The characteristic mould, exhibit 37 of the Bombay District
Police Museum, vide Plate III, as de-
SET sc^ above, a palli (iron spoon) , a
few copper coins, pieces of kdsd^ tin,
a knife, some pieces of lime-stone of the kind mentioned
above, or clay, an earthen crucible or saucer and a few
' Rajshahi ' or ' Hali Sicca ' rupees, complete the paraphernalia
of a Baori coiner.
The palli will usually be found to have a small dip in the
edge to facilitate the pouring of the molten metal.
Counterfeits and moulds are generally buried in or near
Waysand means of conceal- (sav at>out twenty to thirty yards away)
ing or disposing of incrimin- their encampments and have been
found in the ground under their bed-
ding, fire-places, etc.
Counterfeit rupees are carried in one of the pockets
cunningly provided for the purpose, by sewing some of the
pleats in the front folds of the dhoti ; genuine ones, as received,
are dropped into hidden pockets formed in the same way and
206 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
concealed in the same garment among the folds which, usually
drawn together and tucked in at the back, are for this purpose
brought a little round to the right side. Later, genuine coins
are transferred to one of the pockets in the front folds of the
dhoti where they are more easily grasped by the hand when
the dhoti is undone and concealed there, are less liable to
come to notice in a search.
A left-handed man will have his hip pockets on the
left side.
When the gang is on the move, coining requisites are, as a
rule, conveyed by the women in concealed pockets in their
crhdgras or in children's pockets. Counterfeits are taken
away by the utterers who separate themselves from the main
body.
Ujle (clean) Minas.
Minas are not known by any other name. Broadly speak-
Name of criminal class ing there are two social divisions
or tribe. among them, —
Chowkidars and
Zamindars
The former alone are noted for their criminal propensities ;
the latter are land-owners and law-abiding.
The best known goths or clans among Chowkidars are: —
(i) Kagot, (2) Bhonrayat, (3) Jeff, (4) Sevria, (5) Seehra,
(6) Jhirwal, (7) Pabdi, (8) Bagdi, (9) Gomladoo, (10) Basan-
wal, (n) Khata, (12) Nowgada, (13) Dewanda. The first
five are the most criminal.
The home of the Minas is Jodhpur, Jeypore, Bhartpore,
Bikaneer and Alwar States and Shah-
Habitat, jahanpur in the Gurgaon District of
the Panjab.
Kagot Minas hail from Mandawar in Alwar State and
Shahjahanpur ; Bhonrayat from Toravati, Jeypore State ; Jeff
from the Nimka Thana district of the Jeypore State ; Sevria
from Bairat district, Jeypore State; and Seehra from Kotpootli
and Khetdi under Jeypore.
Their sphere of activity extends pretty well all over India,
but the Bombay Presidency, Central
wa"- Provinces, Mysore State, His High-
ness the Nizam's Dominions, are
especially attractive to this criminal tribe.
Minas are not a nomadic class but settled. It is only in
pursuit of crime that they leave their homes. Ordinarily they
set out after the Dasra or Divali festivals (about October),
return home before the Holi (March), start again in April and
remain abroad till July. Occasionally they will stay away
between whiles (during the monsoon) if they fear capture in
the event of their return home or, if they have reason to know
that a prolonged stay is likely to prove a lucrative one.
During such unusual absences they live in large towns, not in
villages, and do not travel about the country. The men
alone visit this Presidency.
208 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
They are not accompanied by females, boys or cattle, and
travel about both by rail and road. Minas leave their country
in large numbers, but work in small gangs of two to six generally,
occasionally even twelve. As a rule the smaller gangs of two
and three are composed of the more criminal and expert
individuals. They prefer to patronize villages and small towns
rather than big cities. In villages they put up in dharamsdlds
or temples ; in large towns and cities, where they have
' fences ' and friends, they are harboured and accommodated in
houses rented by the latter. Each gang or giroh has a leader
known as ' jamadar.'
When travelling by rail they avoid all big junctions and
stations, never book direct to their destination, take tickets
to some intermediate station, alight, journey for some distance
on foot and book at a wayside station to another intermediate
station and so on. Thus they rebook four or five times before
reaching their objective and perform the entire journey mostly
by rail, partly by road.
In this Presidency their chief hunting grounds are the
Deccan, Bombay City, Gujerat, Kathiawad and the Carnatic.
They also frequent Pandharpur in considerable numbers.
Generally, they make short halts of a day or two at each place
they visit and then push on planning or committing crime as
they go, though not using any town or village as a centre from
which to exploit the surrounding country. Prolonged halts are
made only in populous towns. They never return along a
route they have operated on. Once they have tried their luck
anywhere, they clear off for the time being and should they
happen to come across others of the fraternity warn them
against working in the neighbourhood.
In dress and appearance they strongly resemble Rajputs,
but when met with in this Presiden-
Appearance. dress, etc. , , ....
cy are nearly always in disguise.
With the exception of a small ear-ring, the men when away
from home wear no ornaments. They do not tattoo. In
physique they are strong, well built, and medium to tall ; and
they vary in complexion and are mostly good-looking. In
habits and dress they are clean and as a rule bathe daily. In
their country they allow the beard to grow, abroad they
generally shave.
They are good travellers, capable of covering long distances,
even sixty miles by road if pressed and are well inured to all
hardships.
UJLE (CLEAN) MINAS. 209
In the commission of crime they are resourceful and bold.
Minas are flesh eaters but eschew beef. They are very
fond of intoxicating drinks and opium.
As their women and children do not visit this Presidency,
the remainder of this note will deal only with the men.
They speak Marwadi or Rajputani, according to the place
of their birth. All can talk Hindi
and Urdu fluently and many are
educated.
Minas have few slang expressions ; enquiries from
' informers ' have elicited only the
Slang and signs used. , ,, J
following : —
Slang. Meaning.
rumal ... house-breaking implement,
kajli, chayi ... dark night,
dans, machhar, kutta ... police constable,
rumal rakhdo ... keep the house-breaking imple-
ment out of the way.
By way of warning other gangs against following on his
heels the ' jamadar ' of a gang scribbles his name in Urdu or
Hindi on prominently situated dharamsald walls, temples,
mile-stones and the like. Gangs as a rule do not attempt to
foregather ; accidental meetings of course take place, but it is
characteristic of Mina gangs that they act independently of
one another and do not follow one another by the same
route.
Sometimes members of a gang get separated during the
confusion of an attack or pursuit during or after the commis-
sion of a crime. When this occurs the stragglers invariably
make for the rendezvous (mentioned later under " Methods
employed in committing crime " etc.) where the paraphernalia
belonging to the gang was left before proceeding to the scene
of the offence. Here the others after recovering their clothing
etc. either make a rude drawing of a snake on the ground and
on the side of the nearest track, or road, to indicate the
direction taken, or strew leaves broken from the tree in which
their clothing etc. was placed, to the nearest track on the side
of which a similar drawing is then left to point the route
followed. The tail of the snake indicates the direction in
which the gang has gone and the straggler follows up the
main body till he overtakes it, probably during its halt for the
midday meal. At junctions and cross-roads the snake drawing
is repeated.
B 514—14
210 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
In their country they are cultivators, land-owners, chow-
kidars (village police) and some
Ostensible means o haye enlisted Jn the nat|ve army
During their criminal peregrinations
they live ostensibly by begging (when they usually commence
their request for alms with the words ' Jai ! Bdldji kijai! '),
sometimes by selling sev-bhajyd, tobacco, matches etc. ; usually
however they leave home well provided with funds and never
earn an honest penny down-country.
On criminal expeditions, they shave their heads and faces
and get themselves up, faithfully in
Disguises adopted and means respect to all details, as Marwadis or
Gowd Chonniati Brahmins. Some-
times a gang is accompanied by a genuine Brahmin to instruct
and answer up for it when interrogated.
Lately they have taken to disguising themselves as
Sanjogi Sadhus who dress like Brahmins and sometimes adopt
the salmon-coloured sapha or pagri.
They also pass themselves off as Thakores bound for some
large military town to visit some relative who is serving in a
native regiment. On such occasions they do not shave off
their beards or disguise themselves. They will also be found
posing as Dakots (astrologers) with a khtirji, a sort of miniature
saddle-bag slung over the left shoulder, and occasionally a
hookah in the right hand and an image of ' Saturn ' in the
left.
Now and again with a hatchet on their shoulder they walk
about in towns ostensibly in search of labour as wood-choppers,
but invariably find some excuse for refusing work if offered.
The following hints for identifying Minas will be found
useful :—
(1) They generally cut off the turn-over piece of leather
at the toe of the shoes (invariably of the Marwadi pattern)
which they wear.
(2) After bathing they wash their clothes by pounding and
squeezing them on a stone, not in the ordinary way by swinging
and striking them like the generality of Hindus.
(3) Unless they bring off a lucrative haul, they will not
shave except at home and then only after offering karai to the
goddess. When circumstances permit of their shaving down-
country, this operation is performed only during the bright half
of the month.
UJLE (CLEAN) MINAS. 211
(4) Away from home they will not eat rice, sugarcane,
berries, fried grains or any meat but mutton.
(5) They will not dine at a marriage feast. When a
Marwadi or a Marwadi Brahmin dies, Brahmins from the
neighbourhood assemble for the dinner and dakshina. Should
there be any Minas about at the time they will invariably attend
the ceremony.
(6) Unlike Brahmins, whom they imitate, they dine two or
more together from one plate.
(7) When bathing they do not cleanse the soles of their
feet by rubbing them against stone.
(8) When in disguise they will adopt the ' Ramanandi '
(triangular) or ' Shridharan ' (trident) tilak (forehead mark).
They are very particular to put this mark on, correct in all
details.
(9) Whatever the disguise adopted, the pagri is always
tied in a characteristic manner, viz., in Marwadi fashion, deep
over the forehead and back of the head, shallower over the
sides where the folds cross.
(10) The presence of a dried goat's tongue either intact,
in pieces or rolled into pills (about the size of a gram seed)
among the effects of an individual suspected of being an up-
country criminal, is said to be an infallible indication of his
identity as a Mina. The flesh of the goat's tongue is
indispensable in connection with the consulting of omens.
This goat's tongue is usually wrapped in a piece of cloth and
very carefully secreted in one of the satchels among the
salt, tobacco, or condiments.
In this Presidency their favourite form of crime is burglary
and so long as this yields them a
Crime to which addicted. rr • 11
sufficient return they do not take to
anything else. Sometimes when the larder is low they lift
a sheep or goat.
Dacoity is not deliberately resorted to so long as they can
get what they want by the less serious form of crime, though
of course a burglary may develop into a technical dacoity.
In large towns or cities Minas nearly always have
Brahmin, Thakore, Rathod, Shroff, or
Methods employed in com- •. ,, , , ,. r • , • r ,.,, , ,
mitting crime, and distinguish- Marwadi friends, in fact, till they have
inff£ characteristics likely to established a connection in any such
place they will not make a prolonged
212 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
halt there. These friends act as their ' informers ' and
frequently invite them down-country, accommodate them and
supply their needs. But where they have no such local friends
Mina gangs make short halts and obtain information for
themselves, or, setting up as sev-bhajye or tobacco and bidi
sellers in large towns, open a shop in the immediate vicinity of
some rich Marwadi or sdwkar's house which they carefully
prospect and burgle at the first favourable opportunity. The
bright half of the month is devoted to reconnoitring and planning
and the dark half to action. On arriving in a village, the
gang, in twos or threes, wanders from house to house begging,
inspecting, reconnoitring surroundings and estimating, from the
general appearance of the occupants of the house, whether it
is worth burgling and risking, all difficulties in the way of a
successful raid being carefully considered ; and one or two
will perhaps prowl about bathing ghats, wells, etc., watch the
women and follow those who are apparently in affluent circum-
stances, to mark down where they live. At the village next
selected for a halt the same programme is gone through and
so on until the gang has travelled perhaps fifty or sixty miles
and has marked down some ten or fifteen houses, all in
different villages. Directly the dark half of the month comes
round, the gang go back on their tracks and commence
operations by breaking into the house last reconnoitred. The
other houses are taken in turn, the one first marked down
being the last to be robbed. Before starting to commit a
crime they tie a bhajangi or gdtit i. e., a sheet of ' khadi '
cloth, generally of an ashy colour, over the body, leaving
the arms free. In this they hitch their shoes round the waist.
They arm themselves with stones, knives, a hatchet, freshly
cut sticks and a jemmy. Formerly they used kadchis or pallis
(ladles) like the Bowri gydn and some gangs probably do so
still ; but this implement has now been generally discarded in
favour of a bolt called ganesh khila, used for fixing the body
of a cart to the axle-bar (this they pilfer from some convenient
cart lying idle near the village), or one of the bolts removed
from one side of the lower wheel used on an irrigation well,
or the iron peg commonly known as gulmekh, used for
tethering animals or pitching tents. The heads of jemmies
so improvised are encased in cloth and the points sharpened
against stone. Occasionally an iron-bound lathi, exhibit 55
of the Bombay District Police Museum, vide Plate I, with a
jemmy concealed in it after the manner of the blade of a
sword-stick, is carried. There is nothing in the outward
UJLE (CLEAN) MINAS. 213
appearance of the lathi to distinguish it from one of the
ordinary kind carried by people of Northern and Central India.
The jemmy is screwed on to the head of and into, the thin
end of the lathi so neatly that its existence almost defies
detection. About two miles or so from the scene of the
contemplated crime they leave their superfluous clothed,
utensils, etc., in a bundle fixed up in some tree and then make
for the village. Entry to the house is effected by boring a hole
in the wall in the ' bagli ' or ' rumali ' fashion or by breaking
through the roof and lowering a' man by means of a dhotar or
rope. In the latter case the intruder first proceeds to open
one of the doors from the inside and to this the rest of the
gang shift. When it is necessary to remove a large box or
safe through a hole made in a wall, the aperture is generally
large and square in shape. In any case the hole is usually
neat, clean and without ragged edges. Safes are rolled to
the hole or door, over quilts to deaden sound. Minas also
break in through windows and lift chains by inserting a forked
instrument between badly-fitting shutters. They are expert
in picking locks by means of strong wire pushed into the lock
and entwined round some essential part which is then
pulled out forcibly. The hole (made in the ' rumali ' fashion)
is large, almost enabling a man to sit up in it, whereas a hole
made by Bauriahs is usually only large enough for a man to
crawl through on his stomach. Before entering by a hole, the
intruder investigates the other side by groping about with a
stick, round the end of which a cloth is wrapped. As a rule
but one man enters the house. He lights a ' taendsticker '
match and makes a mental note of the position of occupants
and contents of the room. The match is then quickly put
out and the process is repeated in every fresh apartment that
he enters. He is only joined by others in case heavy boxes
or safes have to be removed, or, if owing to the number of
occupants it is considered desirable that he should be sup-
ported. The hole in the wall is screened with a cloth to
exclude light, air and noise and to dim the reflection on the
road of any light which may be burning inside. Some of the
gang guard the lanes and approaches, while others are at hand
outside the place of ingress. One man seats himself near
this passage through which he receives the property handed
out by his confederates inside. During the progress of the
burglary one of those outside intimates that all is well to his
comrades within by imitating the squeak of a mouse. The
approach of danger is notified by a sound resembling the cry
214 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
of an owl. Only cash, jewellery and richly embroidered
cloths are retained. Other articles of clothing, if taken,
are, during retreat, either thrown away near the houses of
depressed classes living on the outskirts of villages, deposited
near the encampment of any wandering tribe handy, or thrust
into some hedge or bush close by one or the other, a portion
of the articles so disposed of being left exposed to attract
attention. This device is adopted in order to mislead the
police. Once the Mina burglar has got into a house he gets
to work quickly. He explores the house quietly and cautiously
but is not particular whether any of the occupants wakes or
not. Should any one be disturbed or raise an alarm, he is
at once suppressed and if necessary mercilessly attacked. To
avoid capture or in self-defence the Mina is not particular
about taking life, though he may not deliberately have intended
to do so. During the progress of a crime, communication
with one another is carried on in their own dialect without any
attempt at disguise.
Minas are extremely dexterous in cutting or taking off
ornaments from women while they are asleep, especially during
the hot weather when females are sleeping outside their
houses.
During the commission of crime if a member of the gang
is wounded or killed he is carried off by the rest at all costs.
The death of a comrade during a raid is always avenged
sooner or later.
Mosques, mandtrs, shrines and houses of Dakots (astrol-
ogers), washermen and sweepers are not as a rule burgled.
But if the gang meets with repeated failures in their attempts,
a sweeper's house is, as a propitiatory measure, burgled
though not entered. By this act they believe they change
their luck.
Sometimes if a venture has proved a blank, Minas will
dekecate in the house before leaving it, to mark their sense
of disappointment and to revenge themselves on and insult
the owner of the house.
Highway Dacoity.
The methods employed by Minas are similar to those of
Sansis, but this form of crime is only resorted to when the
plunder promises to be large. It is therefore very rare and
their methods present no distinctive features.
UJLE (CLEAN) MINAS. 215
In custody Minas require careful guarding as they are
always ready to take advantage of any opportunity to escape
or attack their guard or escort.
Mina gangs always carry a hatchet, the handle separated
from the head when not required for
Stock-in-trade, instruments US6, Sticks and DCn-knivCS. For hoUSC-
and weapons used in commit- .,. ,, , , , , . , ,
ting crime. breaking they use the ganesh khilah
(mentioned above) or other jemmy
described in the previous heading, sticks, knives and phos-
phorous matches. In this Presidency and probably elsewhere
in British territory, they do not carry swords and fire-arms
though in Rajputana and Malwa such weapons are, it is
believed, their constant companions.
Stolen property is not, as a rule, distributed till turned into
cash. Among Minas the ' jamadar ' is
Ways and means of conceal- not entitled to any extra share : all the
ing or disposing of stolen , , J ... _,
property. members share alike. Iwo portions
are, however, set apart, one for dharamt
i. e., alms and charitable purposes and the other for Mina
widows and widows of deceased accomplices at home, also for
menials such as barbers, cobblers, etc.
When travelling, stolen property and incriminating articles
are usually carried by one member of the gang, who is pre-
ceded by two or three and followed by as many at intervals of
two or three hundred yards. The man in the middle keeps
his eye on the advance and rear guards who signal danger by
flapping a cloth or vocal sounds. On receipt of the danger
signal the man with the property strikes off across country,
pretends to obey a call of nature, or, adopting some such ruse,
proceeds to conceal his charge under ground.
At each halting place the property is buried some distance
ahead of where the gang halts. It is subsequently disposed
of in any large city or town where they have ' receivers 'among
Banias, Marwadis and Shroffs. But if it is the first visit of a
giroh to a district and they have no friends there, they have
sometimes to take property home intact ; such occasions
are however rare. Costly clothing and valuable articles of
jewellery are sometimes sent home by parcel post addressed
to some associate or friend and the money-order system is
utilized for remitting cash which reaches their families through
these channels.
Maile (unclean) Minas.
The preceding note dealt with Minas known as Ujle
(clean) Minas in contradistinction
Name of criminal class to Mail£ (unclean) Minas, the subject
of this note. The latter are divided
into two classes : —
(1) Khairwad£ and
(2) Bhilwade\
Both are sub-divided into a number of goths, the following
being the best known : —
Khairwdde.
Cheeta. Seengal.
Dankal. Sevgan.
Dhavna. Mer.
Jonrwal. Padiya.
Bhilivdde.
Booj.
Mai.
Barad.
Habitat.
Khairwade and Bhilwade" Minas
hail from the Rajputana States and
Udepur.
Khairwades visit most of the districts in this Presidency.
They come down in small gangs, not
1' exceeding ten in number, ostensibly in
search of labour and take up their
residence in large towns and cities, especially business centres,
where they secure employment as labourers in mills, at docks,
as loaders in railway station yards or as day labourers on
public and private works. While so employed they plan and
commit crime within a radius of ten to fifteen miles from their
temporary abodes. They travel down south by rail, after the
' Divali,' and return home before the monsoon. They are
not a nomadic tribe and in this Presidency are not accom-
panied by families and do not travel about committing crime
like Ujl£ Minas.
Bhilwadls do not ordinarily come south but raid into some
of the districts of Gujerat. They are hand-in-glove as a rule
with the criminal Bhils of some of the Native States bordering
on parts of Gujerat.
M. \IF.R (UNCLEAN) MIX AS. 217
Khainvades are tall, muscular and dark in complexion and
generally branded on the wrists. Like
Appearance, dress, etc. V/r . . i • . i r i i «'• «
Marwadis the top of the skull is shaved,
the hair on the side of the head being allowed to grow in the
' girdah ' fashion. They wear the beard full, roll it like
Marwad Rajputs and mostly wear a red or white pagri tied in
Marwadi style. A khddi (coarse cloth), dhoti, a bandi (jacket)
and Marwadi shoes complete their attire. In short, their
appearance and dress proclaim them as men from Marwad.
They eat all kinds of flesh and are great liquor drinkers and
indulge freely in opium and tobacco. They are dirty in their
habits and offensive to the olfactory senses.
Bhilwades in their appearance, dress and mode of living
are akin to the Panch Mahals Bhils with whom they interdine
and associate.
Khairwade"s speak Khairwadi resembling Marwadi.
Dialect and peculiarities Bhilwades speak the same dialect as
of speech. the Bhils.
Slang and signs, if they have any, are not known. Their
dialect is to all intents and purposes a
Slan? and signs used. , , . ~ . ,
slang in this Presidency.
In their own country, Khairwades are chowkidars^ land-
owners and cultivators and are enlisted
Ostensible means of live- m ^g native army and police. Down-
hhood. J . r,,
country they work in mills, at docks,
cotton presses, goods yards, on private and large public and
railway works and as wood-choppers.
The Bhilwades' means of subsistence are similar to those
of the Panch Mahals Bhils,
Khairwades do not assume disguises, but if questioned
down-country pretend io be Gujars,
Disguises adopted a*d means j^g Thakores or Thakore Raiputs.
of identification. J . . ' . . . .. Jr .
Bhilwades do not adopt any disguise
nor do they attempt to conceal their identity beyond claiming
to be Bhils. The former muffle their faces when engaged
in crimes of violence.
The Khairwades' favourite form of crime in this Pre-
sidency is burglary with an occasional
Crime to which addicted. , . ,, • T->I -i • i ' 1-1
dacoity thrown in. Bhilwades, like
Bhils, commit highway and village dacoity, robbery and cattle
lifting.
2l8 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
The KhairwadeV methods are practically similar to those
of ' UiUS ' Minas and the BhihvadeV
Methods employed in com- ,« J f ^ , m -, t r^ •
muting crime, and distinguish- to those of the criminal Bhils of Gujerat.
ing characteristics likely to jhe latter usually commit offences in
afford a clue. , 1-11
large gangs and use violence when
resistance is shown.
Khairwades have no special form of jemmy. Their occupa-
tion is generally of such a kind as to
stock-in-trade instruments place ordinary tools at their disposal
and weapons used in commit- 111 i
ting crime. and these they make use or tor
criminal purposes. For the rest they
carry sticks and knives.
Bhilwade's when committing serious offences often carry
swords and fire-arms, always bows and arrows.
Khairwades bury stolen property immediately after the
commission of an offence. Later they
Ways and means of conceal- disDOSC of it tO Marwadi BaniaS of
ing or disposing of stolen , V ,-r,, , ,
property. their own country. Ihey send cash
home by money-order. They generally
form local connections to assist them in the disposal of stolen
goods.
Bhilwade's dispose of stolen property and cattle in their
own country to Thakores, Kalals, etc.
Stolen cattle are sometimes killed and consumed and the
hides sold.
Oudhias.
Oudhias.
Oudhias or Audhias are known in their own country by a
variety of names, such as, ' Oudhias,
Name o*""™™1 class ' Oudh-' or ' Ajodhia-washis ' or ' bashis '
and ' Avadhpuris.' In this Presidency
they move about under false colors either as ' Tirathbashis,'
' Bairagis,' ' Revadiwalas ' or ' Khunchewalas ' (sweetmeat
hawkers), ' Gayawals ' (agents of the ' Pandas ' at Gaya and
Benares) and Tewari Brahmins.
They are divided into two classes, ' Unch ' or high, ( Nich '
or low ; the former are those of pure and the latter of mixed
blood.
Oudhias, as the name implies, were originally inhabitants
of Ajodhia. It is not certain when
these people came down south and
made their homes in the districts of Cawnpore and Fattehpur
where they have made their head-quarters. During recent
years some families are believed to have settled in Hulli-khedi
Ghadenti, Ulloor, Mominabad and Hyderabad of His Highness
the Nizam's Dominions and in Ganglakhedi of Indore.
Isolated families are also, it is said, to be found in the districts
of Hamirpur, Allahabad and Lucknow of the United Provinces
of Oudh and Agra.
The males generally lead a nomadic life, depredating
provinces other than their own, return-
l1' ing to their homes at uncertain periods (
to rest and dissipate on the proceeds
of their crime. Their favourite field of operations embraces
the Bombay Presidency, Central Provinces, Central India and
Lower Bengal. Some are known to have travelled as far as
Jagannath on the east coast of India and to Rameshwar in
the extreme south, so there is practically no limit to the sphere
of their activity. The Panjab and Sindh they avoid, it is said,
owing to local difficulties and they have made it penal under
their caste laws to commit crime in the tract of country lying
between the Jamna and Ganges, known among them as the
' Antar beit ' (( Antar vedi ').
The census report of the United Provinces does not,
it is believed, show Oudhias as a
Population according to last j- • i rr.t M 1*1
census, and distribution. distinct class. 1 he tribe is relatively a
small one. Owing to its nomadic and
220 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
criminal tendencies, individuals while away from home, probably
returned themselves as Pardeshis, Bairagis and the like, while
in their own province they have possibly been included among
Ajodhia-bashi Banias or as ' Unspecified.' In 1890 there
were ascertained to be 375 Oudhias resident in Cawnpore and
159 in Fattehpur.
Oudhias are Hindus and worship several deities, amongst
whom the goddess ' Kali-Mai ' is the
Appearance, dress, etc. , . r A1 ' 11 , i i i •
chief. Above all others, she claims
their veneration in the highest degree. They invoke blessings
and curses in her name and seek her aid in the fulfilment of
their criminal enterprises. An oath in her name is binding
and her wrath is feared. Oudhias are clannish and though
they often disagree and quarrel with one another on social
matters or questions of individual rights, in the pursuance of
crime they act together and sink their private differences.
The men are mostly away from home thieving. They
usually leave about June and return about April or May.
They are slim, active and wiry and can travel great distances
on foot. The females busy themselves with household duties,
seldom seeking any form of outdoor work. Many of them
observe purdah. Women do not accompany the men on
their expeditions, but one or two lads in their teens are usually
attached to every gang.
In the districts where they reside they are reported to be
perfectly well-behaved, well-to-do and to all appearances
respectable in their habits.
Their usual costume when met with in this Presidency
consists of a small feita (head-scarf) or a white linen cap, a
white jacket, under-vest and a short dhotar just reaching to
the knees. Like all up-country men they always wear shoes
and usually carry an umbrella or a stick. In addition to this
the Oudhia generally carries a padded quilt and a coarse cloth
sheet or two which he carries over the shoulders, often passing
a spare dhotar over them, round his back under one arm,
tying the dhotar in a knot in front of his body. This style of
arranging and carrying his belongings is peculiar to the traveller
in the part of the country he hails from.
To carry his food-stuffs, cooking utensils, toilet requisites
(mirror, comb, kunkoo and gopichandaii) and less innocent
articles, he provides himself with a jhola (capacious double
bag after the fashion of a saddle-bag) and this he slings over
his shoulder.
OUDHIAS.
22 I
Oudhias are very taciturn and in their replies to enquiries
by police officers they are discreet, evasive and often im-
patient.
Their dialect corresponds almost in all details to what is
commonly known in these parts as
Dialect and peculiarities the < Purabhia ' language, the termina-
of speech. . , , , , . , & , &. '
tion ata hat or a verb in the present
tense being invariably corrupted into duaat hai ; thus jatd ha'i
would be spoken zsjdvat hai, and so forth.
As a rule they drop their native style of speech and affect
purer Hindustani when talking to outsiders. The language
spoken by these people bears no resemblance to that spoken
by the Bauriahs of Muzzaffarnagar for whom they are likely
to be mistaken by reason of the similarity of the implements
of house-breaking used by each.
The following cant words and
phrases are in use among Oudhias : —
Slang and signs used.
Slang.
ulahi ho gai, jhonk gai ...
bari leo
baru fank tleo
mowsi asoori hey
netha tano chhu chhalo
na ley.
dharari
konkhi
baru
sowndhi sehi leo par kach
na parna.
gayna
chohari
baru baitharo
khalo bhaw
jaldi asroo
gayna se asroo
lakhaitin
lakhaitu
karcha
fundi
lohiya
kodera
kodi
Meaning.
arrested.
make enquiries.
do away with stolen property.
the police are on us.
offer bribe so that they may not
search,
spoon,
parcel, letter, communication,
money-order,
property,
put up with the beating but do
not admit,
home,
intimation
melt gold.
do your work leisurely,
come at once,
come out of the house,
lock,
box.
brass box (dubba).
bolt, stopper, chain, or anything
which fastens the door from
inside,
iron safe,
thief,
theft.
222
CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Slang.
siyandhi
obin
dharwat
sirokha
timni
get la
pandreha
thethar
ledar
pandey
hadkia
kong
khadik
karchia
dasoova
dasooi
dubila
baski dena
chasana
fan
samo
ladna
konkha
madhu
reh
pan khana
akaowti
bedi ayye
sahat
sakha
perbho'.v
gorakia
akhilah
najuva
kajariah
bawoos
kati ho gai
ubhai gai
kachra
karchi
tanch
ansane-walla
joriha
antar kodi
ferraiya
Meaning.
gold,
silver,
jewellery,
head ornament,
necklace.
Deccan Brahmin.
Bania.
Rajput.
Maratha.
goldsmith,
shroff.
Mahomedan.
village patil.
sepoy.
police officer,
police thana.
back door.
to make a hole in the wall,
to break,
to open.
a good opportunity,
to run away,
charcoal, paper,
village.
hiding place for property,
to speak in their slang,
share.
have brought some property,
rendezvous or meeting place,
good time or season for thiev-
ing.
to reconnoitre,
ramoshi, watchman.
Oudhia.
pick-pocket,
night thieves,
dacoits.
convicted,
released,
rascal.
flogging-
fine.
the Oudhia who breaks into the
house.
the look-outs,
an Oudhia who robs from another
Oudhia.
those who have gone out on a
thieving expedition. .
OUDHIAS. 223
Slang. Meaning.
deraha ... one who is left behind at the
camp.
nowshikha ... novice,
pakya ... a confirmed criminal,
bad-gawa ... city,
poora ... suburbs,
bachda ... smaller town,
mahadu ... place of residence,
lali . . . gang.
The following are signs they leave behind for the guidance
of other gangs and detached members of any particular gang.
A mark thus C made on the roadside indicates
the route taken. Where two or more roads join, a line is
drawn on the side of the road or track, commencing on the
one along which they have come and ending on the particular
road followed, the line being drawn across any intervening
route to be avoided. Two segments of a circle drawn thus
^^^ on a roadside indicate that a gang has halted in the
vicinity.
As a class, Oudhias have no profession, trade or business.
In their own country they do absolutely
Ostensible mean9 of live- nothing and lead a life of indolence
and luxury on the proceeds of crime.
In this Presidency they beg in the role of Bairagis or set up as
grocers or hawkers of sweetmeat, ice-cream etc.
The disguise generally adopted is that of a ' Bairagi '
or a Brahmin pilgrim. Besides wearing
Disguises adopted and means the jdmva or janev (sacred thread)
of identification. i • i i /-\ 1 1 • i ,
which the Uudhia wears correctly, he
sports tulsi or the rudrdksh beads round his neck. He also
carefully paints his forehead in horizontal or vertical lines
indiscriminately and the sides of his neck with gopichandan.
The addition of the tumdi or begging bowl to his outfit com-
pletes his disguise as a religious beggar.
While prospecting for a likely house to break into, he
carries his j kola which contains the necessary tools for house-
breaking, picking and prising open locks and one or two
cooking utensils, such as a tawd (for baking bread), a brass
dish and a lota or a degchi. These culinary articles are
carried about with the sole object of giving the gydn (ladle)
and chimtd (tongs) the benefit of their company. The latter
224 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
carried by themselves are likely to create suspicion, whereas
the whole outfit does not and bears out the general ap-
pearance and the protestations of the man that he is a
religious mendicant newly arrived. A gang is sometimes
accompanied by a woman, picked up down-country, to
give the party an appearance of innocence and to disarm
police suspicion.
The appearance and movements of these strangers do not
as a rule create suspicion of their criminal motives owing to
familiarity with the large number of sddhus, fakirs and
pilgrims almost incessantly passing through the country. On
the contrary, the charitably inclined readily take advantage of
the opportunity to distribute alms. In this respect women
are more susceptible to the wiles of the sham mendicant and
occasionally become familiar, thus aiding the Oudhia consider-
ably in gaining the information he needs regarding the neigh-
bourhood.
As has been observed above, away from home, they at
times take to shop-keeping, or hawking sweets in the guise of
up-country ' Wanis ' or ' Banis.' One of the gang opens a
grocer's shop with a view to obtaining information for the
benefit of the gang regarding the locality. The shop soon
becomes a centre of inter-communication for the various
groups of the main gang exploiting round about and for the
interchange of correspondence which the Oudhias always
carry on with one another and with their people at home.
It is also a suitable place for meeting, hearing gossip,
picking up information and temporarily depositing their
stock-in-trade.
The Oudhia is notoriously a cheat, a pick-pocket, thief and
above all a house-breaker by day. In
Crime to which addicted. 1^*11 ^i i
cheating he has recourse to the devices
and stratagems common to the inferior order of criminals,
«. e., using false ornaments as genuine and defrauding greedy
' receivers ' on false promises.
Oudhias of Fattehpur were, it is said, also addicted to the
manufacture of spurious coin, but, so far as this Presidency
is concerned, there is no evidence of their criminality in this
direction in the present day.
So far as is known they are not addicted to crimes of
violence.
OUDHIAS.
225
Cheating.
Among a variety of other simple methods by which
these people swindle petty dealers,
Methods employed m com- j j.i_ 1*1 • 1-1
mitting crime and distinguish- grocers and the like is one which,
ing characteristics likely to though not of a particularly high
afford a clue. , & . r. , • A
order, deserves passing notice. A
visit is made to a grocer's shop to purchase ghi for which
a receptacle, a cocoanut or kaivit (wood-apple) shell with
the mouth stoppered with a plug, is taken. The Oudhia
provides himself with two stoppers or plugs. One is light,
made of ordinary cork wound about with a rag, while the other
is heavy, made of lead, similarly wrapped in cloth. The
receptacle (shell) with the orifice stoppered with the leaden
plug is first scaled ; then while pretending to clean out
the shell before the ghi is poured in, the lighter stopper is
substituted and with this the receptacle and its contents
are weighed. By the exchange of plugs the tricky Oudhia
defrauds the unsuspecting grocer of ghi equal to the differ-
ence between the light and the heavy stopper.
Another of his favorite devices is to decoy a ' receiver ' or
goldsmith to a lonely place for the purchase of stolen goods
and then to rob him of his ready-cash.
Thefts.
The Oudhia is familiar with and expert at many of
the methods of the Bhampta, but is not known to be a
railway thief. He carries on his thieving operations in small
gangs at fairs, in temples, on bathing ghats and in any large
gathering, lifting bundles, removing jewellery, picking or cut-
ting pockets, and passing away the stolen property with the
aid of his confederates in a very short time.
House- breaking.
The Oudhia does not, as a rule, commit burglary after
dark. In all the cases of house-breaking in this Presidency
and elsewhere where Oudhias were satisfactorily known to
be the perpetrators, it was conclusively proved that the houses
were broken into during day-time.
Having carefully selected the city or neighbourhood for
exploitation, a gang consisting of eight, ten or even more,
settles down in some out-of-the-way math or temple three
or four miles from the actual field of their operations. Their
first care is to ingratiate themselves with the ' poojari ' or
B 5H—I5
226 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
keeper to whom they represent themselves as ' Tirathbashis '
or pilgrims travelling from one shrine to another, anxious for
a few days' halt to beg alms to enable them to proceed on
their journey, or, desirous of halting a few days to allow others
of their party, who by some misadventure have got separated,
time to rejoin ; or give some equally plausible reason for their
stay which occasionally extends to long periods.
The gang if a large one, later on, breaks up into groups.
The several groups operate independently of each other in
different directions, but one is always left at the math or temple
which is the base, the various groups returning to it periodic-
ally, maintaining inter-communication all the while and
changing their sphere of operations from time to time.
They generally work and prowl in batches of two and
three with their jholas slung over their shoulders as described
above. After carefully reconnoitring the locality by first
begging for flour and alms here and there, they mark down
a lonely house, the inmates of which are absent, and having
satisfied themselves that they are not likely to be surprised
or interfered with, one of them dexterously wrenches off or
picks the lock securing the door, a back one for choice, and
slips inside the house while his comrades keep a sharp
look-out on all sides. In a few minutes the leader emerges
on receiving a signal that the coast is clear. Within the
few minutes he has been inside the house he has transferred
to his jhola all the valuables he could lay his hands upon,
breaking and bursting open boxes and other receptacles
likely to contain cash or ornaments. Once out of the house
the culprits separate, making rapidly for their base by
different routes. Before .separating, and if they can do so
without creating suspicion or endangering their safety, they
divide up the spoils.
If they can avoid it, Oudhias while in possession of stolen
goods will not keep together ; when apart, will not, in the pre-
sence of strangers, recognize each other and if confronted or
questioned they will repudiate all connection with one another.
Counterfeiting Coin.
Their methods in the past, appear to have been similar
to those of the ' Chhappafbands ' and ' Marwar Baoris,'
described elsewhere, of the present day.
OUDHIAS.
227
Oudhias before leaving premises entered in pursuit of
crime are generally careful, should time permit,* to replace
boxes and other articles disturbed, in their original positions
in order that discovery of the theft may be delayed.
While on criminal expeditions away from their country
Oudhias keep up a regular correspondence with their people at
home and between themselves.
In order to keep themselves posted in the movements and
doings of other gangs depredating the neighbouring districts,
they correspond through the post receiving the letters through
the poojdri of the temple, some ' receiver ' of stolen property
or often some respectable person who out of kindness consents
to receive letters sent to his care till called for.
Some Oudhias are able to read and write Nagri or Kaythi
character and do their own correspondence, the style of which,
especially the preamble, is typical and interesting. The letter
opens with the names of the addressees, who may be many,
immediately followed by another string of names of the writers,
the suffix ' wa ' (a sign of familiarity or affection) being often
added, thus, Bisnathwa, Piragwa and so forth. The following
is a translation of a typical letter from some Oudhias at home
to their caste-fellows abroad : —
" Shri.
Shri worthy of all honor brother Bisnuwa and Attoo and Shiwcha-
ranwa and Baldeo and Mannuwa and Sattowa and Piragwa and it is
written to all brothers by Kashi and Bindaban and from Jugal and
Nandkishore and Ramkishore and Narayen and Pannu and Kullok
and Hooblal and Prashad, may Ram Ram of these reach all brothers.
May Kali Mai do good to both sides. Further, your letter came,
knew the contents ; further you say you take money from Balgobind,
but he is gone west. Let it be known to Piragi that all at home are
well. Send letters soon. Let it be known to Attoo that the money
sent is received," etc. etc.
Implements formerly used by Oudhias were strong iron
jemmies about six inches in length,
stock-in-trade, instruments SOme with a knob at one end and some
and weapons used m commit- . , ^-.j . , ,
ting crime. without. 1 hey were pointed down or
sharpened to different shapes to suit
different purposes, some being flat, others square or round,
while those solely intenHed for picking locks or lifting latches
or bolts were lighter and curved. Those designed for breaking
through the walls of a house or lifting up windows and doors and
bursting open boxes were specially long and strong. As may
well be imagined, the tell-tale appearance of these criminal
228 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
contrivances rendered their possession or conveyance highly
risky. The shrewd Oudhia was not slow to realise this serious
drawback and with his usual resourcefulness pirated the
Bauriah gyAn (ladle with pointed or sharpened, often steel-
tipped, handle). The gyAn, exhibit 38 of the Bombay District
Police Museum, vide Plate VI, in the hands of the Oudhias
is, however, smaller and more delicate than the one used by
the Bauriah.
For the purposes of lock-picking, in which the Oudhia
excels, he carries a pair of strongly-made sharp-pointed tongs
and country knife with pointed haft, furnished with a remov-
able wooden handle, which he uses for the larger type of
lock, whereas for the smaller variety he carries smaller
implements fashioned after articles of daily use, such as
large-size needles, nail-parers, curved knives, bits of strong
steel wire, ear-cleaners and similar things not likely to create
suspicion.
For opening doors chained from inside the Oudhia has hit
upon a very novel yet simple contrivance. This is but a
strong slip of bamboo about nine inches long and an inch in
width, notched into V shape at one end. This bamboo fork
is inserted between the panels of the door and with it the
inside chain is either lifted or pushed back. The Oudhia
when questioned usually explains that this bamboo fork is used
when baking his bread. He would have you believe that he
holds up the bread by its edge in the forked end while he
turns it on the fire with the tongs.
As the Oudhia commits crime far away from his home and
is constantly moving about from place
Ways and means of conceal- to place he is Under the necessity of
mg or disposing of stolen , . l . f . J
property. disposing ot stolen property as soon
as possible. He has his ' receivers ' in
the various places he is familiar with and with their help soon
manages to convert gold and silver ornaments into ready-cash
which he promptly remits home by postal money-orders.
Oudhias often send stolen property to their country intact
by parcel post. They occasionally too, despatch their ' loot '
by railway parcels.
Sometimes gold and silver ornaments are melted in
small crucibles which they themselves make of gopichandan
finely powdered, sifted, kneaded with a little cotton-wool to
make them more plastic and dried in the shade. Pending
disposal of the property it is buried for the moment in the
OUDHIAS. 229
vicinity of their halting places : they seldom if ever carry about
the proceeds of crime.
Sometimes in case of a large haul, buried property is
left undisturbed and the gang moves away till enquiry has
abated. Later, one of the gang returns in the get-up of a
Brahmin fortune-teller. His object is to ascertain whether
local bad characters or up-country criminals are suspected and
to acquire this information he even visits the house robbed on
the pretext of furnishing the owner with a clue to the culprits by
the use of mantras (incantations) for the purpose. Should he
discover that ' Pardeshis,' ' Bairagis,' or such like foreigners
are suspected, no attempt is made to remove the property till
some considerable time has elapsed ; if otherwise, the gang
returns to the locality and the property is then unearthed and
disposed of.
Pathans.
A comprehensive list giving the sub-divisions, clans and
other useful information regarding the
Name of criminal class T-» ,1 . r^i XT ii_ «r i? * -•
or tribe. Pathans of the North- West frontier
Provinces is given in a small work
entitled " A Dictionary of Pathan Tribes of the North-West
Frontier of India, compiled under the orders of the Quarter-
master General in India," supplied to all District and Railway
Superintendents of Police with Circular No. C. I. 136, dated
the 4th August 1905, from the Inspector General of Police,
Bombay Presidency. All the tribes referred to in this dictionary
cannot be classed as criminal, but there is a concensus of
opinion among officers of this Presidency that the Pathan
who visits these parts is nearly always a bad character calling
for the attention of the police. Be he a Waziri, a Swati or
an Afridi, a British subject or a trans-frontier man, once he
has entered our Presidency he is a Pathan, sometimes termed
Rohilla, Cabuli, Peshavvari, Khan, Afghan, Pashtuni, Peshini
or Kandahari.
The criminal Pathans met with in this Presidency are
mostly from the independent or semi-independent tribes
beyond the North-West Frontier, chiefly Swat, Buner, Bajour,
Tirah and the neighbourhood of Kandahar and Peshawar.
They are mostly Yusufzais (including Khudu Khels), upper
or lower Mohmands (including Halimzais, Tarakzais, Baezais,
Khwaezais), Tarkanis (including Salarzais), Safis, Afridis
(especially Usman Khels and Suleman Khels), Ut Khels and
Kakads.
Pathans are of course distinct from Sindhi Beluchis
otherwise called Iranis who are also to be met with travelling
in gangs with families and children in parts of this Presidency.
The Pathan under consideration is not a nomad. Hail-
ing from Afghanistan and North-West
Frontier Provinces, he comes down
from up country and settles for a
while in some town or village visiting other places where he
has friends, as circumstances require
Bombay and its suburbs such as Ghaut Kopar and Kurla ;
Poona, Hubli, Belgaum, Surat, Bhusawal in
I'ATIIANS. 231
Ahmedabad and other places have from time to time formed
the head-quarters of organizations which have given much
trouble until some crime more daring than usual has brought
them to the notice of the police.
Path an s usually commit serious organized crime at a con-
siderable distance from their place of residence, sometimes
travelling even hundreds of miles by rail for the purpose.
Their movements by road are very rapid and they will cover
as many as sixty miles at a stretch. In a case on record
information showed that Pathan dacoits, retreating from the
scene of a heavy temple dacoity, accomplished not less than
a hundred and fifty miles in two days.
In respect to ordinary crime such as house-breaking and
thefts they are not particular and commit these at a distance
from and in or near the town or village they are temporarily
settled in.
With the exception of a few individuals to be met with
here and there who have formed connections in this Presidency
and have no hankering after a return to their country, Pathan s
visiting the Bombay Presidency are not accompanied by their
families.
So far as experience in this Presidency is concerned they
have no particular season for coming down south or returning
north. They come and go as the spirit moves them. A
good many have settled in this Presidency and have inter-
married with local women and raised families.
It is difficult to even estimate the numerical strength of
these undesirables passing through
Population according to last or residing in this Presidency. A
census, and distribution. . . ° - . , •'
rough estimate of their strength comes
to about 2,000 in the mofussil districts of the Presidency
Proper.
Few are really settled and most of them pay periodical
visits to their north country homes. Many never settle at
all but travel from district to district and within a year or so
return north.
The Pathan's appearance and dress are sufficiently
distinctive to proclaim his caste. His
Appearance, dress, etc. r .. . f
physique is excellent and tar superior
to that of any class indigenous to the Presidency. He is
broad and well built, medium to tall in stature, strong,
muscular, hardy and energetic, with Caucasian features, fair,
232 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
ruddy complexion and haughty bearing. By temperament he
is treacherous, impetuous, avaricious, excitable and sonic-
times even fanatical, fond of good living, very hospitable to
his countrymen, of cheerful disposition and not incapable of
appreciating a joke.
Pathans cultivate an aloofness of manners in respect to
the natives of this Presidency on whom they look down ; on
the other hand they are generally avoided by the latter
because of their truculent, overbearing manners and the
suspicion that most people entertain regarding them. They
are as a rule punctilious in the matter of religious observ-
ances. They generally swear by the saints ' Pir Baba,' ' Kaka
Saheb ' and ' Loezwan ' (the Bagdad pir) and in the case of
Swatis by ' Akhun Saheb.' However, it is well to bear in
mind that no criminal Pathan holds any oath as binding.
The Pathan 's costume consists of white baggy paijtimas
or trousers, tight at the ankle and very loose above, a loose
shirt, a coloured coat or waistcoat of cloth or cotton and a
pagri or lungi worn with or without a kulah or skull cap.
Some wear the fez in lieu of or under the turban. Sometimes
the waistcoat and kulah are embroidered. Those in indigent
circumstances dye their clothes blue to save washing. Most
Pathans are dirty in habits and dress. Some wear their hair
long and beards full, others shave or clip according to fancy ;
others again, specially Mohmands and those from Swat, wear
locks of hair, often curled, on the temples.
The Pathan's mother tongue is Pashto. The language
spoken by the Western Afghans, or
Dialect and peculiarities Burr Pushtanah as they are called, is
different from that used by the Eastern
Afghans or Lurr Pushtanah. A marked difference between the
two is that the latter pronounce some of the sibilants as
gutturals for example ' sh ' as ' kh ' and ' z ' as ' g.' ' Sheen '
(meaning green) is pronounced by the Eastern Afghans
(including those who hail from Cabul or Peshawar side) as
' kheen ' ; ' Pashto ' as ' Pakhto ' and ' Khudae zo ' (God
knows) as ' Khudae go.' The frontier dialect is further
contaminated by Peshawari and Panjabi colloquialism.
The Western Afghan's pronunciation is generally softer
than that of his brother of the East.
Pathans down country can also speak Hindustani and
pick up the language of the district in which they have settled
or in which they make any prolonged stay, but their pronun-
PATHANS. 233
elation is generally faulty and few are able to master any
language foreign to them with any approach to perfection or
without betraying their nationality.
Pathans are believed to have no slang. They have how-
ever a system of intercommunication
by correspondence whereby a hidden
meaning is conveyed through the medium of ordinary lan-
guage— a sort of cipher arrangement. For instance, " It is
useless coming here ; the roads are too hot," means " It is no
good coming ; the police are on the alert." ' The weather is
nice; send up two or three shawls," means " All is well here;
two or three of you come for the work in hand."
The following rough translation of a post-card intercepted
by the Ratnagiri police in February 1903 illustrates how
correspondence is kept up between individuals belonging no
doubt to a common organization and information as to likely
areas for exploitation communicated :—
" To — Kasir Khan and Ajim Khan.
From — Lode Khan.
Salaam. I became a servant to Kalud Khan and Mahomed Gul
Khan at Chachoda, Malwa in Gwalior State. I was pulling on well
and happy in the Bombay vegetable market. I shall come to
Bombay to see you at the end of my service here. If by God's grace
you write to me write to the following address
Please let me know the particulars of the market there."
Here ' vegetable market ' and ' market ' no doubt convey
some hidden meaning to the recipient.
The following is a translation of a communication which
fell into the hands of the Raipur police in 1902 : —
" The medicine is ready ; your presence is required. The time is
propitious. The saheb (Circle Inspector) is away. The medicine
has been prepared by Lakkar."
Here ' medicine ' no doubt means criminal plan or plot
arranged by one Lakkar, probably a local bad character.
If they require the assistance of some able-bodied con-
federates to carry out some important design they will convey
their meaning somewhat in the following manner: —
" We have no sticks, so please send three or four stout
sticks" ; or, " I am in need of money, please send Rs. 10."
The ' sticks ' and ' rupees ' meaning men.
234 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
When visiting this Presidency the Path an, as a rule, makes
for some large town where employment
Ostensible means of live- js procurable, sets up as an itinerant
lihood. , r, - ' ,
hawker of sundry goods or as a money-
lender. Many of them are employed by sdwktirs to recover
debts or collect rent from backward tenants. The Pathan is
generally successful in this line owing to his imposing appear-
ance, uncouth manners, reputation for truculence, tyrannical
methods and the tenacity with which he persecutes the
recalcitrant debtor.
A few take up simple contracts for earth-work and the
like on railways and sometimes obtain employment as peons
and guards in public offices. Others are petty shop-keepers,
keep tea shops and refreshment stalls, are grain and firewood
dealers, knife grinders, private watchmen and servants and
hnngis in mosques. Occasionally they adopt the role of
religious mendicants and live on the charity of their caste
fellows or practise quackery.
Among the well-to-do are money-lenders on a small scale
who are invariably given to extortion and tyrannical practices,
to recover their dues, exacting exorbitant interest. They
are said never to lose sight of a loan, but will reimburse them-
selves years after it was given, travelling expensive journeys
to recover quite a small amount ; this keeps up the fear they
instil. Their customers are generally the poorer and lower
castes such as Mahars, Mangs, Kolis, Kunbis, Bhils, sweepers,
etc., who enjoy no credit with the Marwadi or Bania and who
yield to the temptations offered by the Pathan to borrow
money without a note-of-hand or any security and, at large
railway centres, the subordinate staff. As soon as the month
is up the Pathan gives his debtor no peace. He is at his door
before day dawns to demand his dues, usually armed with a
big stick which he displays in a threatening manner while
making his demand in persuasive tones. It is no use the
unhappy victim endeavouring to put off his persecutor by
asking him to call again, or attempting to evade the interview
by urging a pressing engagement elsewhere. The Pathan
is not to be baffled by subterfuges of this sort. He will
establish himself in the doorway of the house and give the
occupants an unpleasant time by his importunities to settle up.
He is not devoid of a sense of humour and will meet a request
to ' phir kar <io ' (' call again, ' literally to ' turn and come '), by
turning round in a circle where he is standing saying good
PATHANS. 235
humouredly that he has complied with the request ; or, if asked
to ' dam pakado] i. e., to have patience (literally, to ' hold his
breath ') he will shut his mouth and hold his nose for a couple
of seconds (hence his nickname ' nakdhara ') and urge that he
has done what was asked. He can only be got rid of by
payment either in full or in part, of principal or interest.
Generally he persuades his debtor to pay what is due, and to
borrow again immediately after, a facility which he is not loathe
to provide. When the victim happens to be a ' saheb's '
servant, the Pathan may be seen loitering about outside the
compound, on the look-out to catch a glimpse of his quarry.
The latter becomes instinctively aware of his enemy's presence
and finds his duties so pressing inside the bungalow that the
Pathan, after hours of patient waiting, retires unsuccessful for
the time being but bent on more effective tactics, especially
if he happens to know that his victim has received his month's
pay. He lies in wait at some convenient distance from the
bungalow after dark when he knows the man will venture out
either to go to his house, to the shops for his food, or to the
bazar to pay other debts, or to indulge in a drink, and when
he meets him, soon has his claim satisfied by persuasion or
force, if the other party has any money at all on his person.
They do not as a rule, have resort to the civil court to
recover debts, preferring their own methods ; but occasionally
they do, and when this happens it will usually be found that
their claims have been greatly exaggerated, if they are not
altogether groundless.
The itinerant hawker deals in cloth, assafcetida, cutlery,
pocket-books, dried fruits said to possess medicinal value,
drugs, antimony, mamira, nagina, rings, stones and cheap
jewellery, pictures, collyrium and the like. He sometimes
plays bagpipes, makes flutes and poses as a musician. Their
characteristic way of doing business in the sale of cloth,
shawls, etc., is on credit, for some months. When the time is
up, usually after the harvest season, the Pathan goes round
to recover his dues, and his methods of doing this are the
same as those of his money-lending brother. The timid and
impecunious villager, cowed by threats and acts calculated to
offend his religious susceptibilities and of violence, speedily
regrets having ever succumbed to the tempting offers of the
Pathan cloth merchant.
It must be remembered that people are generally very
ready to buy clothes on credit, or to raise a loan, but when
236 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
it comes to payment or repayment, as the case may be, tlu-ir
feelings of gratitude towards an erstwhile friend in need
very readily change to resentment against the creditor who is
so hard hearted as to worry them for money which it is very
inconvenient to pay !
That they are able to prey on the villagers is however due
to a great extent to the want of back-bone in the latter who
make no sort of stand against these Pathans and are intimi-
dated by and submit to the most absurd proceedings, even
wrongful confinement and threats. The villagers are ready
to complain but will never come forward to support a charge.
Wherever these travelling Pathans exist there is no doubt
they exercise tyranny and oppression in their dealings with the
villagers and are a nuisance and source of anxiety.
Illustrative of the dread these men are held in, it may be
noted that the Marwadi money-lender will on occasion hand
over a bond for say Rs. 1,000 to a Pathan who pays Rs. 900
for it and undertakes collection of the outstandings.
Some few deal in horses or set up as shoe-makers and
others purchase and export old and new ammunition boots,
belts, etc., to their country.
In Gujerat many a Pathan is employed as watchman or
chowkiat by Par sis and Banias and some are temporarily
engaged by one party to a dispute over land to intimidate the
opposite side. A small number have taken to cultivation.
In short, Pathans can turn their hands to anything, from
trading in any commodity and money-lending, to working as
day labourers, drivers of conveyances, watchmen and bullies.
But whatever their occupation may be it is almost certain that
most supplement their honest earnings by illegal gains derived
from the perpetration of crime.
There are of course a large number of Pathans in the
native army who have enlisted in the regiments of the
Bombay Presidency. Excellent fighting material though no
doubt they are, some are certainly black sheep and commit
crime. The most favourable opportunity for the latter comes
when a regiment under orders for transfer, is about to move.
In so much as they do not commit crime by stealth and
their language and appearance pro-
Disguises adopted and means claims them, the adoption of disguises
of identification. . .. i i i-» i i i
is not favoured by ratnans nor would
any be of much use. Occasionally however they have been
PATHANS. 237
known to put on portions of discarded police uniforms when
perpetrating a serious offence, and an instance is known where
two, who passed themselves off as Sadhus, were found with
house-breaking implements on their persons.
When travelling from one place to another, in order to
avoid inconvenient police enquiries, they sometimes change
their costume substituting tight trousers or dhotars for their
baggy paijdmas and pass themselves off as local Mahomedans.
They change their names frequently and when questioned
always give a false account of their movements.
During the actual commission of crime they conceal their
faces and discard their characteristic dress in favour of
something more in keeping with the costume of the people
of the country.
They also endeavour to maintain a strict silence and if
required to speak in order to give warning of approaching
danger, etc., they use Urdu words and are as brief and to
the point as possible.
Pathans when arrested down-country and questioned, gen-
erally give the vaguest if not positively incorrect information
regarding themselves and their native places. Thus, men
from the Baluchistan border will say they come from Pishin
(a sub-division of the Quetta district) ; others from Peshawar
side will aver that they come from Khorasan or Swat Buner ;
while some will state that their native place is Yaghistan or
Yajhistan which merely means independent territory, i. <?., the
tract of country lying between British India and Afghanistan.
To establish the identity of a Pathan, all or as many as possi-
ble of the following details are necessary — name, father's
name, tribe and sub-section, village, the name of district in
which it is situated, malik or headman's name, descriptive roll
and, if possible, thumb impressions. It should be remembered
that there are no police stations in " Independent-territory."
There is ample evidence on record to show that when the
Pathan travels southward in the garb
Crime to which addicted. f , , , , . «- .
ot a petty hawker or trader, his real
mission is crime which not infrequently, beginning with extor-
tion or blackmailing, developes into something more serious,
until a small C9lony of these people terrorize the locality in
which they have planted themselves and commit every form
of violence and crime which their greed or lust may dictate.
238 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Pathans are principally a source of danger however, because
of the organized dacoity on a large scale usually accompanied
by great violence, occasionally highway robbery and dacoity,
house-breaking and thefts, to which they are addicted.
In Southern India they are much dreaded as temple
dacoits ; in the north they are reputed to be rifle thieves.
They occasionally commit murder or grievous hurt as the result
of excitement, in order to wreak vengeance, or during the
commission of serious crime.
Most Pathans are receivers of stolen property from local
bad characters, some are reported to be note forgers and
utterers (though instances that have come to light in this Presi-
dency are few and far between) and not one would resist the
temptation to smuggle arms, ammunition and opium if he
got the chance.
Passing off ornaments of base metal as genuine and
deceiving the unwary by planting some spurious ornament on
the road, effecting a 'find' and allowing the dupe to keep it
for a consideration, are forms of cheating in which a few cunning
Pathans in large towns indulge.
Now and again Pathans employed by sdivkdrs to collect
dues commit criminal breach of trust in respect of money they
collect for their master, and decamp.
Here and there they have been suspected of using arsenic
and chloroform in the commission of crime.
Possessed as they are of a spirit of arrogance and bullying,
they also not infrequently assault public servants in the dis-
charge of their duties. Instances are known of Pathans
having enticed away children and relieved them of their orna-
ments ; this form of crime is not however common with them.
Up country, Pathans are credited with being railway
thieves and pick-pockets, but so far as is known at present,
they have not developed this propensity in this Presidency.
Their modus operandi appears to be to hover about railway
stations and rob passengers sleeping on the platforms, in the
passenger sheds or dharamsdlds and to rob passengers who
may drop off to sleep in the trains.
They rarely commit petty crime, their activities being
directed rather towards the commission of offences likely in
yield a rich liar\
PATHANS. 239
As a class they are much given to gambling. Pathans
from Hashtnagar, Adezai and Matani are, it is said, open to
employment as hired assassins.
For information regarding buildings to be burgled, Pathans
depend a good deal on gamblers and
Methods employed in com- f i i t j i T..
mitting crime and distinguish- other local bad characters. I hey
ing characteristics likely to cannot be considered expert house-
afford a clue. . . 111-
breakers, their methods being some-
what crude and unskilled. They literally force their way
through window or door or enter by making an unusually large
hole in the wall and take all they can lay hands on. Some-
times the ' bagli ' operation is performed on doors and
windows with a large-size gimlet, the first hole being enlarged
by a series of others made in the wood-work round the first.
Thus, a sufficiently large aperture having been made, the hand
is inserted and the fastening undone. If disturbed during
operations inside a house, they resort to intimidation and
threats, displaying sharp, naked blades to instil fear.
The weapons they carry are unhesitatingly used if resist-
ance is offered or capture attempted. Should' an alarm be
raised they decamp and trust to their resemblance to one
another to save them from subsequent recognition.
It is when Pathans take to dacoity that their organi-
zation and modus operandi possess special features. Their
preparations for the perpetration of a crime, their clandestine
meetings with their ' informers,' their secret consultations and
plans for concentration and execution, display great skill and
forethought. As a rule one or two local bad characters are
taken into confidence and commissioned to obtain useful
information and to act as guides. Or one of the conspirators
takes up his residence in some locality as a quack or some-
thing of the kind with the sole object of prospecting the
premises marked down for attack.
The Pathans' ostensible profession of hawker or money-
lender has the advantage of enabling them to go about from
district to district keeping their eyes and ears open, forming
connections with local bad characters and of marking down
suitable places to rob. They generally select isolated houses
in towns and cities and commit the burglary or dacoity in some
force. Occasionally a Pathan when employed as a servant
with some wealthy sdivkdr, after ascertaining all he wants to
know, takes leave of his employer on the pretext that he wants
to return home. He then organizes a gang and brings off a
240 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
successful raid ; or perhaps information is communicated to
distant friends who, acting thereon, swoop down and loot the
servant's master, the informant making a display of loyalty
during the attack and remaining in service for some time after-
wards to avert suspicion.
If temple raids are contemplated, some Hindu, usually from
up-country, posing perhaps as a trader, is employed to
prospect the building and acquaint the gang with the ins and
outs of the place.
A careful survey of the locality is undertaken by one or two
of the leaders and close enquiries as to the nature of resistance
likely to be met with are made. A time when the local
fire-arms have gone to the police station for registration is an
opportunity not to be lost.
Generally the house or temple to be looted is situated
somewhere miles distant by rail and road and a rendezvous
having been appointed a move is made singly or by twos and
threes, to different stations on the line whence a day's ^ march
or so brings them to the meeting place.
Being joined here by their local ' informers/ should any have
been engaged, they make a start at dusk for the scene of the
proposed crime a few miles distant. A Pathan dacoity is
rarely carried out without fire-arms, a revolver, if obtainable,
being a favourite weapon. The village is entered or temple
approached as quietly as possible. If the former boasts of a
small police post, steps are taken to prevent assistance issuing
from that direction and if practicable fire-arms belonging to the
police are forcibly secured. Arrived at their goal, all caution
is thrown to the winds and the attack as a rule commences
with the breaking in of doors, to the accompaniment of stones
hurled in all directions and fire-arms discharged at random.
This is intended to and generally succeeds in, paralysing any
meditated opposition. The house once entered, boxes, cup-
boards, etc., are rifled, floors dug up and every nook and
crannie searched for ornaments and cash.
Persons found on the premises are maltreated with a "view
to forcing them to reveal where the treasure is hidden. Should
any one offer resistance, woe to him, for the Pathan's lust and
blood once aroused, a man's life is of no account. As a rule
Pathans do not outrage women. An hour or two may elapse
ere the intruders emerge having ransacked the building and
secured everything of value they could lay hands on. The
PATHANS. 24!
gang then decamps across fields and through jungle paths
often putting ten or fifteen miles between themselves and the
scene of crime before a halt is called. Each member of the
party then submits to search, the spoils are valued and shares
apportioned. This completed the gang splits up, members
returning, as they came, to their respective abodes by devious
routes.
When crime is rife in a district, Pathans take advantage
of the opportunity to be specially active, trusting that their
misdeeds will be attributed to the local bad characters and
when they combine with these, they lend a very undesirable
stiffening to their less robust confederates. They will often
lead ostensibly respectable lives for years on end, completely
hoodwinking the police and when their opportunity arrives
will bring off a dacoity on a large scale and clear out.
Occasionally ponies are made use of by some of a gang
when proceeding to and returning from the scene of a dacoity.
One form of theft is perhaps peculiar to Pathans. Under
the pretext of looking for old coins of a certain year, or
exchanging foreign coins for British rupees, they visit some
shroff's place of business or some ordinary shop and asking
for coins of the kind they pretend to be on the look-out for or
require and promising a small commission, they induce the
money-changer or shop-keeper to show any specimens he may
have or produce cash, as the case may be. While examining
the coins they secrete one or two, perhaps about their persons,
when the owner's attention is diverted and then make off.
Pathans are absolutely staunch to each other and will not,
as a rule, split, and if one of the gang is in difficulties others
will generally try to save him. If implicated in a serious case
they sometimes resist arrest by the police and should always
be very carefully guarded when in custody.
Individuals are difficult to identify as all are so alike to the
simple villager, and when questioned, they assume the most
childlike innocence and pretend not to understand.
In a case of a Pathan dacoity or house-breaking in which
the inmates are roused, it is usually easy to determine the
perpetrators of the crime. Pathans cannot effectively conceal
their identity and are easily recognized as such by the
complainants, nor can they move about the country without
being noticed.
B 514—16
242 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Their impunity lies chiefly in the great distances from
which they usually operate and the extent of the area from
which the gang concentrates and over which it afterwards
disperses.
The Pathan at the best of times is somewhat of a wolf
among sheep in this part of India and his hereditary instincts
as a frontier tribesman are to regard predatory expeditions as
quite an honourable means of livelihood.
In respect to cheating by deceiving the unwary with some
bogus ornament ' found ' on the road, their methods are
very similar to those of the Vaghri, except that in the case of
the Pathan he picks up the valuable and after much discus-
sion consents to his dupe keeping it for whatever cash the
latter is prepared to part with.
Highway robbery and dacoity is not so common among
Pathan criminals as dacoities and crimes of violence in build-
ings. Their methods in the commission of road dacoity and
robbery show no characteristic difference from those of local
criminals. As a rule, however, they will not exploit a road on
chance. They plan a highway dacoity on definite information
promising a good haul, and robbery is usually committed
without premeditation and on the spur of the moment.
Criminal breach of trust is usually committed by the
Pathan servant of a money-lender after the former has, by his
honesty in the discharge of his duty, gained the confidence
of his employer. The sdwkdr entrusts him with a commission
to make an unusually large amount of collections. This is
the dishonest Pathan's opportunity. He abuses the trust
reposed in him, collects the money and disappears.
They are artful and versatile in their methods of smuggling
arms and ammunition. Sometimes the article.- are cleverly
concealed about the person, at others in innocent looking
packages or bandies or consignments which would ordinarily
never excite suspicion. A revolver and fifty-nine cartridges have
been found in a railway passenger's bundle, made up of a
" Koran " wrapped up in six coloured handkerchiefs, the
weapon and cartridges being placed between the leaves of the
book. Similarly one hundred and three revolver cartridges have
been f.)und concealed in the stuffing of a pillow taken on a
railway journey.
In the years 1898 and 1899 a series of burglaries accom-
panied with loss of property, consisting of jewellery and
PAT HANS. 243
valuable cloths, took place in Poona city and cantonments.
Churches and residences of Europeans were mostly burgled.
During the course of the police enquiry suspicion was directed
against Pathan sepoys of a regiment stationed at Poona, and
in consequence of reliable information, the quarters and the
baggage packed up and about to leave by rail of a Subhedar
of the regiment, his orderly and two other privates were
searched with the result that property stolen from the churches
and residences mentioned above and house-breaking imple-
ments were recovered from the Subhedar's quarters and the
baggage. Four Pathans belonging to the regiment, including
the Subhedar and two outsiders, were eventually placed on
their trial, all— excepting the Subhedar who got off owing to
some technical flaw in the evidence — were convicted and
sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.
This illustrates the remarks already made in this note that
with all their qualifications as soldiers some of the Pathan
element in native regiments is not altogether above
suspicion.
When committing dacoity Pathans arm themselves with
stout sticks (sometimes iron-ringed),
Stock-in-trade instruments knives or daggers, swords, fire-arm s,
and weapons used in commit- — • ti • i i i 'c
ting crime. specially pistols and even revolvers it
they can procure them. They have
also been known to carry axes and crowbars which are occa-
sionally left at the scene of the offence or are thrown away
during the retreat.
Pathans have no house-breaking implement peculiar to
themselves. They make use of anything they can get hold
of, such as crowbars, iron nails, spikes, gimlets, etc., according
to fancy and usually carry knives, sticks, frequently candles,
matches and keys.
Scales and weights and appliances for melting gold and
silver are occasionally found in the houses of criminal Pathans.
They are very distrustful of one another when it comes
to a division of spoil and are impatient
Ways and means of con- to receive their shares. Stolen pro-
ceahng and disposing of stolen ... i j* *J J
property. perty is therefore, as a rule, divided
immediately after the commission of a
crime. If the gang happens to be composed of intimate
friends, this rule may possibly be departed from and apportion-
ing of shares deferred till valuables have been disposed of by
sale by one or two of the leading spirits.
244 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
When returning from the scene of a crime by rail, Pathans,
knowing they are objects of suspicion with the police and
liable to search at any moment, are reported to occasionally
entrust stolen property to some friendly local Mahomedan for
conveyance, rather than carry it themselves. When this plan
is adopted the man with the booty travels by the same train
but in a different compartment altogether.
An instance has come under notice from the Central Pro-
vinces Police Gazette which shows that Pathans are capable of
concealing coins under their testicles : the necessity therefore
for very close search of Pathans arrested on suspicion is
obvious.
Marwadis, Bohras, Khojas, Gujars, goldsmiths, shroffs,
local Mahomedans and money-lenders, etc., are according to
circumstances their ' receivers.' Loot obtained by crime in one
part of India is frequently disposed of in another.
Property is sometimes sent home in charge of a trusted
friend or relative when it is carried secreted on the person, in
a guda (leather bag to carry provisions) or the baggage.
Where property cannot be disposed of immediately without
risk, it is buried under ground or concealed in the manner
common to most criminals, though experience shows that this
is not always done. In one important case part of the loot
was found some days after the crime on the person of one of
the culprits. When concealed under ground, property and
incriminating articles are usually very cunningly buried, for
instance, in houses under cooking places, or in front of the
house with plants grown over the spot, and so on. They are
generally buried deep.
Sansis and Berias.
Sansis and Berias are Hindus belonging to one main stock
and descended from two brothers.
^ttibe™1 They are divided into two principal
clans, Malha and Bidhoo or Kalkar,
which are again sub-divided into a number of goths, the best
known of which are as under : —
Jhojha. Gaddo. Popat.
Belia. Kothan. Sadha.
Patia. Dhapo. Bhura.
Gehela. Raichand. Bhana.
Chandoowada. Syahan. Dursa.
Tamaichi. Dahiya.
Sansis are also known by different names in this Presi-
dency and other provinces, for instance as Sansi Kanjars,
Adodiyas, Popats, Ghagarias, Ghagra Paltan, Hadkutias,
Chharas, Geedhiyes, Haboodes, Kajarhatiyes, Kanchires,
Chirokharwals, Bhanthus or Bhantoodes, Kanjar Bediyas,
Pomblas, Bagorias and Unchalainga (i. e., short petticoat) or
Bailwale Kanjars.
A wandering tribe, they have no special habitat nor
apparently any permanent interests
or connections anywhere, though in
Bharatpur and Dholpur States, it is understood, steps have
been taken to settle some of the tribe.
They are to be met with practically all over India. Sansis
are a wandering class. They travel
' about in gangs of varying strength '
with their families, bullocks, cows,
male buffaloes, donkeys, ponies, sheep, goats and dogs. The
last mentioned of these animals are usually small mongrels
with a terrier strain, mostly stolen or bred from types dis-
honestly obtained during their peregrinations. Sansis never
put up in towns or villages ; they invariably encamp two or
three miles off, away from the beaten track and in the
vicinity of a water-supply, and if possible within easy reach
of the cover of jungle or crops, in any case on a site where
surprise is not easy. They shun all habitations, temples,
dkaranisdlds and the like. Each encampment or dera has
246 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
a headman known as ' naik ' or ' sarganah.' He is socially
and criminally their leader, is selected on his capabilities
as such, and whether he participates in a crime or not,
is entitled to a five per cent, tribute in addition to an equal
share in the spoils with the rest of the gang. Sansis live in
pals or snrkis (grass screens). Gangs are more or less inac-
tive in respect to movements, during the monsoon, pitching
their camp near some small village in a locality where they
may have made friends among the village or local police ; but
for purposes of crime the able-bodied avail themselves of
breaks in the monsoon to leave camp and commit offences.
With the expiry of the rainy season they resume their wander-
ings. It often happens that several gangs concentrate during
the monsoon at some pre-arranged place. On such occasions
their numerical strength including the families runs to even
hundreds. Ordinarily, individual gangs do not exceed
twenty families.
With the exception of sheeprlifting, they are careful not
to commit crime in any village while in camp near it. In the
event of a promising house in such a village being noted,
Sansis will remove their encampment ten or fifteen miles, or
even to a greater distance, and allow some time to elapse
before burgling it.
In pursuit of crime, men in small gangs freely utilize the
railways, making long journeys both by road and by rail,
covering sometimes as much as forty or fifty miles on foot to
regain their encampment. When men leave their deras by rail,
there is no limit to the sphere of their activities ; by road their
field of operations ordinarily extends to a radius of thirty
to fifty miles.
As a class, Sansis and Berias are of medium build and
stature, strong, wiry and agile. They
are determined and ruthless in the
commission of crime. Their women are often slender, good-
looking and well formed, those of the Berias being of a coarser
type, dirtier and more untidy.
Sansis generally allow the beard to grow and wear their
hair long, but latterly have taken to shaving both head and
chin. Berias, except for the moustache and a tuft of hair on
the skull, are clean shaved. Berias always sleep on cots ;
Sansis seldom. Beria women go about begging ; Sansi women
as a rule do not. Beria women generally wear dirty white
clothes and do not wear bangles though very occasionally an
SANSIS AND BERIAS. 247
individual will be found wearing a metal wristlet ; Sansi
women object to wearing white cloth and always wear glass,
wood or cocoanut-shell bangles.
The male's dress consists of a dhoti, kurla or shirt, some-
times an old coat and &feita tied in the up-country fashion.
Berias wear white or brick-coloured dhotis according to taste.
Both Sansis and Berias tie this garment in the ddband or
knotted fashion, so known by reason of a peculiar knot which
they bring to the front. Round the neck they wear a necklace
of two or more strands composed of red moonga (coral) and
gold beads and &jhooja which is a square pendant or charm,
resting on the chest, of silver or gold according to circum-
stances, and bearing an effigy of a man on horse-back intended
to represent either Ramdevpir or some one of the wearer's
progenitors. Sometimes &jhooja contains more effigies than
one, but always of figures on horse-back. The j hoof a is an
object of veneration.
The woman's dress consists of a short ghdgra or petticoat,
like that worn by Marwadi women with a border round the
bottom, kurti, angia or bodice and an odni. Their ornaments
are those of the fashion worn in Marwad, with the addition
of a cheed (a pendant formed of a ' Kaldar ' rupee from the
sides of which silver beads are hung as additional ornamenta-
tion, the rupee being suspended round the neck by a necklace
of glass beads and resting on the chest). Both Sansi and
Beria women wear a lavang (clove) in the left nostril. The
former wear a build q (pendant or drop) in the septum (fleshy
division between the nostrils) of the nose ; Beria women do
not. The women of both divisions are much given to the
use of mis si (black tooth-powder). Both men and women
wear shoes, usually with uppers all round.
Sansis eat all sorts of flesh except that of the jackal and
their encampments will usually be found to contain plenty of
dried meat in bags and fat in earthen pots. Berias eschew
beef and fish. Both classes are excessively fond of liquor,
smoke tobacco, gdnja and bhang. Beria women and children
smoke hookahs like men ; Sansi women will not. Women of
both divisions are very fond of snuff.
The Sansis' idea of morality is not very high though in
this respect they are superior to Berias.
Among the latter their deras or encampments are some-
times named after some woman who is a prostitute, but among
Sdnsis, usually after their ' sarganah.'
248 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
The Sansis or Chharas met with in Gujerat are the dirtiest
of the class. Their women as often as not wear sutnas or
paijdmas and hurt as in lieu oift&ghdgra and kurti. They
are known among Sansis as Popliyes.
All Sansi and Beria women are, as a rule, tattooed on the
nose, chin, temples, chest, wrist, arms and calves ; men on
one or other of the shoulders (at the point) and on the wrist,
posterior, in the form of a scorpion or dagger etc. Both
sexes are branded on the chest and stomach during child-
hood.
They are very quarrelsome and when in their cups often
fall out and fight among themselves, the result being that a
Sansi's head generally bears numerous scars.
The most binding oath to a Sansi is that taken on ' Ganga '
or ' Kalka.' The former is taken by raising a pot containing
water, salt, charcoal and jaw art grains and swearing to speak
the truth ; the latter by pouring a little liquor on the ground
out of a bottle while affirming.
Sansis admit all castes into their own.
A successful haul is usually followed by feasting and
drinking.
In cunning and daring, Sansis and Berias are equally
dangerous. They are exceedingly stubborn and reticent under
examination though easily opened by an ' informer ' and become
talkative under the influence of liquor.
Children questioned separately and searchingly by an
experienced officer, will often supply information which their
elders cannot be persuaded to disclose.
Sansis and Berias have a peculiar nasal sing-song dialect
of their own which is intelligible only
Dialect and peculiarities f V0_:__, T«. ' i r TT- i-
of speech. to Kanjars. It is a mongrel of Hindi
or a ' Brij-bhasha ' and Gujerati. A
noticeable peculiarity in the speech of a Beria as distinct from
a Sansi, is the habitual use of the word ' bowdey ' (which has
no meaning) interlarded in their tajk. All Sansis and Berias
can speak Hindustani fluently.
Slang and 3igns used. haVC an extensive Code of
slang terms. The following are
some : —
SANSIS AND BEK1AS.
249
Slang.
nand
khaka
khola
baiyya
khawar
kharach, rihilla
gemmi
bootna
dhammal, khamaya
cheewad
nhanedar
balva
dokhla, nissa
pankhli
chantoo
chat an i
khadbi jesar
nija khadbar lc
nija
banki jesar
nhori
bonna
bandi
kalloo, ginai
khekh
khaddan
kurat
tewa
rail de
nodi de
khanaik
rhabard^ar roghio
lothi redo
rhossi le, binni le"
teeppi, tuk
chhungli
chimdi
namicha
lod
nalsi, kowri
koodra
redhi
beli
khadhebri
hetta
hetti
nokidar
natel
chekdi liya
rhoda
Meaning.
village.
dacoity.
house
road.
burglary.
implement of house-breaking.
theft.
to loot.
booty.
constable.
police officer.
rupee.
copper coins.
mohur (sovereign).
a Sansi.
a Sansi woman.
hide yourself.
hide stolen article.
stolen article.
run away.
knife.
gold.
silver.
liquor.
meat.
day.
night.
gang.
melt it down.
break it up.
leader.
be on the alert.
strike, beat.
snatch off.
bread.
sword.
pistol.
bullock.
cow.
horse.
donkey.
goat.
sheep.
a man (from another caste).
a woman (from another caste).
chowkidar.
patil.
arrested.
jail.
250
CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Slang.
rhudai lo
nhaja, daeli
nhook
bek
dhor
ther
chog
nach
nhe
nhat
kot
khano
khas
khabis
khatis
nalis
nachas
nhat
khassi
nho
kongal
netti, nhandook
nodi redo
rhabar
rophia, ropiya
khanadi
rhal
nharai
kharuk
khadartiyama raddi de
kharach redia sar
Meaning.
rescue him.
conviction,
bribe,
one.
two.
three
four.
five,
six.
seven,
eight,
nine,
ten.
twenty,
thirty,
forty,
fifty,
sixty,
eighty,
hundred,
thousand,
box.
break it open,
information,
sling,
river,
nallah.
sarai.
tree.
bury in the ground,
put the house-breaking imple-
ment out of the way.
At junctions and cross-roads Sansis indicate the route
taken, by making small heaps of earth, say five or six, at
intervals of a cubit along the road followed. When striking
across country the track taken is marked by leaves strewn
along the ground at intervals.
Sansis and Berias profess to subsist by begging. Women
go in for dancing, playing on the
sdrangi, chikdra (string instruments),
dholak (drum), etc. Some Berias
make money by the prostitution of their girls.
Perhaps it is superfluous to state that Sansis and Berias
invariably adopt different names at
different times and will never give a
true account of their movements or
Ostensible means of live-
lihood.
SANSIS AND BERIAS. 251
where they hail from. Sometimes they say Jodhpur, some-
times Marwad, and so on.
The men when unencumbered by families, dress them-
selves up in superior clothing and pass themselves off as
Thakores, Ahirs, Bhois, Rajputs, Kahars, Jats, Kunbis or
Purbias and the disguise is usually excellent.
When accompanied by their families, they generally pass
themselves off as Gujerati Bhats (bards of the Jat tribe from
Marwad or of the Kolis from Gujerat), Salats or as Nats (often
Karnati, i.e., Carnatic) and beggars from Dheds and Bhangis.
Occasionally they pretend to be dealers in cattle, grain etc.
Sometimes according to circumstances, they pretend to
be sweepers, Malis or Kachis, and when exploiting a railway
they not infrequently dress up as women and travel in com-
partments reserved for females.
During the commsision of an offence by day, they muffle
their faces to conceal their features.
Highway dacoity and cart robbery are their specialities.
They sometimes also indulge in house
Crime to which addicted. . J. „. . °. ..
dacoity. 1 hey are also addicted to
house breaking, tent thieving, looting encampments and iso-
lated huts, cattle and sheep lifting (by day or by night), theft
of all sorts including standing crops and other agricultural
produce.
The railways are not immune from their depredations, for
they are reported to be given to thieving from passengers and
looting goods trains.
The women and children are habitual thieves and pilferers.
Beria women are more criminal than their sisters of the
Sansi variety. They commit all sorts- of thefts and break
open the locks of unoccupied houses by day and steal what-
ever they can lay hands on inside.
Dacoity.
Sansis never admit outsiders to their confidence nor do
they employ outsiders to scout for
Methods employed in com- ,1 T r *.• • Ui • 11
mitting crime, and distinguish- them. Intormation is obtained by one
ing characteristics likely to or two clever members of the gang,
afford a clue. . . , 11 j i
which usually does not exceed twenty
in number. Their spies prowl about the stages where travellers
halt and ascertain if any wedding or other party likely to
prove lucrative prey is on a journey ; if so, further particulars,
252 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
such as the time of starting, the road to be taken, the
strength of the party, and so on, are carefully elicited.
Laying their plans accordingly the gang starts ahead and
takes up a good position in a suitable locality timing to deliver
their attack after dusk and before day-break, or even during
day-light if the country is favourable. On the approach
of their quarry, the gang rushes out of hiding and delivers
the attack.
Information regarding houses to be dacoited is obtained
in a similar manner. A member of the gang loiters about
near a tank, well or ghat and observing a woman with valu-
able jewellery on her person follows her to her house, prospects
it and communicates the result of his enquiries to his friends.
A Sansi is adept at gauging, from the general appearance of
the house, the probable wealth of the inmates.
Primed with the necessary information and having arranged
preliminaries, they make for the dwelling decided on. About
a mile or so from the scene of the proposed crime, perhaps
near a tree, well or in some broken ground, the gang call a
halt, deposit their superfluous clothing and other articles and
having made final preparations for the raid, they make direct
for the village or the scene of offence. The attack opens
with the hurling of stones. Individual members take up
positions in conformity with the leader's instructions. In road
dacoities, two men guard the approaches from both directions,
while the main body armed with sticks, often freshly cut, slings,
stones, knives, and hatchets, deliver the attack. While this
is going on, should it be necessary to address one another by
way of encouragement or otherwise, Hindustani words with
a ' Purbhia ' accent are used. In house raids, streets and
lanes are specially guarded. The leader and the bulk of the
gang carry out the actual attack. Doors are forced open
with hatchets. Women are first searched and divested of
their ornaments. Sansis do not, as a rule, outrage females.
Male occupants are forced to disclose where the valuables
are hidden. Boxes and other receptacles are broken open
and rifled. Any resistance on the part of the party attacked
is overcome by force, though unnecessary violence is avoided
unless in a tight place when Sansis and Berias will not hesitate
to proceed to extremes, even to homicide. An hour or so may
elapse before the gang makes off with the booty acquired.
A short halt is called at the place where their clothes and
other articles were left and thereafter the retreat is resumed
with all speed. Stolen property is consigned to the care of
SANSIS AND BERIAS. 253
one or two members of the gang ; it is concealed under-
ground near every halting place and unearthed when the
march is continued. Distribution of the spoil is put off till the
dera has been reached and the property can be turned into
cash. The ' naik ' is responsible for its safe custody and
disposal. Before receiving their respective shares, each
member of the gang has to swear on ' Ganga ' or ' Kalka '
that he has not retained any of the ' loot.'
Sansis are often reckless in respect to dacoity and will
sometimes bring one off even during day-light in a place of
public resort and gathering such as fair, dharamsdld, railway
passenger shed and the like.
House-breaking.
This is not so favourite a form of crime with the class as
highway dacoity. Information is obtained and houses and
their surroundings are very carefully reconnoitred in the
manner already described with a view to deciding on the
place where entrance is to be effected, securing a line of
retreat etc. before the burglary is embarked on. In common
with other criminals, Sansis operate on the very dark nights
only. The house is reached quietly after midnight, the adjoin-
ing lanes and approaches are picketted to guard against
surprise while the midnight intruder is at work. Entry is
effected either by breaking through a window or making a
hole in the wall, either in the ' bagli ' or ' rumali ' fashion, with
an implement known among them as a khardch (a jemmy
about a foot long with a knob, the latter sometimes covered
with leather, the business end flattened out and steel-tipped),
or with a butcher's knife, spear-head or any large nail. The
thieves are usually armed with lathis, stones and slings. One
man (specially selected on account of his dexterity) usually
enters the house ; before stepping through the hole, the well
known precaution of intruding a stick round the end of which
a cloth is wrapped, is resorted to in order to ascertain whether
the inmates are on the alert. A cloth is held across the hole
of ingress lest the cold air should disturb a slumberer and the
star-light attract the attention of any of the inmates. One of
the gang standing outside keeps up a flicking with his finger
against the wall to indicate to his confederate inside that all is
well and also to keep the latter informed of the line of retreat
should he lose his bearings. The man who enters the build-
ing carries, in a small tin, a rag rolled into a wick and oiled
254 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
or saturated with ghi, also some phosphorous matches. He
is usually armed with a knife (table variety or bladed). On
entering the house he lights his taper and takes stock of the
position of sleepers, the contents of the room and the situation
of other apartments. He then extinguishes the light and
creeps forward in a half erect posture to satisfy himself that
the slumberers are sound asleep. He then hands small re-
ceptacles out to his comrades and breaks open boxes too
heavy to lift, quickly passing out their contents. Having
ransacked the house he emerges by the opening or door he
entered by. If perchance heavy receptacles have to be
passed out, one or two of the gang from outside are requisi-
tioned to assist. Before advancing into an inner room the
taper is again lighted, the room is inspected and the light put
out. They lift everything they can lay their hands on, cash,
jewellery, clothes, utensils and even eatables, if the dera
is close by, but if far off only the two first mentioned. They
are very clever at removing ornaments from the persons of
sleeping females without disturbing them. If disappointed in
the spoils obtained, they throw discretion to the winds and
tear off ornaments difficult to detach and make a bolt for it.
Those on the watch outside never desert their comrades inside
and will show fight rather than allow the latter to be caught
inside the house. Should people sleeping in the house be
disturbed and raise an alarm, the intruders make off and do
not use violence unless molested. A shroud is believed by
Sdnsis and Berias to possess a certain mystic power. There-
fore some gangs use one, pilfered from a burning ghat, when
committing house-breaking to wave over sleeping forms in a
house, in the belief that this action will prevent slumberers
being disturbed while the burglar is at work.
Sheep and Cattle Lifting.
Sheep and cattle -are stolen at travellers' halting stages,
from cattle-sheds, sheep-pens, and in the open while grazing.
A refractory animal in a shed is approached under cover of a
quiet one, a rope is thrown round its horns and it is then
driven off. The theft of valuable though fractious animals
thus often excites surprise in the neighbourhood.
Sheep in a pen are first felt over and fat ones selected.
Whether the sheep are in sheds or in pens in the open, no
special precautions are adopted in approaching them.
SANSIS AND BERIAS. 255
When working on railways their methods are as follow —
From goods trains, bags are lifted off open trucks either by
men boarding the trains when going slow and throwing off the
bags, or by dragging the bags by means of grappling irons or
long sticks tipped with iron hooks or catches.
Thefts from passenger trains are committed at night,
stolen property being thrown out of the window to be picked
up afterwards ; or an ornament is snatched from the person
of a woman sitting near the window, or a bundle temptingly
placed within easy reach from outside is lifted as the train
starts.
When dealing with a gang of Sansis or Berias it goes
without saying that it is desirable to separate individuals from
one another as soon as possible before interrogating them and
to keep them apart so as to prevent their making signs to one
another.
The able-bodied men are rarely to be found in the dera
during the day-time ; they usually lie low in some handy
ravine or jungle not far off.
Berias and Sansis associate together for purposes of
crime.
Police search of Beria and Sansi encampments should be
carried out in force as the women, particularly, are very bois-
terous, embarrass the officers by divesting themselves of their
clothes, pulling at the officer's clothes, catching up children
and threatening to brain them and, in the case of Beria women,
micturating and splashing the police with urine. If out-
numbered the police are likely to be assaulted by the men
and turned out of the encampment.
In jurisdictions where the Arms Act is not in force, Sansis
and Berias carry, in addition to other
stock-in-trade, instruments weapons of offence, swords and fire-
and weapons employed in com- f , _,
mitting crime. arms for criminal purposes. Else-
where, lathis, slings, stones, sticks,
knives and hatchets are their usual armament during the com-
mission of crimes of violence. The burglar's paraphernalia
consist of the khardch described above, a knife, an old
spear-head, or a large iron spike or the iron peg used for
tethering cattle, matches, the taper mentioned above, sticks,
stones and slings.
256 CRIMINAL CLASSES.
Stolen property is not, as a rule, distributed among the
members of the gang till it is con-
>s and means of conceal- verted into cash. Pending disposal,
jng and disposing of stolen pro- . . , . , ,. l , .'
perty. it is buried some distance from their
dera or encampment near an ant-heap
or some tree in the bank of a nullah and similar places. If
it is buried in the encampment, the favourite places are under
the fire-place, near the pegs to which cattle are tethered,
and in the case of Sansis under the stands on which they
stack their belongings ; in the case of Berias under their beds.
Sometimes stolen jewellery and cash are sewn up in quilts
and pack-saddles and pads or are concealed in earthen pots,
vessels or sacks containing tainted, dried fat and meat where
inquisitive Hindu police officers are not likely to be eager to
make any search. When moving camp their receptacles are
carried on the backs of bullocks or ponies and it is then that
a search is likely to prove fruitful.
Articles of special value that have been concealed under-
ground near the encampment are, as a rule, removed by two or
three of the gang (who return for the purpose at night) to the
next halting place where they are again consigned to the
ground.
Their ' receivers ' are mostly among goldsmiths, Banias,
liquor-vendors, shroffs, sometimes even patils and pativdris.
Stolen cattle are killed and eaten or sold at distant mar-
kets ; if identification is not feared, they are sometimes used
as pack-animals.
Lifted goats and sheep are immediately slain and con-
sumed.
Sansi and Beria women should always be thoroughly
searched by female searchers, especially in the natural pas-
sages, for small articles of value and cash.
The ghdgras of women also require thorough investigation
as the voluminous folds usually conceal a capacious pocket
used for hiding stolen property.
Before abandoning the search of a Beria encampment it
will always be as well to unrope cots and beds and carefully
examine the wood-work for hollows likely to contain dishon-
estly acquired property.
When the police are searching a dera it will probably
repay the trouble if women or children sent off on apparently
SANSIS AND BRRIAS. 257
innocent errands, such as to fetch water etc., are quietly
followed up, caught and searched, because under such
pretences Sansis and Berias make away, under the noses of
the police so to say, with incriminating articles or property.
Lastly, it will always be advisable to plough up the site of a
Sansi or a Beria encampment before search is relinquished.
Individual members of a gang will sometimes leave a
portion of the proceeds of their crimes buried, as convenient
at different places in the country traversed by them, but never,
it is alleged, even after the lapse of years, do they make
a mistake in returning to the exact spot to recover their ill-
gotten gains.
Every male member of a gang is entitled to a share in all
' loot/ no matter whether he has taken an active part in the
crime or not. Widows and wives of men in jail receive half
shares.
514-17
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX I.
Langoti Pardees
The following note on Langoti Pardees by Mr. J. T. B. D.
Sevvell, District Superintendent of Police, Amraoti, is of
general interest. Chapters II and III of Gunthorpe's " Notes
on Criminal Tribes " should be read with this ; as though many
of the customs etc. referred to therein have changed, still it
will be easier to trace the details from a comparison of the two
compilations, the former of which was written about thirty
years ago.
1. Pardees are frequently classed with Takenkars as if
they were much the same kind of people : they may have been
originally, but are now as distinct as possible. Pardees are
Bowries, Takenkars are Wagris. It is not proposed to enter
upon an ethnological discussion, but merely to classify these
people from a police point of view.
The Pardees have long hair. The Takenkars only wear
the shendi like other Hindus. The former do not wash after
easing themselves, but use a stone or grass, etc., if anything,
though it is alleged that mixing with Kunbis and others they
are now taking to healthier customs.
Pardees invariably wear the langoti — hence their name.
Takenkars dress like other Hindus.
2. Langoti Pardees must never be confused with Phas
Pardees or Cheetawallas, as beyond the fact that they origi-
nally came from the same source, they are quite distinct.
Phas Pardees, in spite of the opinions of European sports-
men not unwilling to see them ' moved on,' do not commit
crime, and are quite harmless.
3. The Pardees (and unless specially mentioned to the
contrary, the Langoti Pardees are always meant) are sub-
divided into (i) Chowan, (2) Pohar and (3) Salonki. As a
rule they marry girls from another class, thus a Chowan would
marry a Pohar girl, and so on. Chowans worship ' Amba,'
Powars worship ' Mari Mata,' and Salonkis ' Kali.' All their
deities are called ' Bowani ' and, as Gunthorpe says, they are
very religious.
262 APPENDIX I.
4. It is said that Chowan females will not ride in a cart or
drink liquor. Powar women may not ride in a cart, but may
drink liquor : and they will not eat anything which lives in
water. Salonki women only draw the line at wearing red
clothes.
5. Though Pardees talk Marathi and Urdu fluently, their
original language is Gujerati and their talk is said to resemble
that of men newly arrived from Gujerat.
6. Men of Kunbi, Mali, Teli and other superior castes
may be accepted as Pardees, but the conversion of Muham-
madans, Dhobis, Mahars, Mangs, etc., is prohibited.
7. It will be seen that Gunthorpe says women may not
wear silver anklets : my-information is that wearing of silver
1 below the waist ' is the forbidden rule. I am told it is only
the Salonki women who may not wear red. No Pardee
woman may hang her sari on a wall or peg, but it must always
be kept on the ground : a worn sari being impure must not be
allowed on the same level as Bhowani.
8. Pardees always feed with their women and not before,
as is the custom with other people. This is due to a woman
having in olden times poisoned her husband and children.
9. The pipal tree is held specially sacred. There is a
legend about this tree which connects with the custom of
refraining from the use of water after answering a call of
nature : —
" A Pardee went on a journey and being fatigued lay down and
slept under a pipal tree which grew beside a river. On waking up
he went and eased himself, going to the river to wash. By accident
he scooped up a pipal leaf in the water he used, and therefrom
resulted a grievous sore at his anus from which he suffered much
torment and was like to die. Then he had a vision : the Devi
appeared to him and told him his troubles arose from the disrespect
he had shown the pipal tree. The man confessed his crime, did
penance before the panchayat and was instantly cured of his sore.
Since then, however, water has been discarded for that particular
purpose."
10. As Gunthorpe says, " the new generation have taken
to burglary " and that dacoity used to be their occupation. This
is certainly interesting as showing that it is not only " ladies'
fashions " which repeat themselves. In the course of conver-
sation with an informer of about 35 years of age (evidently
one of Gunthorpe's ' new generation '), he told me distinctly that
whereas all his class had habitually committed burglary they
LANGOTI PARDEES. 26^
o
had to a certain extent given this up and taken to dacoity.
The reason being that the police got horribly inquisitive in the
matter of burglaries, every burglary (probably rightly so) being
attributed to Pardees : so that since 1896, the first famine
year, his class had largely gone in for dacoity in place of
burglary : they found it more social and easier. He didn't
remember his folk going in for dacoity in the olden days, but
they may have.
11. Pardees do not, as a rule, injure the people they
attack : if all goes well and complainants give no trouble, then
they do not hurt them, but they are quite ready and, if people
resist, they will not hesitate to beat them. Ordinarily when,
committing dacoity they are armed with sticks and stones
only.
1 2. In committing burglary they do not take any pride in
the hole they make, nor have they any particular mode of
breaking through from which the work could be recognised as
theirs.
They sometimes will dig nearly through a wall, leaving only
a thin partition against which the leader will carefully listen
before finally bursting through. Then when a hole is made
big enough to get through, the leader strikes a match which he
holds between finger and thumb, with his fingers stretched out
so as to form a shade, and holding this in front of him so that
his features are shielded, he has a good survey of the room
before entering.
13. Pardees when about to leave their village for any pur-
pose get a * pass ' from the pdtil: this is called taking
dakhla and is an informal business altogether, which was no
doubt introduced by some zealous police officer. The system
has in a way defeated its own object, and yet somehow with
the swing of the pendulum it may almost be said to have
effected it in a way not anticipated.
The dakhla was supposed not to be given except for
legitimate purposes : consequently a Pardee absent from his
village produced his dakhla as proof he was occupied in-
nocently : the pdtil &\so corroborated. Hence the abuse of the
system. It has, however, been found that a Pardee never
bothers about getting dakhla unless he means crime. Hence
if a pass has been taken out it may be believed without doubt
that the Pardee has left his village to commit crime. Experi-
ence shows that the pdtil in almost every instance is aware of
the real motive for which the pass is taken out.
264 APPENDIX I.
14. Without wishing to be unfair to the village officer, I
record it as my fixed belief (founded on information given me
by many police officers of long service and exceptional expe-
rience and on statements made to me by Pardees them-
selves, and on statements by other responsible persons, and
from my observation in cases that have come before me) that
where Pardees live, there they live chiefly by crime, and that
committed with the knowledge of the village pdtil, usually a
1 receiver ' of stolen property : where there is more than one
pdtil then one at least of the pa tils is a ' receiver.'
15. It is quite impossible to bring their guilt home to these
' respectable ' aiders and abettors, because in every village
there are either ' factions ' or 'no factions ' and in the
former case the evidence to be obtatined is too tainted, while
in the latter case no evidence at all will be got. The only way
to cure the evil is through the Revenue authorities. That the
Pardee is a habitual criminal is undeniable : he does not
labour, he can't and won't ; his hands are as soft as any
clerk's, and prove he does no manual labour in the fields,
which is what he professes to do. Village pdtils must be led
to understand that until it is established that Pardees have
taken to honest modes of living their presence in a village will
tend to harm a pdtiVs reputation.
1 6. Pardees occasionally convene what are called
' deokarias.' These are meetings at which ' ways and
means ' are discussed as well as caste disputes settled, and
results of past offences related. Much food is eaten and liquor
drunk. At these ' deokarias ' there is no fixed ritual. Some-
times a buffalo is offered up, and as the flesh cannot be eaten
by them or thrown away, it is given to a lower class of the
Bowri tribe called Hadoti, which lives in Hyderabad, Deccan
territory, some of whom are sent for.
1 7. The penalty for nearly every offence is a fine of so
much liquor : that resulting from a man's sin is drunk by the
men and that paid up by the women is drunk by the women.
The left ear of both men and women guilty of adultery is
cut with a razor. A Pardee guilty of sexual intercourse with
a prostitute is punished as if he had committed adultery.
Pardee females are said to be virtuous. I have not had this
verified, but am assured it is so.
1 8. At the ' deokaria ' a large fry-pan called karai is
brought in and glii and sugar cooked. Sweetmeats are taken
LANGOTI PARDEES. 265
out of the boiling oil by any Pardee who is pious or who is
' seized by the goddess ' ; he uses his hand instead of a spoon
or other implement. To be able to do so is synonymous with
virtue or integrity. An ear-cut Pardee is not allowed near the
karai nor may his shadow fall over it.
19. Like all such people Pardees have their ' ordeals ' and
'omens.' One test is as follows : — An accused person having
taken oath is told to take out a rupee and a knife from a vessel
of water placed within a space marked off with a circle —
called a kund. He delivers these to the panch. There is no
direct manifestation, but if the man be guilty, he will be afraid
to touch the knife as his conscience tells him the goddess will
punish him if he does.
20. Another test is for the accused to take a knife and
going into water up to his chest or neck to there take oath of
the goddess.
21. Yet another is for two men to stand within circles
drawn in the sand of a river-bank and about seven bamboos
distance from one another. Accused stands near one of them
while a friend goes into the water. Accused touches one
man and runs to the other, touches him and returns. When
accused touches the first man the friend dives under water, and
if he can remain below the surface till accused finishes his run,
the latter is judged as innocent, but if not, then he is guilty ;
accused is then expected to vomit blood and die, — a not
unnatural sequence if not in good training.
22. There is the red hot axe-head ordeal which is, I
believe, not peculiar to Pardees, but I give it as mentioned.
An. axe-head is made red hot and the accused having twenty-
one leaves (one source gives nine leaves) of the pipal tree on his
hand the axe-head is laid thereon and he has to walk ten paces
(one source says nine). If he can do so, well and good.
23. The following omens are believed to be unfavour-
able : —
(1) meeting an empty water chatty ;
(2) a dog flapping its ears ;
(3) the bellowing of cows — though that of bulls is
good;
(4) mewing of a cat ;
(5) howling of a jackal ;
(6) sneezing ;
266 \1TKNDIX I.
(7) a snake passing from left to right — though if from
right to left is good.
24. Pardees when arrested are very ready at bribing tin-
police in the first place, and if not successful here, then they
have been said to bribe Magistrates ; at least they boast of
having done so, though, of course, this cannot be true. They
say they approach the police through the village officers, and
the Magistrate through his reader.
25. Their ' informant ' is known as ' heria ' and this man,
who is usually a ' respectable' man of some position, always
gets his share.
The ' receiver ' is called a ' jan ' ; thus Tookia's ' receiver '
is always known and spoken of as Tookia's ' jan.'
It occasionally happens that one man combines the two
offices.
26. The following technical terms are used : —
dacoity . . . barbarra.
theft ... ishali.
burglary ... joopda.
petty grain theft ... koomai.
petty robberies and dacoities . . . kooto.
house-breaking implement ... kutturna (as on page 15, Gun-
thorpe's notes).
policeman ... kali kiitri (black bitch),
stolen property ... gobur (cow-dung).
27. As a rule they don't divide the property on or near
scene of crime, but bring it home and divide there. Generally
it is carried by one of the gang well behind the rest so as to
enable it to be hidden if the party is challenged. This trick
is common to the Dowries from the north.
28. I have noticed a tendency for Pardees to reside in
villages on the borders of station ranges, especially ranges on
the borders of taluqs and districts. They avoid giving trouble
in the range where they reside and hence obtain considerable
immunity from supervision. This should not be held to the
discredit of the local police officer for he has enough to do
to look after men who commit crime in his own range : he
can't possibly deal with men who go outside until he is aware
of their methods. Hitherto with the village officer and his
' pass ' to shield the absent Pardee it would be hard luck on
a station-house officer to call him to account for offences
committed by his Pardees outside.
LANGOTI PAR DEES. 267
29. These notes are naturally very incomplete, as what
account of the criminal classes would not be. But I have
gathered together as much of what I thought might be inter-
esting, as I could and hope it may be of some use to my
brother officers.
I must record my thanks to Inspectors Abdulla Khan and
W. Stacey for much valuable aid in compiling the same.
APPENDIX II.
Harnis.
The following is a note by the Inspector-General of Police,
Panjab, on the Criminal Tribes of Harnis, and is reproduced
from the Supplement to the Central Provinces Police Gazette
dated 3rd October 1906.
A short description of the Criminal Tribes of Harnis or
Harnees in the matter of their origin, mode
of life, religion, etc.
Some centuries ago Mahmud Ghaznavi, on one of his
invasions of India, was accompanied by a body of Pathdns,
residents of Ghanur, a village near Kabul, under their chieftain
Babr Khan. Mahmud Ghaznavi gave them the village of
Mansuri, near Delhi, to settle in and here they remained for
several years. They are next heard of in Bhutnair in Bikanir
State, where they founded the town of Harnian Khaira. They
intermarried with the Hindu Rajputs of the neighbourhood,
and this is probably the reason why the present day Harni
sometimes says that his ancestors, before becoming followers
of Islam, were Rajput Chhatris. This is confirmed by the
names of the eleven goths or clans (Tur, Chuhan, Lathik,
Gujjar, Malak, Barang, Sanghaira, Leer, Ladar, Nandika,
Powar), some of which are Hindu and the remainder Muham-
madan.
In the year 1783 A.D. (Sambat 1840) a number of men of
this tribe, if we may call it so, were forced by the severe famine
then prevailing to emigrate. Numbers of them crossed the
Ganges and settled in the United Provinces, where their
descendants are known as Hairees and Banjaras. Another
branch of this tribe is the ' Chirrimars ' of the Sialkot District.
The "remainder came into the Panjab and took service
under a certain Rai Kallah, a powerful chieftain, who held
under his sway the country in the neighbourhood of the large
towns of Raikot and Jagraon, in the Ludhiana District. These
men were subsequently joined by their families and relations
and were of the greatest assistance to their liege-lord, Rai
Kallah, who employed them not only as shikaris or huntsmen,
but also as mercenary free-booters and the latter, by making
constant plundering raids on the lands held by Rai Kalian's
HARNIS. 269
enemies, caused the possessions of the latter to be subject to a
ceaseless series of harassment and rapine.
The indefatigable exertions of this band of freebooting
mercenaries and their conspicuous and never-failing successes
in this method of predatory warfare gained them the name of
Harnis or Harnees. This name is derived from either the
Sanskrit word harm (a thief) or from the two words har and
na/nn, i. e., the never-failing or invincible. Some of the
Harnis wrongly state that their name is derived from harni
(a doe) and was given them by Rai Kallah on account of the
activity of one of their number, who ran down and caught a
wounded doe.
On the death of Rai Kallah, these Harnis, taking advantage
of the disturbed condition of the neighbourhood, made them-
selves masters of the five villages of Chimna, Malak, Panheeni,
Sangatpura and Leelan in the Jagraon ilaqa. They continued
their predatory habits and carried them to such extremes that
in 1818 A. D. (Sambat 1875) General Sir David Ochterlony
brought their conduct to the notice of Maharajah Ranjit
Singh, who ordered the Raja of Kapurthala, in whose terri-
tories these Harni villages lay, to banish them.
Nothing is known of this tribe from then till 1847 A- D-
(Sambat 1904), but it is probable that, in this interval, a
number went away and settled at Burj Lamra, a village near
Ludhiana, while others went and established themselves in
parts of Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jultundur, Kapurthala and
Faridkote, where they are still found to some extent.
In 1847 A- D- tms tr^e was permitted by a Mr. Kewell
(? Campbell), a British Settlement Officer, to establish them-
selves in the villages of Bir, Tappar and Kiri, in the jurisdiction
of Jagraon police station, Ludhiana District.
In the adjacent village of Bodalwala, some Harnis, who
had for many years been in the service of the Rajas of
Kapurthala, had" taken up their residence after payment of a
large sum of money, while the Harnis of the neighbouring
village of Meerpur were located in it about the year 1850 A. D.
by Moulvi Rajab Ali of Jagraon. In 1873 small numbers of
Harnis were found in some twenty-nine other villages in
Ludhiana District. The total number of Harnis in Ludhiana
District at that time was 463 men, 510 women and 1,075
children. The total amount of land in their possession
was only 1,725 bighas (owned by 185 individuals) and the
270 APPF.NOIX ii.
inadequacy of it to support them drove the Harnis to commit-
ting burglaries and dakaitis which extended over half the
Panjab and many of the Native States adjoining it. In spite
of the faulty identification of criminals of that period, the
police registers showed that 202 Harnis had been convicted
of one or more burglaries or other offence against property.
It is as well to discuss the modus operandi then in vogue
among them for committing crime before the Criminal Tribes
Act was put in force among them.
Then, as now, the Harni never committed any offences
locally, beyond the theft of grain or standing crops or the
occasional theft of a stray goat or cow, which were almost
immediately killed and consumed.
They invariably journeyed to other districts for their offences
and, to prevent local hindrance or obstruction, paid a fixed
poll-tax, for each individual going on thieving expeditions, to
their own headmen, a chaukidar, as well as to the local
police.
It is estimated that, at that time, 125 to 150 persons
would sally forth every month for the purpose of committing
crime and acquiring plunder. If the local police attempted to
interfere with these expeditions, the Harnis would retort by
plundering in their jurisdiction and the same local terrorism
was exercised over headmen, neighbours, etc., by destroying
the crops of all those who opposed or gave evidence against
them.
Disguised as beggars (fakirs), quacks (hakims), travel-
ling merchants or potters, they would set out in gangs of
ten or twelve able-bodied men, generally accompanied by one or
two very feeble old men and a couple of boys. They were
invariably accompanied by a ( khumar ' or potter and a few
mules or donkeys, whenever they were passing themselves
off as grain merchants ; on occasion they took a few sheep
or goats along with them and represented themselves to be
butchers or cattle dealers.
Every party had a burglarious implement (generally a
sabbal or long iron nail), a box of lucifer matches, a sickle and
a sharp pocket-knife. Having encamped, the young men
would visit neighbouring villages and mark out the most
convenient places for their purpose.
In the evening, having reassembled, discussed the results
of their inquiries and appointed a fresh rendezvous, the old
HARNIS.
271
men and boys would proceed to the latter, while the remainder
of the gang broke up into parties of four. Each party would
then set off to the place it was determined to rob. With the
sickle four stout sticks would be cut for weapons in the event
of their being surprised and pursued. One of the party was left
outside the village in charge of the shoes and superfluous
clothes of the party and the remainder entered the village.
One man hid himself in a lane, adjoining the scene of the
proposed burglary, to keep a watch for the local watchman or
any stray passer-by, a second would quickly dig a hole in the
roof or wall of the house and enter, leaving the third at the
mouth of the aperture to receive the stolen property passed
out to him.
The lucifer matches would now be used to guide the
burglar to any property worth appropriating, while the sharp
pocket-knife was brought into play in cutting open bags or
leather boxes or the strings securing the ends of necklaces
worn by sleeping women and children.
Having completed their work, these three men would rejoin
the fourth outside the village, and, proceeding for some dis-
tance over turfy or hard ground, would then put on their shoes
and proceed to their rendezvous.
Their plunder and implements of burglary would be care-
fully buried in some adjoining sand-hill or underneath the roots
of a tree until their next march.
Day by day the process was repeated until the approach of
moon-light nights. All valuable property, such as money,
jewellery, etc., would then be made over to one man who
would proceed home alone by a separate route, while the
remainder would stuff all stolen clothing, etc., into large sacks,
filling up the mouths of the latter with cotton or hemp. They
then placed these sacks on their animals and returned home
by the ordinary route, the old men and boys riding on the
animals, while the remainder of the gang walked in twos or
threes at some distance in front or behind to guard against
any sudden attack. At ferries especially, and also at other
places, where they were likely to be suspected, they, if
possible, mounted lepers on their animals, and finally cross-
ing the Sutlej, principally at the ferries of Tihara, Sidhwan,
Pandari, where the boatmen were in their pay, they made
their way to their villages.
The property would be equally divided between the
members of the gang (except that the burglar, or individual
272 APPENDIX II.
who entered the burgled houses, received a double share in
consideration of the additional risk of capture, incurred by
him) and sold to neighbouring zanrindars or mahajnns, the
' purchaser ' inspecting the stolen property in the Harnee
villages and the property being subsequently taken to his
house by Harni women and children. Such was the modus
operandi of the Harnees of this district (with the exception of
the Gownimar Harnis who live in the village of Kiri and
whose modus operand* will be described hereafter) previous
to the year 1873, in which the provisions of the Criminal
Tribes Act (XXVII of 1871) were put into force and the
excursions of the Harni gangs of burglars checked. The
enforcement of this Act, the extensive introduction of railways
and the greater facility gained therefrom by the police of differ-
ent districts in co-operating with one another, and lastly the
arrest and conviction of a great number of Harnis (who had been
concerned in a vast number of cases throughout the Panjab
and its adjoining Native States), by Mr. J. P. Warburton,
then District Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana, have caused
the Harnees to seek more distant fields for their attention.
The present modus operandi of the Harnis will now be
discussed. In the village of Kiri in this district, as well as in
one village near Kartarpur in the Jullundur District and in
one or two villages in Hoshiarpur District, resides a branch or
clan of the Harnis known as ' Gownimars.' The name is
derived probably from gooni (a theft) and marna (to commit),
hence theft committers or thieves (practically the same
meaning as that of Harni).
This clan, now as heretofore, commit practically only one
class of offence, their women, while young and comely, take
up their residence in the houses of the rich as servants,
mistresses or wives. After some time they either seize a con-
venient opportunity to make over all articles of jewellery or
other valuables, that they can conveniently seize, to some one
of their male relatives who has visited the house, generally in
the guise of a religious mendicant or fakir, or else they take
all the valuables they can and vanish, leaving behind them as
souvenir any children they may have borne to their masters
or husbands. Sometimes these Gownimars will enter in
disguise houses, in which marriage or other ceremonies are
taking place, and steal anything they can.
The remainder of the Harnis now commit only the follow-
ing offences, of which I shall point out any facts of interest.
HARMS.
273
No Harni will commit in his own ilaqa (i.e., the limit of the
jurisdiction of his police station) any offence other than
perhaps the theft of standing crops or of a stray goat or cow.
If a Harni, bent on plunder, cannot obtain the co-operation
of other Harnis he will join local bad characters or members
of other criminal tribes, chiefly Sansis, and commit burglaries
with them. A Harni will seldom or never commit any
offence, other than petty thefts, single-handed. The main
characteristic of their burglaries is the very small hole by
which they make their way through the roof or wall of the
house burgled. These holes are generally very neatly made
and are made with a sabbal or long iron nail, with or without
a wooden handle ; when not in use, a loop of string having
been affixed to the handle of the sabbal, the arm, as far as
the shoulder, is passed through the loop, leaving the sabbal
to hang down and escape notice between the arm and the side.
Their usual offence is burglary (attended by dakaiti or violence
if surprised or opposed) and in many cases of burglaries com-
mitted by them, necklaces and other ornaments are removed
or wrenched from off the bodies of sleeping women and
children. When wandering about India in disguise, they either
join local bad characters in burglaries or other offences or else
commit petty thefts single-handed.
The following are their principal venues : —
(1) The Panjab, south and east of the districts of Rawal-
pindi and Jhelum (though they have been arrested as far
west as Multan), and its adjoining Native States, but chiefly
the districts of Hoshiarpur and Ambala, and the Native
States of Patiala and Faridkote.
(2) Burma.
(3) The Dekkan. A small number are now said to be
present at village Parbani, police station Parbani, in Hyder-
abad.
(4) Bombay Presidency. Some are said to be living in
Nasak in Nasik District.
(5) Guzerat. A number have been and now are living in
Surat, where they visit the shrine (dargah or khandah) of
Timur Shah, the pir or saint of the Banwa or Benawa
Faquirs.
(6) The Central Provinces and Nagpur.
(7) Bombay City.
B 514-18
274 APPENDIX II.
They visit tho^e places in the following roles : —
A — Jugglers and acrobats.
B — Fakuirs.
C — Gurzmars or Gurgmars.
D — Mirasi or singers and players.
E— Potters.
F — Banjaras or Baisatis or grain merchants.
G. — Husbandmen.
As A, they will nearly invariably describe themselves as
Ranjars or Muhammadan Rajputs.
As B and C, they will state that they are Ranjars
(Rajput Muhammadans) or Qadria Faquirs, Benawa or
Banwa Fakirs, or Gurzmar Fakirs. If asked their Shijra or
Fakir genealogy they will trace it back to the prophet Ali, and
state (in many instances) that their pir or saint is Timur
Shah of Surat.
As D, they will pass themselves off as Mirasis or
Qalandars.
As F and G, they will make out they are Rains or Arains.
Note i. — In Bombay City they are always found as Fakuirs.
Note 2. — They are never seen in any but Muhammadan disguises
and are said to be able by a special method of applying a compound
containing cocoanut oil to make the hair on their heads and faces
grow rapidly.
Note 3. — In Bombay, they nearly always prostitute their women-
folk and beg themselves and make a large income by both liveli-
hoods, as paid-off native sailors and lascars will spend their arrears
of pay on the wife, while the husband will trade on the suscepti-
bilities of the generous and reap a rich harvest.
Note 4 — When going to Bombay they go by the narrow gauge
railway via Bandikui, at which place there is a rich Muhammadan
butcher, who sends them, in their guise of Fakuirs, free of charge to
Bombay in the trains which convey his animals there weekly.
Note 5. — Tne inhabitants of Bodalwala and Tappar generally go
to Nagpur and the Dekkan, those of Bir and Mirpur to Bombay and
Burma, while the inhabitants of Kiri seldom go beyond the Panjub.
Note 6. As Fakirs they generally wear an 'alfi ' or long robe of
thick cloth or blanketting.
Note 7. — In nearly every case they will say their ancestors were
Rajputs, and in this district, the Harni will often describe himself
Rajput alias Harni or Rajput urf Harni.
HARMS. 275
If questioned they will invariably state they are residents
of districts beyond or adjoining the Sutlej, such as Jullundur
and Ferozepore, or else a Native State such as Patiala or
Faridkote, where the inhabitants speak a dialect similar to
their own.
If, however, they are suddenly and boldly accused of being
Harnis, they will often admit the fact.
As a Harni will never, if he can avoid doing so, eat his
bread dry, ghi or clarified butter will nearly invariably be found
in their baggage, except when they are masquerading as
faquirs, in which case they will invariably beg or buy some
ghi to eat with their meals.
When abusing their children they often use the expression
' phot Allah maria,' — may God smite you.
If any persons are suspected of being Harnis, their finger-
prints should immediately be sent to the Phillour Bureau,
where finger-prints of every registered Harni above the age of
twelve are kept.
In religion the Harni is, according to his lights, a strict
Sunni, but his religion does not keep him from a desire for
and appreciation of alcoholic liquors, — a desire which he will
generally gratify on any ' red letter ' day.
The average height of a full grown male Harni is about
five feet seven inches. They are well made, muscular and
sinewy. Being taught habits of activity and endurance from
their childhood, they are extremely hardy and have been
known to proceed to a spot ten or fifteen kos (twelve and a
half to nineteen miles) away, commit a burglary and return
between nightfall and dawn.
Their food is principally bread made from wheat flour or
crushed Indian corn. They are generally monogamous, though
a few have a second wife, and the men invariably marry
women of their own tribe. The majority of them are abso-
lutely uneducated, nor do they desire education.
Their language is Panjabi, but they use so many words
of their own that two Harnis can carry on a conversation
without an outsider understanding them. The most common
of their words are ' tusian ' (policeman) ; ' dhariwala ' (a station
house officer of police), ' dhotni ' (a woman), ' damrid of
Chhetra ' (a rupee).
They will absent themselves without permission from their
villages for long periods, during their absence remitting sums
276
APPENDIX II.
of money to their relatives through the post office at
Jagraon.
When tired of their wanderings, they often return home
and surrender themselves to the police, and by telling a
piteous tale of woe as to how they were forced by want and
the lack of any means of livelihood to leave their villages without
permission, as their applications for passes or tickets-of-leave
were either refused or never replied to, often get off with as
light a sentence as six weeks' imprisonment, and thereafter
return to their villages to live on the proceeds of their wander-
ings.
Those living in the neighbourhood of their villages are loth
to prosecute or give evidence against Harnis, as they very
often carry on intrigues with Harnee women, while they are
in fear of the Harnis in retaliation destroying their crops
and ricks.
In the Ludhiana District there are at present the following
registered male Harnees (of above twelve to fourteen years of
age). The finger-prints of all such are taken and kept at the
Central Bureau at Phillour, but the fact that a suspected
man's finger-prints are not traced at Phillour is not absolute
proof that the man is not a Harni, as several have absconded
and do abscond when served with a notice to show why they
should not be brought under the provisions of the Criminal
Tribes Act : —
In Kiri, Badalwal,
Tappar
In other villages
Bir, Mirpur,
Number
exempted for Number who
Number
life from pro- have been
registered.
visions of convicted of
Act XXVII
any offence.
of 1871.
727
3»
387
267
28
77
APPENDIX III.
Harnis.
Another account of the present-day methods of Harni
criminals is reproduced in the form of extracts from a very
interesting and instructive report, dated 26th January 1907, on
the tribe, by Mr. Frank Clough, Officiating Superintendent
of Police, Ludhiana, in the Panjab.
« * * * *
It is now necessary to describe the actual methods
employed by the Harni in the commission of burglary or tdpd,
and this is all the more important that other criminals have
copied his methods in them and offences committed in
this manner can no longer be attributed solely to the Harni,
although there is no doubt that he is far bolder and far
more skilful and workmanlike in burglary and tdpd than his
imitators.
In committing tdpd, one man steadies himself against the
wall and holds his hands, palms upward, at his shoulders.
Another then jumps on his back and places a foot on each
hand and is lifted up until he can reach the top of the wall
and draw himself up. His descent is made in the same way
or by leaping down.
Sometimes only one of the gang enters the courtyard or
climbs on the roof; sometimes one or more of his companions
will follow him, in which case they will often stand over the
sleepers (especially if aiw be men) with their sticks, ready to
beat or frighten them inw remaining quiet, should they awake,
and deter them from raising an alarm or from attempting to
seize any of the gang.
In some cases the gang will quietly fasten the courtyard
doors of neighbouring buildings from the outside by putting
the chain over the hook ; then one of the gang enters the
courtyard of the house, the occupants of which are to be
robbed, and quietly opens the door of the courtyard from
inside to admit his fellow criminals. Should any alarm be
raised, the burglars beat the occupants and vanish and the
neighbours are hindered, at least for some time, from coming
to the assistance of those robbed.
In the commission of tdpd, ornaments are sometimes cut,
sometimes wrenched, and sometimes (as in the case of ear-
rings) torn from off the persons of the sleepers.
278 AiTKNIMX III.
Before committing tdpd, one of the gang will often enter
the village as a faqir or religious mendicant, and obtain
a good knowledge of the ins and outs of the nouses and of
the ornaments worn by the women and children. The
sabbal or instrument of burglary is like a long nail (without
the head) ; both the body and tip are round (although in
some the tip has four sides) and it resembles a well-sharpened
lead-pencil, except that the tip is more gradually rounded off.
It is made of iron, heated and beaten into shape, is usually
about fifteen to eighteen inches in length, an inch in diameter
at the thickest part, and about a pound and a half in weight
and has a hole bored through the top, which is carefully
rounded off. Through this hole a piece of thick string or
thin rope is passed and tied so as to form a loop. This is
slipped over the arm tip to the shoulder and causes the
sabbal to hang down the side between the arm and the body
and remain unnoticed.
The other necessary articles, such as the sickle, matches
and knife are concealed on the persons of one of the gang.
The instrument of burglary is never kept in their houses, but
concealed elsewhere and only taken when they are actually
setting out for the offence. The sickle or datri has a very
toothed or saw-like edge. Before setting out, they eat sweet
rice (the reason for which is not apparent but is probably due
to superstition). In former days they took a hnqa with
them, now they take a small narela (a hnqa with a short
stem, often no mouth-piece, and the receptacle for water
consisting of a cocoa-nut) or morafloften merely a chilinn.
Before stripping for the fray and leaving their clothes outside
the village in which the offence is contemplated, the gang
will have a smoke, for they are devoted followers of the
goddess Nicotine.
Each man having taken up his proper post, if the offence
determined on be a burglary, the burglar cleverly selects a
weak spot in the wall next the ground and sometimes in the
roof and begins to dig through it ; in the former case digging
into the ground at the same time, so that he may get under
the wall to some extent. The work is quickly done, as the
Harni pushes his sabbal into the wall and wrenches parts
away rather than digs them out. The sound made is very
very slight and not likely to awaken a sound sleeper. In a
comparatively short time, say half an hour to an hour, a hole
is made up to the plaster of the inner side of the wall. A
HARNIS. 279
small hole is made in this and the plaster is carefully broken
off into the burglar's left hand so that it may not fall on the
ground and wake the occupants of the room. As portions of
the wall are dug away, they are pushed back by the burglar
to the man outside the hole, whom I shall hereafter call the
assistant, and placed outside so as to leave -the hole quite
clear. As soon as the hole is sufficiently large, the burglar
rounds his shoulders as far as possible, crosses his arms, the
hands being in front of his head and enters the room noise-
lessly.
The burglar is said by Mr. Warburton to enter the room
feet foremost and leave it head foremost ; but in an illustration
given me of a burglary, the burglar's head was the first part
of his body to enter the room and the last to leave it.
Stepping across the room without a sound, he speedily
locates the receptacles containing property (using if necessary
a sulphur match). If he can cut open the receptacle, he
does so ; if not, he coils a fold of cloth round the point of
the sabbal, inserts it in the hasp of the lock and, by using
a little leverage, breaks the lock open with very little noise.
He will sometimes cut off from a sleeping woman or child
a ponchi (bracelet fastened with string) or a hamail or kantlii
(necklaces with string fastenings).
As soon as the burglar enters, his assistant comes into the
hole and lies there with his face just in the room. Both men
have a loose fold of their pagris or small turbans tied low
down over their eyes, to protect the eyes from dust rather
than to guard against recognition.
The burglar hands out articles of value to his assistant
who rapidly deposits them outside and, when they have taken
all they want, they decamp.
Should one of the occupants of the room stir or begin to
wake, the assistant glides out of the hole and the burglar
noiselessly and with incredible rapidity assumes his place,
seeing what is going to happen. Should the sleeper be
thoroughly aroused and become suspicious, both vanish and
leave the village with what they may have obtained. Should
the sleeper sink into sound sleep again, the burglar enters
the room and continues his work.
In some cases the occupant of the room will be aware
of the burglar's presence but will be quiet through fear and
raise no alarm until the burglar has finished his task and
gone away.
280 AITKNDIX III.
If, owing to the nature of the ground, they are obliged to
leave tracks, they avoid detection by tying pieces of cloth
round their feet, or by treading on their toes and distorting,
as much as possible, the prints of their feet. If a suitable
opportunity be obtained, they will, after leaving the village,
sometimes walk back towards it, leaving these unrecognizable
foot-prints, in order to create a suspicion that the offender is
a resident of the village.
The hole made by the Harni in committing a burglary is
\<-ry small and neatly made, for the smaller the hole and the
better it is made, the greater the reputation of the burglar.
The Harni has been in times past, and may be at the
present day, greatly assisted to escape the law by the nature
of the persons despoiled, the character of the village clioiv-
kidar and headman, the sloth or ignorance, or both, of the local
police, and the doubts entertained by them as to whether a
grown man could have entered by the hole used by the
burglar.
This is due in many cases to the complainant, inten-
tionally or through mistake, saying that he recognized the
accused as being a certain person or that he is sure that
such-and-such a person or persons must be the culprits (this
is often done to cause annoyance to enemies) ; to the Harni
generally leaving no footprints behind him ; to delay in taking
up the enquiry ; to dissensions in the village and the com-
plainant having many enemies and a reputation for being a
' muqadma-baz ' or manufacturer of cases ; to the police
being influenced by the complainant's statement and, after
endeavouring to fit the crime to the person or persons, named
by him as having been seen or suspected by him, and failing,
being convinced that the complainant has deceived them ;
this being greatly due to the smallness of the hole made, for
I have seen a Harni slip, with ease, through a hole, through
which it seemed hardly, if at all, possible for a full-grown
man (or even a boy) to pass.
All these causes tend to convince the police that; the
n:ase is most undoubtedly a false one and they report accord-
ingly, the complainant being sometimes bullied into stating in
writing that he has really suffered no loss ; the case is often
cancelled, or else left untraced ; enquiries, in any case, are
closed, and, even if the real culprits were to be subsequently
sent for trial in the case, ordinarily they would almost certainly
l><- discharged for want of proof owing to tin- conflicting nature
HARMS. 281
of the statements, etc., recorded in their former enquiry by
the police.
* * * # #
Locally, that is, in the Panjab, Harnis will endeavour to
get together a gang of their fellows and to meet near a place
suitable for burglary or tdpd. They effect their purpose by
(a) obtaining passes for long periods to sell vegetables or
carry goods on camels or in bullock carts ; (b) obtaining
passes to visit villages in distant parts of their own district
or in other districts, where the village headman, who is sup-
posed to record on the pass and verify the date and time of
the arrival and departure of the pass-holder, is generally
uneducated and nearly invariably entirely ignorant of what he
is expected to do, and hence places his seal on a note on the
pass to the effect that the pass-holder visited and left the
village at certain hours on certain dates, without troubling
himself as to whether the dates are correct, or the license-
holder remained in the village during the whole of the period
mentioned ; (c) obtaining passes to go to head-quarters, etc.,
and spending less time on the journey than they are supposed
to have done and thus visiting other places ; (d] transgressing
the conditions re routes, etc., of the pass, and relying on not
being detected or, if detected, proceeded against (and such
reliance is very often not misplaced) ; (e) joining with Harnis
of Native States where the provisions of the Criminal Tribes
Act are either enforced not at all or very indifferently ; (f)
joining Harnis who have life-exemption passes or who have
been given passes to work on canals, etc. ; (g) absenting
themselves for long periods ; (//) going away from their
villages between sunset and sunrise to places as far off, in
some cases, as ten or fifteen kos (fifteen or twenty miles).
When a gang of this sort can get together, the members
proceed to a village, where a place suitable for the commis-
sion of burglary or tdpd has been marked out by one of
the gang, and conceal themselves in the neighbourhood or
arrive in the vicinity after night-fall. Having committed their
burglary or tdpd they then disperse, after dividing the
property stolen or making it over to one of the gang with a
view to its disposal and future division of the proceeds.
If one of the gang, invariably disguised as a faqir or
religious mendicant, goes to a village " to spy out the land,"
the rest are left behind, a signal, such as the call of some
common animal or bird, having been agreed on ; in his
absence, should any one chance to be too inquisitive in
282 APPENDIX III.
his enquiries as to the business of those left behind, or
should they, for some reason, deem it advisable to move on,
one of the gang will sometimes make on the ground with his
foot a very superficial mark like this :
a mark which, even if noticed, would never cause any sus-
picion to the person noticing it. This is interesting as greatly
resembling the marks used by European gypsies.
On his return the spy will see if there is any mark ; if
there is one, the line will point out the direction in which his
friends have gone ; if there is not, he will go to some neigh-
bouring eminence, such as a sand-hill, and emit the call
previously agreed on, which will generally be answered by one
of his friends and enable him to find them.
If a Harni cannot obtain the co-operation of other Harnis,
he co-operates, but very raYely, with non-Harni bad characters,
but never with those of the village in which the offence is to
be committed. He will usually, in such circumstances, resort
to some influential Jat Sikh, and, obtaining from him a place
of concealment and valuable information, await a suitable
opportunity for committing an offence.
Cases have been known in which a Harni has proceeded to
some village or town and taken up his abode in the takia
as a faqir, collecting information for the benefit of other
Harnis who may visit him.
No Harni will commit or attempt to commit a burglary
single-handed.
No Harni will seek, as confederates in crime, members of
other criminal tribes, except, and then very rarely, Sdnsis.
The following are the places most frequently patronised
by Harnis for the commission of crime : —
i. The Panjab, south and east of the Jhelum and Rawal-
pindi districts (although they have been arrested as far
west as Multan), and the adjoining Native States, but
principally the Ambala, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Feroze-
pore and Ludhiana districts, and the Native States of
Patiala and Faridkot.
HAKNIS. 283
2. Burma, and chiefly Mandalay.
3. Haiderabad (Deccan).
4. Aurangabad.
5. Bombay Presidency — Surat, Nasik and Bombay.
6. The Central Provinces.
7. Madras.
8. Ceylon.
Nagpur and the Deccan are patronised mainly by the
Harnis of Bodalwala and Tappar ; Bombay and Burma by
those of Bir and Mirpur ; the Harnis of Kiri seldom, if ever,
leave the Panjab, though one was arrested recently in
Bombay.
In Bombay, the Harni, in some cases works at the docks
as a ship's painter or as a stoker ; but, as a rule, he wanders
about in the garb of a faqir, and by trading on the susceptibi-
lities of generous and religious-minded persons, reaps a rich
harvest, in most cases from Rs. 15 to Rs. 30 a month, inas-
much as the shop-keepers of Bombay are said to be very
averse to refusing alms to religious-mendicants, and the Harni,
well disguised as a.fayir, and calling loudly and speciously on
the name of God, imposes greatly on his dupes.
A number of the Harni women of the Jagraon ildka in
the Ludhiana district reside in Bombay and do very well by
following the " oldest profession in the world," inasmuch as
they enjoy a very large share of the patronage of Panjabi stokers
and sailors, who, when paid off at the end of a voyage,
generally have a fair amount of money, which they are not
slow in spending, and the greater part of which generally finds
its way into the hands of these ' Harnianis.' Their husbands
and relatives not only acquiesce in this, and are said, in some
instances, to have lived in the houses in which their women
ply their nefarious trade and to have acted as door-keepers
to the apartments in which they receive their visitors.
Owing to the houses in Bombay being pakka} i. e., of
burnt brick and mortar, the Harni commits no burglaries there
and confines himself to stealing such articles as may be lying
about in the front or neighbourhood of shops, etc. It is said
that Harnis, when going to Bombay, travel by the narrow
gauge railway via Bandikui, at which place there is said to
be a rich Muhammad an butcher, who, believing them to be
284 AI'PKNDIX III.
faqirs, sends them free of charge to Bombay in the trains
which convey his animals there weekly.
Beyond the PanjAb, and when wandering about India and
Burma, they adopt the following disguises and roles : —
(a) Jugglers and acrobats, in which case they perform
somersaults, sleight-of-hand tricks, etc., for which they
are particularly well fitted by their strong and wiry
bodies and active habits.
(b) Faq'irs. — Asfagirs they will state themselves to be of
the Qadria, Benawa or Banwa, Gurzmar or Gurjmar,
Madari, Husseini, Naushahi and Majawir sects, while
some give themselves out to be ' Panjabi faqirs] a very
general term which may mean anything.
If asked their ' shijra ' or genealogy, they will readily give
a genealogy reaching back to the prophet Ali, and
state, as a rule, that their pir or saint is Taimur Shah
of Surat.
(c) Mtrdsis. — As such they will sing to the accompaniment
of the drum and make a fair livelihood by this means.
(d} Qalandars. — In thi's case they will give performances
with dancing bears and monkeys ; they are very skilful
in this and seem, in this pursuit, to completely take in
the police and the public as to their real personalities,
and to make a very good living. They follow this
calling nearly invariably only in Burma, where these
performances appear to appeal greatly to the people
of the country, and the performer is well rewarded.
(e} In some cases, and then only in such parts of the
Panjab where they would not be considered foreigners,
but very seldom, they go about as potters (Kumhars),
Banjaras or Baisatis (i. e., grain merchants), or Rains,
i. £., husbandmen or dealers in hides, etc.
(f) Some who went in the direction of Colombo are said
to have taken up pocket-picking and pocket-cutting,
being disguised, when necessary, as ' Pan}abi fagirs.'
(g) Others were said to be in Aurangabad and Parbani
in the Deccan, and to have adopted the guise of
Husseini and Naushahi faqirs, and to have indulged in
swindling passers-by on roads by gambling.
(h) Last year a gang was said to be in Mandalay ; its
members were stated by ' informers ' to be living by
HARNIS. 285
performing tricks with bears and monkeys, one of the
gang also indulging in the robbery of travellers by the
administration of stupefying drugs.
In some cases these absentees indulge in work on rail-
ways as gangmen, etc., but they seldom keep to it for any
length of time and soon take to some unsettled means of
livelihood, such as bear-leading, etc. At the same time, it is
only right to say that one or two of the absentee Harnis, who
have been arrested in Bombay in former years, have really
been earning an honest livelihood as ships' painters and
stokers, and some, who have been granted passes, still
do so.
We may, therefore, hold, with a considerable degree of
correctness, that the Harni will ordinarily indulge in his own
province, in burglary and tdpd, and in other provinces in
begging, prostituting his women, cheating (by gambling),
petty thefts, pocket-picking (uchakagi) and pocket-cutting
(jebtardshi), and, in very exceptional cases, robbery by the
administration of stupefying drugs : that, in his own province,
he will adopt no disguise or else assume the part of a faqir,
husbandman or Arain, etc., and, elsewhere, the roles which
I have already mentioned.
The roles assumed are always Muhammadan ones and
I have heard of only one Harni who adopted Hindu disguises,
i. e., of a Brahmin, etc.
Their appearance (when they absent themselves) is greatly
altered by large beards, for they are said to employ a prepara-
tion of cocoanut oil which causes a very rapid and thick growth
of beard. Two Harnis captured in Madras certainly had larger
and thicker beards than any I have seen worn by any Harni
in this district.
The Harni, before absenting himself (without permission) for
a tour in India or Burma, takes care to suffer as little loss as
possible in so doing. Hence, sometimes before going away, he
will sell or mortgage bd-qabzd (that is, the mortgagee has full
possession of the land until redeemed) any land he may possess
to some fellow Harni, and whether any money ever changes
hands is extremely doubtful. As a rule, he cannot so
dispose of his house, but this is also arranged for. The
Harni departs and cannot be traced, and the machinery of
the law begins to move against him. Evidence is recorded
against him under section 512 of the Criminal Procedure
286 APPKNDIX III.
Code, and under the provisions of sections 87 and 88 of the
same code, his goods are confiscated to the Crown and
auctioned. All that the Crown can seize, if anything, is the
absentee's house and this is knocked down to some relation
of the absentee for a mere pittance, for no outsider will be fool
enough to step in and bid for or buy it.
The absentee has, meantime, sought other ' climes '
(or, at any rate, districts). In a short time, money begins
to arrive at his village, remitted by him by money-order
from time to time to his relatives through the Jagraon post
office or to trusty go-betweens living in Jagraon or elsewhere.
This money is well invested or stored up by his relatives
against the day of his return. He remains away, sometimes
a few years, sometimes many, and, in a few cases, for ever.
As a rule he returns sooner or later ; sometimes in custody
at Government expense ; not unoften he comes back to his
village and surrenders himself to the police. In either case,
when produced in court, his defence is the same — a piteous
tale of woe of hard times in the village, no means of sub-
sistence ; his constant appeals for passes or tickets-of-leave
to seek work never heeded or answered by a hard-hearted
police, unacquainted with his needs and circumstances ; his
gallant struggle to earn a meagre but honest livelihood in a
land far distant from his well-loved home — and has completely
hood-winked many a soft-hearted magistrate, unacquainted
with the Harni, into passing on him a sentence of the most
extraordinary lightness.
Having cheerfully served his time in jail, he returns to
his village and lives on the proceeds of his tour for the rest
of his life (except when they are so insufficient as to cause
him to go on another tour in foreign parts), redeeming the
land he mortgaged before his departure or buying that of
others. In some cases he then sets down to a life of agri-
culture, often getting a sdnji or partner to do the brunt
of the work, and in a few years begins to clamour — on the
score of a blameless life !— to be exempted from the provisions
of the Criminal Tribes Act, and, sometimes, with the aid of
a complacent thdneddr is successful in getting a pass of
life-exemption from the Criminal Tribes Act.
These methods of crime are not practised by the Gownimar
Harnis, who are found only in the village
Gownimar Harms. t tr* ' • *u T JL* j'A'i 'i
of Kin in the Ludhiana district, and
HARMS. 287
I believe, in one village near Kartarpur in the Jullundur
district and in one or two villages in the Hoshiarpur district.
Their principal method of crime is common to, I think, no other
criminal tribe or class in the world, and is this.
Both formerly and at the present day, but to a smaller
extent, their women, who, when young, are said to be (to
borrow a phrase from Mr. Gordon's remarks on female
Berihas) " handsome wenches and endowed with a saucy
frankness which contrasts favourably with the demeanour of
the ordinary native woman of the plains, '' while young and
comely, enter the houses of rich and well-to-do persons as
servants, mistresses or wives. After the lapse of some time,
which may extend to several years, they seize a suitable
opportunity and make over articles of jewellery or other valu-
ables which can be conveniently carried off, to some of their
male relative, who, on information supplied, visits the house
as a faqir or religious mendicant, or else they themselves
take such articles and vanish, leaving behind them as a
souvenir or memlut for their masters or husbands, as the case
may be, any children they may have borne during their
residence with them. Should, by any chance, it come to
light, before they can make their escape, that they have thus
disposed of jewellery or valuables belonging to their masters
or husbands, they boldly defy the latter to do anything
or to inform the police, and by threatening to say that they
are either of some very low caste, such as the sweeper, or
of a criminal tribe, and to thus expose their masters or hus-
bands to the shame and possibly blame of having knowingly
kept such a person in their houses ; and for this reason the
men are, as a rule, only too glad to make the best of the loss
they have suffered and to turn the women out of their houses
and wash their hands of them. This being all that the
woman desires, she makes her way home and enjoys with her
relatives the fruits of her wrong-doing.
The Gownimars are also said to enter in disguise houses
in which marriage or other ceremonies are taking place and
large number of people are assembled, steal any articles they
can conveniently conceal on their persons, but at the present
day, at any rate, no such cases have come to notice in this
district.
They are said, too, to commit burglary, but to no very
gieat extent.
288 APPENDIX III.
In the Harni village of Kiri the Harni is very well-behaved
at present ; the men are taking up
1 agriculture and cultivate, besides the
land of their own village, land belong-
ing to neighbouring villages. The women are ceasing to
follow their hereditary traditions and the men are settling
down to the ordinary existence of the Panjabi Muhammadan.
In the Harni village of Bir, Tappar and Bodalwala and
the village of Mirpur (of which the Harnis form about a
quarter of the population), the case is different ; the inhabitants
are a stiff-necked race, of whom few have any real love for
agriculture ; the majority prefer to grow and trade in vege-
tables, or convey goods on camels or in bullock carts and,
for this reason, often mortgage their land to purchase camels
or bullock carts and oxen. Some, but very few, obtain passes
and serve on camels, one or two working at the docks in
Bombay, and three are policemen in different places. They
continually absent themselves for long periods, and, after their
return and subsequent term of prison-life, live in comfort for
some time after. Locally they do little crime except an
occasional burglary.
In the other villages, the population of which they form
a very small part, the Harnis are generally very well-behaved
and make a very comfortable livelihood by agriculture, some
owing a fair amount of land and others being hereditary
tenants (nuufdra mdurusi).
It must, however, be said in favour of the Harni in his
large villages in this district that he is what he is owing, to
a very great extent, to force of circumstances. In the inspec-
tion register of Jagraon police station, are many complaints
by several District Superintendents of Police, these complaints
extending to some thirty years back, to the effect that the
Harnis of the Jagraon sub-division have not sufficient means
of livelihood and that Government has not complied with
sections 3 and 4 of the Criminal Tribes Act, i. e., in satisfy-
ing itself that the members of this tribe had sufficient means
of livelihood before registering them and bringing them under
the provisions of the Criminal Tribes Act.
The land belonging to each village is probably the same
as (and the population no less) it was in 1873 and the land
at present in these villages is not sufficient for the subsistence
of the inhabitants of these villages. Thus —
HARMS. 289
Amount of cultivated
Ullage. Population. land belonging to village.
Acres.
Bir ... 554 315
Mirpur ... 333 468
Tappar 448 134
Bodalwala ... 460 554
Kirf ... 314 422
It is clear from this, reckoning the average annual yield
of an acre as being about 20 maunds (kham] of grain, that,
even if there was no revenue to pay, the land of these villages
is not enough to sustain its inhabitants.
Some of these Harnis, but not very many, are beginning
to take passes and go to other villages for a season and join
land-owners in cultivation, while others work on brick-kilns.
In Kapurthala State, Harnis are, I am told, employed in
the army and give satisfaction.
In conclusion, one may say that the Ludhiana Harnis are
most notorious, being followed closely in this respect by those
of Ferozepore, and, but not so closely, by the Harnis of the
Jullundur and Hoshiarpur districts.
Even at the present day, the neighbours of the Harnis
of large villages are very loth to complain of or give evidence
against them for two reasons : —
(a) because they form liaisons with their women ;
(b) because they are afraid of the Harnis retaliating
and destroying their crops.
The language of the Harni is Panjabi, that is, the grammar
and idiom are Paniabi, but the Harni
Language. . . . , J , , .
in conversing with men of his own
tribe will use so many peculiar words, that two Harnis
can carry on a conversation of which the uninitiated will
understand neither the meaning nor the drift.
I attach a list of about a hundred of the most common
words used by them. In them it is noticeable that several
words are used with meanings other than those they bear in
Urdu or Panjdbi : —
Harni idiomatic words. English meaning.
bahli ... ... Harni.
nikh'iro ... ... thief.
pothi ... . . the comrades of the thief.
B 514—19
290
APPENDIX III.
Harni idiomatic words.
dahli
sharna
aera
gandi
tilkni
katwa
jhala
bhasriwala
rizak dewa
bahlia darhli birk
mundiwala
tauriwala
chhandria
kathra
bokhra
khonk
dhotni
but
butni
pila
baggi
hatongar baggi
hatongar pila ...
bhadrian
dalha
dadoni
jhanjhi
diwa
titan
poh
obharja
katra hogia ; thara hogia
ubhro.
jamjao
dhotni upar ke batak h£ ...
barki pei h6 ...
khassan
khassan mun satto
chhitra
khundi
agri
English meaning.
stick or club.
cloth or clothes.
clothes worn when commit-
ting a theft.
burglary : the act of burglary.
shoe.
a man of another tribe.
zaildar.
instrument of burglary.
giver of food.
' oppose them ' or ' resist
them.'
lambardar ; a tricky word, as
mundi is common Panjabi
for a ring.
chowkidar.
shop-keeper.
a Jat or Jat.
sweeper.
house or building.
woman.
boy or son.
girl or daughter.
gold.
silver.
ornaments of silver.
ornaments of gold.
ear-rings of gold.
necklace or bracelet.
plate.
dark night.
moonlight night.
fire.
buried articles.
run away.
(said while committing an
offence) ; the .stranger
knows ; a stranger has
come, run away.
hide.
the woman sleeps on the
roof.
the woman is careless.
wall.
contrive to climb the wall.
rupee. (In Panjabi chhitra,
broken shoe.)
an eight-anna bit.
two-anna or four-anna bit.
HARNIS.
291
Harni idiomatic words.
mata ho ja
hokna
naka ; naki
kadi
dhaski
rorkani
naka daunle
dharki
bukni
nakhar barki hui
sakli hogia
barmohan
wadda gehra ...
barmohani
gehra soraida ...
chatta karo
burkna rodla ...
dochu soti
tauriwala taunkda
gauni vich katwa burklo
naundhria
sohli
bumba
hatarka
shakar jatde
obhakavva
daddu burk de . . .
ronda
khula chhaukra
sufedi
thongria
kanipatta
chathha
bagge chhokre wala
nabal
chikna
dhukhna
rada
tokna penda ...
gharisna
tusia mata
rori
hateli gandi
khonk uparle chokre lagdi
he.
English meaning.
absent yourself or make
yourself scarce,
horse,
ox ; cow.
buffalo,
wheat,
gram.
cattle theft,
sword,
gun.
stolen property,
he has been put in prison,
jail.
jail daroga.
fetters or handcuffs,
rich.
hide the property.
' huqa.'
' chilum.'
the chowkidar wanders about,
rob some one on a. road,
a Sansi.
bread,
liquor,
the thief's penknife or
sickle,
to remove the earth from the
hole made by the burglar,
box.
break the lock,
hook,
open door,
cloth.
goldsmith or banker,
clean place,
grove of trees,
a European or an English
gentleman,
ghi.
oil.
a Gujjar.
meat.
the dog barks,
cart.
a weak constable,
ladder,
to mark a burglarious hole
below.
the hole (of burglary) is or.
• top or above.
292
APPENDIX III.
Harni idiomatic words
bhart wali . ,
mudki wale da khonk
bhasne d;i khonk
bahli nu kharlia
mosliwala
bagge chhokre da
balharkna
dhontia da dahla
bagle da khonk
nokhi ho gia . ..
chatna
agrei
kolohti
khotne dani
saul
saulni
English meaning.
the place for making the
burglary hole is hard,
the house of a Mirasi.
the house of a Sayyad or
faqir.
they have thrown down the
Harni.
native state territory.
British territory,
camel,
there is a bed in front of the
burglary hole,
the house of a Rajput,
some one has been killed,
sugar or flour (?)
a pice.
blanket or rug.
turban,
penis.
mulieris pudenda.
In religion the Harni is, according to his lights, a strict
Suni, but his religion does not prevent
Religion. , • , . \. ..
a desire for and an appreciation of
alcoholic liquors, a desire which he will generally gratify on
any ' red letter ' day, especially when funds are plentiful.
They greatly reverence Sayyads, and hold in special esteem,
being Muhammadans of the Qadri and Hanfi sects, Pir Shah
Abdul Karim Sahib of Delhi, whose tenets they follow. They
hold in respect the pilgrimage to Mecca, and, among places
the Khanqah of Shad6 Shah in village Gagra, the Khanqah
of Hassu Shah in village Tappar, the Khanqah of Zahir Wali
in village Bodalwala (all these three villages are in the Jagraon
sub-division of the Ludhiana district), and to a greater extent,
the Khanqah of Amin-ud-din Chisti in Ajmer Sharif, and the
Khanqah of Taimur Shah in Surat, and, to a very great
extent, the Khanqah of Hazrat Shah Abdul Karim Sahib,
referred to above in Delhi.
Very few of them have more than one wife, and the men
marry only women of their own tribe.
*****
The Harni (male) adult is, on an average, about 5 feet
„. . , 7 inches in height. They are well,
Physique and appearance, etc. / , .. fc . .J ">
but not heavily made, wiry, muscular,
sinewy and very healthy.
HARNIS.
293
They are of a free and outspoken disposition, not slow
to voice their sentiments or air their grievances, and hold no
one in respect or fear.
They are not such fluent or perfect liars as members of
other criminal tribes : and, if treated well and approached in
the right way, will sometimes give information about the doings
of members of their tribe.
They are taught habits of endurance and activity from boy-
hood ; and it is said that a full-grown Harni could, if necessary,
go ten or fifteen kos (twelve to twenty miles) and back between
sunset and sunrise and commit a burglary too.
The usual dress of the men is a small turban of coarse cloth,
a kurta or jacket of the same cloth, and a short or long teh-band
(or loin-cloth tied round and hanging from the waist) according
to their work or occupation at the time. To this is often added
a waistcoat, and sometimes, an old, ill-fitting coat ; while in cold
weather, like other natives, they envelop themselves in a lot or
rug or thick sheet (Panjabi dohar),
The women always wear petticoats and neither they nor the
men ever wear pajamas or pantaloons.
Practically none of them have received any education, nor
do any desire it.
* * • • •
This tribe is also known as Machhimar, i. e.} slayers of fish,
p khiwdra an^ tnere ^s no doubt that it is an off-
shoot of the Harni tribe. This tribe
is found chiefly, if not wholly, in the Sialkot district and also
goes by the name of Chirimar, Arain, and sometimes M£o,
i. <?., dwellers by rivers. It is registered under the Criminal
Tribes Act in Sialkot district.
The members of this tribe frequently leave their villages
and come to the Ferozepore and Lahore districts for crime
and, on these occasions, live with zamindars or agriculturists,
who are acquainted with them. In villages they pose as
goats' hides merchants, or sell tooth-powder, rosaries, etc., to
the women, and in this manner become acquainted with the
ins and outs of the houses, which is of great assistance to
them in the commission of crime. On dark nights they
commit thefts at railway stations and goods sheds and on
trains and are also addicted to burglary. They also commit
burglary, but, unlike the Harni, generally make an entry
through the roof. They commit their offences in the same
294 AiM'Kxmx in.
way as Harnis, i. e., at places distant from their homes. They
visit, in the Ferozepore district, the Dogars living near the
river, and are said to pay them monthly sums of money for
their assistance.
Some are said to visit the Samm6 mohalla near the Bhati
Gate of Lahore city and commit burglaries, etc., in Anarkalli
and other places. Ostensibly they are mild and pleasant-
spoken persons, but in reality they are criminals of the most
desperate and reckless nature and hesitate neither to inflict
hurt nor to suffer it.
Their women are rank prostitutes, not only in villages, but
in cantonments, etc., and convey news for their men.
The men are generally of wheat complexion, big eyes, to
which they frequently apply siu-uni, and of strong build
and frequently wear gdnis, or very small rosaries, round
their necks, and affect the appearance of zamindars.
They are of the Muhammadan religion.
The women wear petticoats, and the men dress like Harnis
except that they give a -mat to their turbans, i. e., twist the
folds in tying them. They carry huqds and tawds (iron
vessels for cooking chapdtis).
It is natural that his surroundings, his religion and his
intermarriages with other races have had a marked effect on
the physical attributes of the Harni ; and, even if it cannot
be said that he resembles in figure or feature members of
Hindu criminal tribes, such as the Sansi and the Bauriah,
though (I am told) there is no very marked bodily difference
between him and the Biloch or the Pachada, yet the moral
attributes of both the Harni and every other criminal tribe,
Hindu or Muhammadan, i. e., their excessive powers of lying,
their love of liquor and tobacco, their looseness of character,
the general prostitution of their women, their garb (for very
few members, male or female, of criminal tribes, at least in
the Panjab, wear pajamas or pantaloons), their special
languages (the variations in which are fully accounted for by
eminent authorities), their inveterate love of theft and robbery,
and, lastly, their dislike to a settled life, point to and prove
their common stock, i. e.t that of the Indian aborigine or gipsy,
the ancestor of all the gipsies of the continents of Europe
and Asia.
HARMS. 295
I close this report by expressing my great obligation to
Mr. J. P. Warburton, formerly of the Panjab Police and now
Inspector-General of Police, Patiala, for his full account (left
by him in the Ludhiana district) of the Harnis up to the year
1873, and for the copious information and valuable advice,
which he has been good enough to give me on various occasions,
regarding this tribe, and I regret that I have not been able to
consult him, as fully as I wished, on some of the points set
down in this report.
AIM'KNDIX IV.
Chandrawedis.
The following information on a criminal organization styled
' Chandrawedis ' has been collated with the assistance of some
of its members, acknowledged experts of the community, by
the Criminal Branch of the Indore State Police*
The tradition of the origin of this criminal band, as handed
down among themselves, is briefly as follows : —
About 66 years ago there lived in village Raruwa (south-
west of Alampur) in Datia State two Sanawars or Sanoriyas
who claimed to be Brahmins, named Ramlal and Madan
Prasad. They were both learned men, and it is said that one
of them was able to predict events, while the other could
understand the language of birds. It so happened that a rich
merchant was going with his wife on a pilgrimage to Jagannath
when Ramlal and Madan Prasad met them at a river. While
they were drinking water, a crow sitting on a tree commenced
cawing. The Brahmin told his companion that the crow had
said that if any one got possession of the merchant's walking-
stick, he would become rich. Highway robberies, etc., were
rife at this period and travellers used to resort to various
devices to conceal, their valuables. Sometimes gold mohurs
were sewn between the soles of shoes or between the folds of
dirty-looking mattresses. This travellei had filled the hollow
of his walking-stick with gold mohurs. The two Brahmins
accompanied the merchant for a part of the journey, and, as
soon as opportunity presented itself, relieved him of his
walking-stick and decamped. Encouraged by the success of
their first attempt, Ramlal and his comrade not only took it up
as a trade, but opened a private school in their village where
they taught small boys, irrespective of caste, the art of
stealing during the day. Prior to admission, the lads were
made to swear by the moon that they would never commit
thefts by night. The exploits of these persons were noised
abroad and attracted the attention of the Maharaja of Datia
who found them such faithful and profitable subjects that when
a big darbar was held in Delhi, with a view to secure his own
safety and that of his property on the journey to and from the
darbar, he took a large number of the followers of Ramlal
and Madan Prasad with him to Delhi. They did their duty so
well that when the question came up in the darbar as to which
CHANDRAWEDIS.
'97
class of subjects of the various States were the most loyal
.ind profitable, the Maharaja of Datia cited the valuable
attributes of the followers of Ramlal and Madan Prasad, on
which their methods were discussed and they were for the
first time dubbed with the name of ' Chandrawedis ' as a
special mark of distinction.
Chandra wedi is a pure Sanskrit word derived from the
following roots : —
} The men whose (thieving) acts are
")
}
The men whose acts are bored into
^ferreted out) by the light of the
Chandra (moon) ) Th,e ™" wh°, °.bserve the moon (';'-
wdi (observes). f desist fr°mf f °lng wro"S owin* to the
J presence of the moon).
It was first presumed that the Chandrawedis belonged to
one sect of Hindus, but enquiries have established the fact
that Chandrawedis are not a class but a confraternity of
criminals recruited from any caste of Hindus (except Sweepers
or Chamars) or even Mahomedans.
(NOTE : — There are at the present only two known Maho-
medan Chandrawedis.)
There are two forms of initiation, one used with children,
the other with adults : —
(1) Children. — Little boys are admitted to a school where
they are taught the art of ' lifting.'
(2) Adults. — Before anything is taught in the case of
adults they are required to take a solemn oath on the ' Tulsi
Ganga ' that they will under no circumstances divulge the
secrets of the fraternity.
For the first year, the novice has to remain on the staff
at head-quarters, and is styled a ' derawala ' (i. e., one who
stays at home). During his novitiate, a ' derawala ' is only
entitled to a half share. If a ' derawala ' has proved himself
faithful to the gang during the first year, he is, in the second
year if he desires it, made either an ' upardar,' which means a
conductor, or a ' chawa ' (or ' khaleth ') which means
' uthaigir ' [i. e., the man who does" the ' lifting ' (stealing)], or
he may, if he elects, continue to be a ' derawala.' This post,
however, owing to the small risk incurred, only entitles him to
a smaller share of the plunder. An ' upardar ' can advance
298 APPENDIX IV.
himself to the position of a ' nalband ' or leader. A
1 nalband ' is usually the richest man in the gang, a position
reached only after many years of successful thieving. He is
always a man of influence and usually commands a following
of from ten to twenty. ' Nalband s ' are self-elected by virtue
of their skill, experience and wealth.
As ' Chandra wedism' has become synonymous with rapid and
comparatively easy acquisition of property, combined with few of
the risks attendant on more violent forms of crime, the number
of recruits to its ranks has rapidly increased. From the time
of its conception, when it consisted of only two members (its
founders), to the present day, ' Chandrawedism ' has taken
root and thriven to an abnormal extent, there being at the
present time several colonies in Alampur with ramifications in
Datia, Gwalior, Jhansi and other parts of Bundelkhand.
A ' nalband ' usually selects little boys in preference to
adults, because instruction is quickly imparted and thieving
thus learnt is more dexterously accomplished. The number
of boys under training with a ' nalband ' varies from one to
six, and the art, which they are taught, has twro names :• —
(1) ' par -si ' (i. £., secret code vocabulary), and
(2) ' tent ' (i. e., secret code signals).
The ' parsi ' vocabulary is fairly extensive ; some of it is
given below. It is chiefly confined to nouns and has no
grammar, so that to talk ' Parsi' it is necessary to amalgamate
it with Hindi : —
C hand rawed i. English.
khutarya ... bundle.
kaniyai ... purse (money-bag).
gond ... turban (safa*).
kaithi (kamthi) ... turban (pugree^).
pun-pathoo ... dhoti.
tanai . . . coat.
pujani ... drinking-pot.
thanki . . dish.
damri or nethi . . . rupee.
dande ... copper coin.
kanpi ... cowries (shells).
gulli ... mohur (gold coin= Rs. 15).
bardala . . . armlet.
paiti ... toda or silver leg ornament.
gallaga ... necklace.
' Safa and phcta are the plain turban.
t Pugree is the embroidered turban with gold or silver fringed ends.
CHANDRAVVEDIS. 299
Chandrawedi. English.
pitghesa or gunjitlai. .. gold necklace.
nukli ... nose-ring.
tokiya asur gaya ... a police constable is coming.
khanchdev ... hide it.
ukanjao ... run.
seyand ... gold.
uben . . . silver.
setra . . . book.
1. bakhole ~\
2. gonia ... shoes.
3. gudari J
rungathiojaw ... sheet of cloth.
khol . .. bania's shop.
kathari ... a safe for depositing valuables.
teda ... lock and key.
dharkarana ... door.
lamani ... chain.
banari ... walking-stick.
mamada bhapat hai... you are being watched.
' Tent ' consists merely of signs. For instance, an ' upar-
dar ' is conversing with a victim while one of his lads is
standing near by, and there is something to be lifted, the
' upardar ' raises his hand to his cheek-bone and begins
to scratch, which means ' approach nearer.' Next he raises
his elbow and points it in the direction in which the article
is lying ; at this sign the boy picks up the article. If the
' upardar ' finds that the boy is watched, he closes one hand,
turns the fist upwards and strikes the palm of the other,
which means ' wait for further orders.' When the coast is
clear, he brings his hands to his chest and gently raises one
elbow, which means ( run away with it.' If the boy is detected
after picking up an article, the ' upardar's ' hand is raised to the
shoulder and the elbow brought downwards, which means
' drop it and bolt.' If successful in the attempt and the
question is what should be done with the stolen article, both
hands are opened out, and one is made to pass below the other
pointing to the ground indicating ' bury it.' If the elbow of
one arm is raised and the other hand with the thumb turned
outside moved across the waist, it signifies ' take possession
of the waist-purse only from the clothes, etc., lying there' ; and
so on ad infinitum. An ' upardar ' can thus communicate
almost any order to a ' chawa ' by means of signals.
If a ( nalband ' is thoroughly satisfied that the training
he has given is complete, he starts out, usually after the rains
300 AITKNDIX IV.
in October or November (after the Dasht-ra), with a gang
composed of ten or t \\vntv, half nf the number being usually
youths and the other half men. Before leaving head-quarters
with his gang, the ' nalband ' sends for a ' Jotishi ' or soothsayer,
offers him sweetmeats, and asks him in what direction they
should go, and what time would be most propitious for the start.
The ' Jotishi ' consults his ' panchang ' or astrological almanac,
and tells him when he should set forth, and which direction he
should proceed in. There are no other particular ceremonies
observed, or omens consulted, before the gang sallies forth.
Some of the members are, however, usually advised to eat
curd mixed with rice and jaggery, and others to eat betel, and
some to have their clothes patched as directed by the
soothsayer, all these observances tending to bring success to
the expedition, and to defeat bad luck.
Before starting on an expedition, a ' nalband ' makes ample
provision for the wives and families of his party and arranges
for their requirements pending the return of the gang which
is usually in about eight months. If the ' nalband ' has not
sufficient money himself, he gets it on loan from a Bania at
the current rate of interest and keeps a careful account of all
advances he makes.
All being in readiness, the ' nalband ' appoints a place near
the outskirts of the village where the gang meets. The gang is
usually composed of one ' nalband,' one or two ' derawalas/ and
some ' upardars ' and ' chawas.' If after all have assembled
one of the members has forgotten anything or wishes to return
to say a word to some one in his family, the rule is that he
should, on no account, be allowed to return home, but must
send for the article, or the person he wishes to speak to. The
gang then proceeds in the direction indicated by the ' Jotishi/
selecting a locality in which they are not known. They then
decide on a line of country for their operations and break up
into batches of twos and threes as the case may be. The
members of each batch, which consists of an ' upardar ' and
one or two ' chawas/ then take tickets for a station just short
of the place for which they are actually bound, while the
' nalband/ accompanied by his ' derawalas/ alights at a pre-
arranged spot and awaits the return of each batch of his party
which by previous arrangement has to turn up within a given
period, usually about fifteen days.
Modus operandt. — When three or four Chandrawedis find
themselves in the midst of a thickly-crowded bazar, and they
CHANDRAWEDIS.
301
have decided on securing some particular property in the stall
of a shop, two of the gang pretend to begin a violent quarrel
in the vicinity, on which a crowd collects and the victim also
goes up to see what is the matter. A ' chawa ' has already
posted himself at a convenient spot and when the ' upardar '
sees that the victim's attention is thoroughly absorbed in the
fight, he gives the signal and the ' chawa ' lifts and slips
away with the article fixed upon.
A common practice in a fair when there is always a big
crowd and much commotion, is for an ' upardar ' and a
' chawa' to visit, say, a sweetmeat or any other shop where
there are several persons making purchases. The ' upardar '
waits till one of the buyers lays down the bundle to take out
his money or spreads his handkerchief out to receive the sweets
when he pushes close up to his side and signals to the ' chawa '
(perhaps, an innocent-looking little boy) who promptly clears
away with the bundle. If the ' chawa ' is caught, the ' upardar '
comes up as one of the crowd and urges pity for the brat ;
when, ten to one, the lad gets a slap or two and is let go and
takes to his heels and soon passes out of sight, while the
' upardar ' gradually ( dissolves ' with the crowd.
Sometimes three or four Chandrawedis visit a bathing
ghat where a number of pilgrims are bathing. Two or three
Chandrawedis begin to bathe while one lurks about near by.
The attention of the bathers is directed to something strange
in the water by one of the Chandrawedis or a diversion is
created in some other way which leads to a discussion. While
this is going on, the ' upardar,' who is standing near by,
pretends to take an active part in the conversation, while he is
at the same time actually directing the movements of a
' chawa ' who on the signal lifts and disappears with something
valuable which had been left by one of the bathers on the
ghat.
Chandrawedis also disguise themselves as servants and
take up employment in the houses of wealthy people. They
soon win the confidence of their employers by a show of
remarkable honesty, and so learn in which box the jewels and
other valuables are kept when they rob their masters and
disappear.
Sometimes when the occupants of a house are away on a
visit or a journey and the door is locked, a Chandrawedi turns
up and makes believe he is either the owner or a near relative
302 APPENDIX IV.
of the inmates. He opens the lock, enters the house, remains
there for two or three days and ultimately vanishes with all that
he can take away. By this ruse, Chandrawedis reap rich
harvests when there is an epidemic of plague in the town.
Occasionally a couple of Chandrawedis join a marriage
party travelling by road from one large town to another. They
proceed to cultivate the acquaintance of some rich person
whom they select as being the most gullible of the lot and
travel with the party for a few days. Early one morning, a
Chandra wed i creeps up to his new acquaintance who is sound
asleep and steals his bundle containing valuables. Before the
party awake, the Chandrawedis have put several miles between
themselves and their fellow travellers.
The railway also receives their particular attention. A
few Chandrawedis mix up with third class passengers in a
station and sit down among them, when they substitute one of
their own bundles, which contains nothing of value, for the
bundle of a well-to-do passenger. They also travel by train
and if they see a passenger sound asleep, pass his bundle
over to another Chandrawedi in the next compartment in the
same train. Sometimes a Chandrawedi disguises himself as
a woman, and gets into a female compartment, and when he
finds the women asleep, makes away with their bundles or
removes valuables from their persons while the train is in
motion between stations.
While the ' upardars ' and ' chawas ' are carrying on their
operations, the ' nalband ' halts, as already stated, at a
prearranged place which is called ' band ' in the Chandrawedi
language, and where he is free from suspicion and compara-
tively safe. The ' derawala ' is the caterer for the gang and
has to look after the pals, etc., while the ' nalband ' receives
all the stolen property, and directs the movements of the
gang. The several batches return to their camp on or before
the date previously arranged with such loot as they have
collected which is then weighed and roughly valued. Should
any of the members not return within the appointed time, it is
assumed that he has been arrested or that something unusual
has happened. If the missing member has been arrested,
the ' nalband ' never personally goes to his assistance but
arranges to send money for his defence and liberation.
Should the arrested person be convicted, the 'nalband' has
to support his family until his release and return from jail.
CHANDRAWEDIS.
During one season's tour, a gang of Chandrawedis will
visit several areas and usually return home towards the end
of June or the middle of July, partly because fairs and
marriages, etc., are not held during the rains and travelling is
difficult, also to enable them to look after their cultivation.
They do not cultivate much. Many of them purposely rent
fields to keep up the appearance of cultivators, but do not
till them although they pay the rent regularly.
After a successful trip and on their return to head -quarters,
the stolen property is either kept intact or is melted down, as
best suits the convenience of the ' nalband ' ; and a day is
fixed for its distribution. The village patwari and the Sonar
of the gang are called in, the price of the loot is determined,
and the division is made as follows : —
In addition to their respective shares, 15 per cent, is set
aside for the ' upardars ' and ' chawas.'
The patwari receives Re. i from each batch of three or
four men of which the whole party was composed.
The Sonar gets Re. i in the same way, i.e., if the gang of
twenty had divided up into parties of fours, the Sonar would
get Rs. 5.
Rs. 5 is given by each set in charity to the village temple
for the annual ' Navaratri ' sacrifice. The balance is then
divided up into equal shares, except that the ' nalband ' gets
two shares, and the remaining members, one share each.
The ' Jotishi,' too, comes in for a reward if his prophecies
have proved reliable.
If any member does not wish to take his share in actual
property but prefers ready-cash, the ' nalband ' has the option
of buying it up at a reduced rate, say, gold is Rs. 24 a tola,
the ' nalband ' will purchase it at Rs. 20 a tola.
Chandrawedis in the Indore State. — It is difficult to
ascertain when these people actually migrated from Raruwa,
the birthplace of ( Chandra wedism,' and came into this State;
but it is said that they have been in the following villages of
the Alamput pergana for several generations :—
(1) Salon. (5) Hasanpur.
(2) Bhitari. (6) Kadura.
(3) Barka. (7) Nowgaon.
(4) Khuja.
304 APPENDIX IV.
There are 327 adult male Chandrawedis at the present
time in these seven villages which have been recruited from
the following castes : —
(1) Kirars. (6) Brahmin (chiefly
(2) Kachhis. Sanoriyas).
(3) Kayastha. (7) Ahirs.
(4) Kalals. (8) Gaderias.
(5) Khangars. (9) Vadhias, etc.
Kirars and Sanoria Brahmins predominate.
Although Chandrawedis by profession, each member
strictly adheres to his caste, and there is no intermarriage
between castes. When, however, there is a marriage, all the
Chandrawedis participate in it. Cultivation is also followed
to a certain extent by those who remain at home, who also
work as day-labourers — this tends to divert suspicion.
The Chandrawedis have regular ' receivers ' of stolen
property in each of their own and other villages : the stolen
property is taken by these ' receivers ' for disposal to
Bombay and Jhansi, also to Datia and other States of
Bundelkhand.
Chandrawedis during their operations travel anywhere and
everywhere, Bombay, Poona, Bhavnagar, Kathiawar, Ajmer,
Jodhpur, the Panjab, the United Provinces, all the States of
Central India, and other places of importance. They do not
appear so far to have ventured into Southern India. It is
reported that a tax of Rs. 8 to Rs. i6per Chandrawedi is levied
by the petty local officials, no receipts, it need hardly be said,
being given for the payments. This is doubtless why the
Chandrawedis have been having so easy a time of it for many
years, and their operations have not been made public.
To look at, a Chandrawedi is like any ordinary native,
but they will know each other by sight or can easily identify
one of their profession by means of their secret codes. It
must, however, be added to his credit, that a Chandrawedi
never goes out armed, nor does he ever commit violent crime.
Stealing by night he considers an unpardonable sin, as he
glories in the fact that his art enables him to accomplish it in
broad daylight. Moreover, they never offer violence to any-
body, nor have they any cause to, as their methods of stealing
obviate the necessity for it. Gunthorpe in his " Hand-book on
Criminal Tribes " has described the habits of the Sanoriya
and it is obvious that they are the same as those of the
CHANDRAWEDIS. 305
Chandrawedis : 'Sanoriya ' is, however, a very old name while
' Chandra wedi ' is a comparatively modern one. These facts,
combined with the Chandrawedi version of their origin, make
it probable that the two Sanoriyas, Ramlal and Madan Prasad,
drifted down to Raruwa some fifty years ago, and that it is
from their disciples that the Chandrawedi confraternity has
sprung. In other words, Chandrawedism is an offshoot of the
Sanoriya tree. Another explanation is that ' Chandrawedi '
and ' Sanoria ' are synonymous terms, being merely different
names for the same society, much as the Kanjars of the
country round Agra are the same as the Berias or Baghorias
of Central India. This view is supported by the fact that the
Sanorias, though they claim to be true Brahmins of the
Sanadh or Sanaurehya section, are only spurious Brahmins,
seeing that they originally were, and I believe still are, recruited
as children from almost any Hindu caste. I believe, however,
that though for practical purposes Sanoryas and Chandrawedis
are much the same, still it is only the Brahmins, real or
assumed, among them who are Sanoriyas, while all the rest
who adhere to their respective castes come solely under the
classification of Chandrawedis. Thus a Sanoriya can be
classed as a Chandrawedi, but a Chandrawedi cannot be
classed as a Sanoriya.
C. M. SEAGR1M,
INDORE : Inspector General of Police,
Dated i6th February 1906. Indore State.
B 514.— 2O
APPENDIX V.
Chandrawedis.
Another account of this tribe was given by Mr. A. C.
Hankin, C. I. K., Inspector-General of Police and Prisons
in H. H. the Nizam's Dominions, when Superintendent of
Dacoity Operations, Bundelkhand, Central India, in 1893,111
a letter addressed to the General Superintendent of Operations
for the Suppression of Thagi and Dacoity, Calcutta, and as
the particulars given are instructive and some are not to be
found in Mr. Seagrim's account, the letter is reproduced for
general information.
In the year 1867 or thereabouts I believe an enquiry was
made through the Thagi and Dacoity Department regarding
the professional thieves known as ' Sonarias ' or ' Chandr-
behdis, ' with what result I do not know ; but in that same
year a special enquiry was made by Mr. Ross Knyvett,
District Superintendent of Police, Lalitpur, and also by Captain
Kincaid, Assistant Political Agent, Bundelkhand, whose reports
were forwarded to the Government of India in the Foreign
Department. Their enquiries were confined chiefly, I believe,
to British India, and Tehri or Orcha, a Native State in
Bundelkhand.
These Sonarias are, I believe, a registered class of criminals
in the North-Western Provinces, but not in the Central
Provinces. In the Native States they were ordered to be settled
down and no doubt a great many of them have settled down
and taken to cultivation ; but during my recent tour in the Datia
State of Bundelkhand and the Alampur parganah of Indore,
I have come to learn that the Darbars do not exercise such
a strict surveillence over the movements of these people as
they are expected to do, or as much as they would have one
believe they do. From enquiries I find that some hundreds
of these men are now absent from their homes on thieving
expeditions : they are scattered over the length and breadth
of India, visiting all the large fairs. A very large gathering of
them is expected at the coming ' Magh Mela ' to be held in
Allahabad. The majority of those now absent will not return
home till just before the rains, when they will return in shoals,
with the proceeds of eight months' ' loot. '
I have managed to get hold of some of them who are
willing to turn ' informers, ' and it is with the object of employing
CHANDRAWEDIS. 307
some of them that I now address you. The North-Western
Provinces Police and the Central Provinces Police would no
doubt like to employ some of them. The Railway Police too
could make great use of these men. Those who return home
by rail will alight at Gwalior, Sonagir, and Moth on the Indian
Midland Railway ; those who come by road, bringing their
' loot ' on ponies and camels, will pass chiefly through Native
States, crossing the Amola Chandaoni Ghot in Gwalior.
These are the chief places near here. They also alight at
Agra and Ajmere.
The castes that leave this part are Brahmins, Kirars,
Kangars, Kachis, and Ahirs ; some of these men accompanied
the last Kabul Expedition (not the Durand Mission). I merely
mention this to show what a distance they go.
These ' thugs ' or Chandrbehdis, as they are called, all
pay so much a head before they start on their expeditions.
The rates this year vary from Rs. 4 to 7, and is collected by
a special officer. Whether these amounts reach the State
treasuries or not, I am unable to say. I should hope not.
The probabilities are they do not, but are waylaid as the
' huq ' of some superior officials. Be this as it may, the men
are under the impression that it is collected for the Darbar.
On their return they are bound by oath in some States to
present as a nazar anything of very great value, such as
stones, valuable rings set with diamonds ; in others, they keep
all they can get, only paying the usual tax.
They leave generally after the Devali and Dessera after
doing pooja.
My informers estimate roughly that some 600 or 700 men
are now out from these parts — Datia, Alampur, and this side
of Gwalior.
They have ' thangs ' or receiving houses all over India,
the Banias being the chief offenders.
These ' thugs ' or Chandrbehdis are very expert thieves
and their tricks are no doubt well known to the police ; but I
will give a few examples which may prove useful as well as
interesting.
They never commit thefts by night.
Gangs vary from 2 to 15, and are headed by a man called
' jaita ' or ' mookiah ' ; these always take two shares of the
plunder ; each working member is called an ' oopardar,' and
he has a boy attached to him who is called a ' chawa.' They
308 APPKNDIX V.
do not work without these ' cha\v;is,' who are seldom over
twelve years of age or under eight.
The ' oopardars ' do the work of talking and engaging
the attention of the persons to be looted, whilst the ' chawa '
watches his opportunity and runs off with the ' loot/ which he
immediately hands over to another ' oopardar, ' who takes it
to the halting spot, and there it is quickly buried.
It sometimes happens that two gangs meet, and should
one need the help of the other, they divide the spoil equally.
They have signs by which they can recognise each other
anywhere.
They are great in committing thefts on the railways. Two
or three get into a railway carriage, and during the journey
they manage to pass the stolen property from one to the
other till the last one gets up and looks out of the window ;
seizing this opportunity he flings the article or bundle out of
the window and marks the spot by the number of telegraph
posts to the station ; they then alight and wend their way back
to pick up the ' loot.'
They also mix themselves with passengers who are busy
taking their tickets and watch any one who puts any parcel or
bundle down ; as soon as he does , the ' chawa ' is off with it and
they walk to the next station where they take their own tickets.
They also watch passengers getting, out at a station, one
who has a lot of baggage ; and after he has taken out 4 or 5,
and re-enters the carriage for another parcel, the ' chawa '
whips off one of the 4 or 5. By the time the passenger collects
and counts his things, his parcel has passed through several
hands.
When working in the streets and bazars they select a
high caste well-to-do looking man, and a ' chawa ' passing
by manages to rub some filth on his clothes with a stick ; a
friendly ' oopardar ' goes up to the man and tells him that he
did not make a very careful selection of the spot where he
last sat, and that he ought to wash his clothes at once. The
man at once makes for the nearest well, tank or stream, and
there proceeds to wash. The ' oopardar ' also goes to wash
his face and clean his teeth ; meanwhile the ever-present
' chawa ' whips off with the man's ' busni ' (purse).
Another dodge is for an ' oopardar ' to select a likely
looking individual, and get into conversation with him. A
second ' oopardar ' brushes past the two, nearly knocking
CHANDRAWEDIS. 309
them down. He is at once sworn at for his clumsiness and
he craves pardon, saying he is only a poor sweeper and meant
no harm. At the sound of the word ' sweeper,' the ' oopardar '
and his companion make off to wash, and at the washing place
the ' chawa ' performs his part of the trade by walking off with
the ' busni.'
At bathing ghats and river-side they watch for men who
go to bathe leaving their wives or mothers in charge of their
valuables. As soon as they spot such a woman, an ' oopardar '
will sit down in front of her to ease himself. She at once turns
her head to look the other way, and in slips the ' chawa ' and
is off with anything he can lay hands on. They watch Banias'
shops, and whilst the Bania is haggling with the ' bypari/ the
' chawa ' walks off with the bag of cash.
The Alampur ' thugs ' have changed their name to ' Teerat-
bashis. '
The Gwalior and Datia ' thugs ' call themselves ' Chandr-
behdis,' which I believe really means those that will not offend
by night or under the light of the moon ; they will not commit
a theft at night for anything ; they think it unlucky.
Towards Neemuch, I believe, they go by the name of
' Byparis.'
In the North-Western Provinces and Native State of
Orchha and Central Provinces they are better known as
' Sonarias.' In former days only Brahmins belonged to this
class, but it is now common to other castes. They are very
clever at whipping things out of tents, dodging the sentries in
a very clever but simple way.
The following vocabulary may prove useful if not already
known : —
a shawl ... ... ... beenjila.
a lotah ... ... ... peani.
a gun ... ... ... bharakni.
a sword ... ... ... dharaie.
a bundle ... ... ... kutaria.
a box ... ... ... chirayia.
a blanket ... ... ... rungatiao.
a purse ... ... ... bagori.
a pearl ... ... ... mijna.
a coral ... ... ... lalpa.
gold ... ... ... siand.
silver ... ... ... ooban.
copper pice ... . , ... daure.
a man ... ... ... nimtha.
a woman ... sainti.
3io
APPENDIX V.
a prostitute ...
a boy
a -id
tin-it
dhoti
pagri
angarka
angarki
bangles
gunj
nose-ring
elephant
camel
horse
bullock
cart
tt-nt
money-lender
thanadar
policeman . . .
rajah
zamindar
sahib
bania
attah
ghee
wood
lire
fire-place
a dog
to bury property
to sell property
a boy chawa is caught
a stick
a thali
mangama.
tuhira.
chaie.
g.-imaic and killaie.
puncl phuttoo.
kylhi.
taniar.
taniaie.
bardula.
pit-goosa.
nakoli.
sondia.
lumna.
phurka.
katwa.
dharkni.
khol.
tallia.
thola.
lokia.
barukri.
khadka.
kongia.
sinva.
khunja.
tooph.
banari.
keoli.
bithula.
do.
reh karei.
kunj-i-ao.
tekboh.
benari.
thanki-
They worship the goddess ' Devi.' They perform the
' Sath Narayan-ki-Katha ' ceremony, or in other words, distri-
bute part of the proceeds in charity. This is done by all
dacoits and professionals.
If any of these men are caught in Native States and put
into jail, they refuse to eat, and plead that they are poor Brah-
mins and feign dying, and thus often get out of jail. •
I have no doubt that most of what I have stated is stale
news to most District Superintendents of Police, but perhaps
all do not know where to trace these men to, as I know from
experience that they seldom or ever give correct names and
residences.
CHANDRAWEDIS. 311
The following villages in Datia contain these gentlemen,
some in small, others in large numbers: — (i) Rarwa, (2)
Parari, (3) Amaoli, (4) Mahona, (5) Rohoni, (6) Bagpura,
(7) Cheena, (8) Digwa, (9) Bhagwapura, (10) Rampura,
(n) Marseni, (12) Chamgan, (13) Katonda, (14) Eongri,
(15) Jaroli, (16) Murgawan, (17) Katapur, (18) Unchio, (19)
Korelta, (20) Rajora.
In Indore State, Alampur pargana — (i) Salaon, (2) Bhitari,
(3) Burko, (4) Khuja, (5) Hussanpur.
In Gwalior bordering Datia, Indore — (i) Gondari, (2)
Maithano, (3) Imilia, (4) Sora in the Daboh pargana.
AIM'l-XDIX VI.
Nowsarias.
Extract from the United Provinces Criminal Intelligence
Gazette, dated ist August 1906.
Allahabad, August ist. — A reference to this office was
made by the Criminal Investigation Department, Simla, regard-
ing a class of criminals known as ' Nowsarias.' It had been
noted that their modus operandi was similar to that of Sonorias
and Chandrawedis.
This is apparently not so : the latter are addicted to the
crimes of ' picking pockets ' and of shop-lifting,' both of which
offences are known in this country as ' uthaigiri. '
The ' Sonorias ' and the ' Chandrawedis ' are not a caste,
but a fraternity.
The ' Nowsarias,' however, cannot be classed in this way.
They are merely called Nowsarias because of their pursuit.
They are primarily card-sharpers, and the particular game
which they affect is that known as ' nausars?
1 Nausar,' and for that reason they are called ' Nausarbaz '
or ' Nausaria.' The game is played with an ordinary pack of
cards. Hands consist of three cards, and the highest hand
that can be held is three aces, which is known as nausar from
the fact that the holder of that hand receives nine times the
value of stakes from the other players.
There are two other hands known as sesar and dusar
which entitle the holders to three times and twice their stakes.
Incidentally, in order to attract players of means, one of
the party is frequently dressed as a ' nawab ' and stories are
circulated by the rest of the party as to his wealth and his
fondness for gambling. When they have succeeded in collect-
ing a number of players, they play nausar ^ or possibly some
other game, and it is found that the strangers always lose.
From this habit of personating a ' nawab ' it has been thought
that ' nowsara ' is a form of cheating by such personation, and
not merely of cheating ,at cards.
APPENDIX VII.
Bhatras.
The following is a useful note called from the Special
Supplement to the PanjAb Police Gazette dated i8th January
1907, and the Supplement to the Panjdb Police Gazette dated
9th August 1905, on Bhatras.
Note on Bhatras, dated the ^th August 1904, by W. A. Gayer, Esq.,
Assistant to the Inspector-General of Police, His Highness the
Nizam 's Dominions, Hyderabad.
Bhatras are a small tribe of swindlers who have settled
themselves in Sialkot district of the Panjab. They are said to
have come originally from Ceylon and have since divided into
two sects — the Mona Bhatras and the Sikh Bhatras.
The Mona Bhatras claim to be Brahmans, wear the sacred
thread, and observe all the ceremonies of the Sanatan Hindus,
but are looked down on by orthodox Brahmans because of
their practice of collecting charity at the times of eclipse, when
only the lowest classes of beggars are supposed to do so.
The Sikh Bhatras eat goat's flesh and observe the Sikh
custom of killing the animal to be eaten with one stroke of a
sword : otherwise they follow the tenets of the Mona, except
that they do not wear the sacred thread. They wear their hair
long like other Sikhs, but preserve to themselves the right to cut
it and shave, if this should be necessary for purposes of disguise.
This reservation is probably a privilege self assumed to meet
the necessities of the swindling profession to which they belong.
In their own district the conduct of the Bhatras is most
circumspect. They have, I believe, never been caught steal-
ing or taking part in any of the more exciting classes of crime
against property, nor do they carry on their swindling practices
in or near their own district. Probably with the object of
outwardly appearing what they profess to be, merely beggars
and fortune-tellers, Bhatras live in their own villages in the
most squalid style, several living together crowded into a room
which would barely hold two in even such slight comfort as is
ordinarily desired by the poorest classes of native society.
They can, therefore, once safely home, defy the police to touch
314 Al'l'l.MHX VII.
them under Chapter VIII of the Criminal Procedure Code,
and live in perfect security and spend their money on drink
and in gambling, the chief vices to which they are addicted.
The particular form of swindling adopted by Bhatras is col-
lecting sums of money for charities and appropriating what they
obtain. They are great adepts at disguise and travel as Sanyasi
or Udasi Fakirs, Bairagis, Sikhs, Brahmans, etc., and professing
to be delegates from certain temples, schools, hospitals or other
charitable institutions, collect subscriptions fr9m sympathizers.
They have lists on which donors enter their names and the
amounts subscribed, and as they obtain well-known names so
their lists become more valuable, as such names lend to them
a sort of guarantee of good faith, and often quite large sums
are secured from rich and religiously-minded zamindars. The
individual sums collected are, however, generally small and
being so are the more safely taken, as the subscriber of a small
sum is far less likely to enquire into its safe arrival at its des-
tination than would be the giver of a liberal contribution.
That these small sums amount to a considerable total, however,
is shown by the fact that four out of a gang of five Bhatras
were arrested in Bengal on suspicion and searched, money-
order receipts to the amount of Rs. 1,61 1 being discovered on
them, these dated from 1900 to May 1904, and as they had
been despatched from Bombay, Central Provinces, Bengal and
Assam, it would seem that during that time these men must
have spent much on travelling and on themselves, so this
amount, merely representing profits, must have been only a
small portion of the sums actually made. At the time the
District Superintendent of Police, Sialkot, was communicated
with, and reported 450 members of this tribe as absent from
their homes ; if all these have been equally successful, at a
rough estimate that we could put down their profits only at
well over a quarter of a lakh cf rupees a year.
Before a gang starts on tour, the members are said to
appoint a chaudri to whom all communications are addressed
and all money-orders sent. This however is doubtful, as the
money-orders found in the above case were all addressed to
various members of the family of the head of the gang, and on
one or two occasions to outside persons to whom money was
owed. The head-man of this gang was about sixty years of
age, and the youngest member a lad of twelve, showing that
Bhatras begin young and work to a good age.
BHATRAS. 315
The chief villages in which these Bhatras reside are —
(1) Daska (new and old), tehsil Daska, Sialkot.
(2) Ghalotian (Kalan), tehsil Daska, Sialkot.
(3) Bhandewal, tehsil Daska, Sialkot.
(4) Kampur, near Badoka, tehsil Daska, Sialkot
(5) Two small villages near Narowal, tehsil Daska,
Sialkot.
(6) Dhariwal Suraj, tehsil Raya, Sialkot.
A few members of the sect are said to have settled in
Hyderabad (Sind), Surat, Karachi, and other places in that
vicinity. They are also said to be settling in Amritsar, Multdn
and Hardwar, and some are said to have settled in Southern
India. Their chief shrine, and one to which all Bhatras
subscribe liberally, is at Bhadowall in Sialkot.
Their field for wandering is practically unlimited, as they are
said to have paid visit at times to Kabul, Persia, Baluchistan,
Ceylon and Burma, and are known to travel over the whole of
India. They are said to be excessively good at picking up
languages and so to have little trouble wherever they go.
I would propose that this note be sent to the District
Superintendent of Police, Sialkot, for verification and such
further details as he may be able to supply.
Note on Bhatras by A. C. Stewart, Esq., District ^^Superin-
tendent of Police, Sialkot.
( i ) In the Mahabharat and Sang has an Batisi it is recorded
that one Madho Nal, a Brahman Rishi,
Origin and arrival in India. ,, ' . .
who was well versed in singing and
poetry, fell in love with and married a dancing girl named Kam
Kundala. From these two persons are descended the tribe of
Madhwas commonly known as Bhatras. Maharaja Ranjit
Singh, when exempting the tribe from tirni — or taxation —
refers to them as Madhwas, descendants of Madho, as can be
proved by an original parwana dated 7th Assuj, Sambat 1866,
to his governors, which is still in the possession of one Pirthi
Das, Bhatra of Dhariwal. The term ' Bhatra ' is a diminutive
of the Sanskrit word bhat, a poet, and has been applied to the
tribe because Madho was himself fond of quoting poetry.
Madho was born and lived all his life in Ceylon, and there
is no evidence of any of his descendants immigrating into India
before the time of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. In
316 APPKND1X VII.
the reign of Babar, Guru Nanak visited Ceylon, and there
became acquainted with Changa, an influential Madho or Bhatra,
who became his disciple. It is recorded in the Ad Granth
that Changa's followers were so many that twenty maunds of
salt were consumed daily with their meals. Large numbers of
Bhatras were converted to Sikhism, and when Guru Nanak
returned to India they accompanied him. A Sikh temple
known as Dera Baba was built in Ceylon in memory of Guru
Nanak, and the place where this temple is erected is the original
home of the Bhatras, who are now domiciled in India.
(2) The Bhatras are divided into 22 clans, of which 13
„ .. . reside in the Sialkot District, and are
Tribal sub-divisions. , ,-,, . . _ . „.
known as Bhotiwal, Lande, Digwa,
Gamee, Kag, Lohi, Bhotti, Gojra, Rathaur, Kasha, Rod,
Bhains and Lar.
(3) The tribe first settled in (i) the Bijnaur District (United
Provinces) on the banks of Ganges, (2) the Hoshidrpur District
(Panjdb), (3) the Sialkot District (Panjdb), but they have
since dispersed in all directions, and large number of Bhatras
are now reported to be settled in Calcutta, Howrah, Shikdrpur,
Hyderabad (Sind), Karachi, Quetta, Rohri, Bhakkar, Peshd-
war, Rawalpindi, Multdn, Delhi, Talagang, Tarn Taran,
Tibar (Gurddspur District), Rahon (Jalandhar District), and
Gungroli (Ludhidna District).
(4) It is stated that there are some 40 villages of Bhatras
along the ftanks of the Ganges, chiefly in that part 'of the
Bijnaur District known as Dadra Des, the best known of
which are Padli, Aldaur, Bassera, Lipkee, Narangli and
Nurpur. Many of the Bhatras of these villages are Banjaras
(pedlars) who wander far and wide selling worthless articles
required by women for ornamental purposes. Others are
vendors of so-called Vedic medicines. A not uncommon
practice is to obtain a written and stamped agreement from a
gullible sufferer that if he recovers he will pay Rs. 50 or so.
The chief hunting grounds of the Bijnaur District Bhatras are
the large towns and cities on the banks of the sacred rivers
Jumna and the Ganges, especially at the time of eclipse and
other religious fairs, when Hindus give alms liberally : but like
other Bhatras they wander practically all over India.
(5) The chief Bhatra villages of the Hoshidrpur District
are Pachnangli, Baba Kalu, Bassi Bhai Mallo, Bassi Wazir,
Dhagaon, Gori and Kot. With few exceptions the Bhatras of
the Hoshidrpur District are all true Sikhs, but the children
BHATRAS.
3'7
under 12 shave their heads. They pose as magicians and
pretend by looking into a cup of oil to foretell the future, and
chiefly frequent the Kangra District.
(6) Bhatras in the Sialkot District are located in eleven
villages as below: —
Village.
Police-station jurisdiction.
Tehsil.
Numbers.
Kot Daska
Daska
Daska ' . . .
182
Daska Kalan
Do.
Do. ...
24I
Bhadewala
Do.
Do. ...
535
Nikka Kaila ...'Do.
Do. ...
3°
Korpur .. Samberial
Do. ...
32
Galotian Kalan ... Dharamkot
Do. ...
389
Dhariwal ... Talwandi Bhindran ...
Raya
332
Saraj
Do.
Do.
53
Gota
Do.
Do.
43
Sarjapur
Do.
Do.
8
Dadian
Do.
Do.
'5
Total number of Bhatras ...
i, 860
They may be divided roughly into two parts, (a) those
residing in Kot Daska, Daska Kalan, Bhadewala, Nikka Kaila,
Korpur, Galotian Kalan, (b) Dhariwal, Saraj, Gota, Sarjapur,
Dadian. The former (a) are true Sikhs and observe all the
Sikh customs. They do not take false names when on tour,
though often they wear the garb of Gurus, or rather Akalis
and pose as Nihangs. The Bhatras of Galotian and Bhade-
wala however have lately shown a tendency to disguise them-
selves as Bairagi Sadhus.
The latter (b) are not orthodox Sikhs in so much as they
are nearly all smokers and jata-dharis (wearers of long
matted hair). When on tour they call themselves Das instead
of Singh, wear langotis, cover their heads and bodies with
ashes, carry iron tongs and behave as Udyasi fakirs. Whilst
all are swindlers living on their wits, those shown under (a)
chiefly practise astrology, and such like, and thus prey on the
credulity of their victims. Those classed under (b) pose as
delegates of certain temples and chelas of mahants and collect
subscriptions from pious Hindus.
A form of deception which is peculiar to, and practised
only by, some Bhatras of Daska is to make an indelible mark
round the neck, and call themselves Husniui Brahmans.
318 APPKNDIX VII.
These men recite the genealogy and martyrdom of Husain and
collect alms from Muhammadans. The origin of this custom
emanated from a legend that a Brahman recovered the head
of Husain from some kaffirs who had carried it off by
substituting the head of his own son for it.
(7) Bhatras go on tour after the Deivali festival and
return to their villages at the commencement of the rainy
season. It may be said that all except the very young
children and physically infirm males leave their villages.
Sometimes, but not often, those classed under (a) are accom-
panied by their wives, especially if they have daughters of a
marriageable age. . It is stated that subscriptions are collected
from gammdars for the marriage expenses and ceremonies of
these latter ; but the chief forms of swindling of all have been
correctly described by Mr. Gayer. As a rule Bhatras do not
travel in gangs of more than half a dozen, but they apparently
have pre-arranged rendezvous where they meet before finally
returning home. The money they collect is remitted chiefly
through the post office, but it is said that within the last year
some of them have taken to making remittances by means of
hundis. It is alleged they have many agents in Amritsar,
and in this office Confidential Note on Bhatras dated i4th
March 1904, mention of one Mussammat Bhudan of that city
was made, through whom they sell clothes and other articles
collected in their travels.
(8) Out of a total of i ,860 male Bhatras over twelve years
of age, residents of the Sialkot District, no less than 780 were
found absent from their homes on or about 2oth October. Of
these absentees, about half may be considered as having
permanently emigrated to various places, but they are in close
touch with their brethren in Sialkot, whom they frequently
visit.
The amount of money collected by Bhatras on their travels
is far larger than is generally imagined. An examination
of the post office registers showed that 190 money-orders
aggregating Rs. 7,516 were paid from ist. October 1903 to
3oth September 1904 to Bhatras of Saraj, Gota, Sarjapurand
Dadian only. I attach a detailed list of these money-orders,
which is instructive as illustrating the enormous distances
these people travel and the chief months in which they make
collections of money. To realise the extent of these net
profits it must be remembered that the total number of male
Bhatras in these four villages over twelve years of age is only
BHATRAS.
319
i 19, and as some of them were physically incapable of travel-
ling, the average earnings of those actually on tour becomes
very large indeed. And if the earnings of Bhatras in the
remaining villages in Sialkot are calculated on the same scale,
the money-order remittances only of the tribe are well over a
lakh of rupees per annum.
(9) As stated by Mr. Gayer, Bhatras when at home live
in the most squalid style. They are inveterate gamblers and
as a rule heavy drinkers, and all their earnings appear to be
squandered in these vices. Thirty-five members of the tribes
in Sialkot have been convicted, chiefly under Chapter XVII
of the Indian Penal Code. About half of these convictions
were obtained in outside districts.
Bhatras of Sialkot with few exceptions neither understand
cultivation nor possess land ; but the houses they occupy are
their own property.
List of money-orders distributed by Branch Post Office, Gota, to the
Bhatras of Gota, Saraj, Sarjapur and Dadian, from ist October
7903 to yoth September
No. of
money-
order.
Date of
issue.
Office of issue.
Name of remitter.
Name and residence
of payee.
Amount
of
money-
order.
1903.
Rs. a.
913
7 Oct.
Amar Kot
Nihal Singh , ...
Buta Singh, Saraj
24 o
486
'4 „
Howrah
Nanak Singh ...
Munshi Singh, Gota
10 o
922
26 „
Dehra Dun
Hari Ram
Mussammat Jando, Gota
7 o
921
26 „
Do.
Do.
Do. Hardevi, Gota
7 o
187
16 Nov.
Montogomery
Bhag Singh
Do. Malam, Gota
5 o
7
21 ,,
Jullunder
Sohan Das
Do. do. Sarjapu
10 o
8543
23 ,,
Girgaon
Sawan Singh ..
Sant Ram, Saraj
50 o
1943
23 ,,
Lahore
Budha Singh ..
Nihala, Saraj
24 o
8522
23 „
Girgaon
Ganga Singh ..
Do. Saraj
90 o
8540
23 ,,
Do.
Do.
Dhanpat Rai, Saraj
10 o
598
24 „
Pulogaon
Arur Singh
Mussammat Nihali, Saraj
• 25 o
599
24 ,,
Do.
Teja Singh
Do. Jivan, Saraj
35 o
366
26 „
Montogomery
Bhag Singh
Do. Malan, Gota
2 0
655
27 „
Bombay
Sundar Das
Nihal Chand, Saraj
50 o
192
28 „
Atras
Ganga Das
Do. Saraj
. 100 O
918
30 „
Sagar, Sadr B
B
Do.
Mussammat Jivani, Gota
• 25 o
zar.
917
30 „
Do.
Lai Das
Do. Budhan, Saraj
-5 o
549
30 „
Talhara (Akola
>'
Mohan Das
Do. Malan, Saraj
25 o
498
i Dec.
Sikanderabad
Bhagwan Das ...
Do. Ati, Saraj
. 400 o
37°o
i >,
Gorakpur
Jawahir Singh ...
Ganesh Das, Gota
40 o
8897
3 ,,
Bombay
Sharu Das
Mukand Das, Gota
50 o
8896
3 „
Do.
Ganga Das ...
Mussammat Jivan, Saraj
. 125 o
4257
7 ,.
Gorakpur
Katasia Singh ...
Do. Budhan,, Saraj
12 12
629
8 ,
Sikanderabad
Bhagwan Das ...
Do. Ati, Saraj
• 75 o
954
9 ,
Poona
Sukhram
Do. Utmi, Saraj
. 100 O
856
12 .
Khnrakpur
Ganga Das
Do. Jivani, Gota
37 o
860
!2 i
Do.
Lai Das
Do. Budhan, Gota
• 30 o
95
14 ,
Gurgaon
Ganda Das
Do. Jivan, Saraj
• 75 o
320
APPENDIX VII.
Amount
No. of
money-
order.
Date of
issue.
Office of issue.
Name of remitter.
Name and residence
of payee.
of
money-
order.
1903.
Rs. a.
182
•15 Dec.
Kurdnadi
Sonehra Singh...
Pura Singh, Saraj
35 o
'83
15 .
Do.
Sadhu Das
Nihal Chand, Saraj
25 o
184
>5
Do.
Hardit Das
Do. Saraj -
150 o
473
17 ,
Jubbulpur
Nand Das
Mussammat Santo, Gota
50 o
841
21 ,
Aurangabad
Sant Das
Bura, Saraj
25 o
2659
21 ,
Bara Bazar, Cal-
Jawinda Singh ...
Mussammat Bhagri, Saraj ..
25 o
cutta.
289
21 „
Butal
Tehl Das
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ...
115 o
1420
28 „
Bhawani
Asa Das
Do. Aso, Saraj
25 o
651
21 ,,
Gurgaon
Ganda Singh ...
Do. Jivan, Saraj
50 o
971
21 ,
Vewli
Sham Das
Karm Singh, Dadian
100 O
1093
22 ,
Lyalipur
Mela Singh
Gurmukh Singh, Saraj
25 o
200
23 -
Manjpur
Hira Das
Pindi Das, Saraj
50 o
173
3° ,
Belgaon
Ganga Singh ...
Kama Singh, Saraj
IOO O
286
30 .
Do.
Do.
Mussammat Premi, Gota
50 0
715
30 .
Howrah
lawahir Singh ...
Sardul Singh, Gota
40 o
131
31 -
Phagwara
Damodhar Das .
Mussammat Gangi, Gota
25 o
1904.
1917
4 Jan.
Howrah
Ganga Das
Mussammat Jivani, Gota
60 o
I9l8
4 ..
Do.
Nihal Das
Do. Gangi, Gota
IOO O
1912
4 ..
Do.
Lai Singh
Ganga Singh, Gota
20 o
252
5 M
Meharpur
Bura Das
Khera Das, Gota
25 o
476
6 „
Howrah
Moti Das
Mussammat Bhagwan Devi,
200 0
Saraj.
364
7 M
Jubbulpur
Bittu Singh
Nihala, Saraj
50 o
604
8 .,
Ras Road
Bura Singh
Utmi, Saraj
28 o
733
8 „
Do.
Habel Singh ...
Mussammat Kishen Devi,
40 o
Saraj.
738
8 „
Do.
Buta Das
Lochman Singh, Gota
20 o
737
8 „
Do.
Gopal Das
Nihal Singh, Gota
30 o
i.
18
8 ,.
Gowhatti
Ganda Das
Nihalu, Saraj
40 o
15
8 ,.
Do.
Jia Das
Lochman Singh, Gota
50 o
603
8 „
Ras Road ...
Badhawa Singh .
Mussammat Budhan, Saraj ...
18 o
48
1 1 ,.
Calcutta
Do.
Do. Mango, Saraj ...
30 o
34i
ii „
Heli
Sohan Singh ...
Do. Nidhana, Saraj ...
IOO 0
2963
13 ,.
Howrah
Amta Singh
Sardul Singh, Gota
23 o
9948
!3 ,,
Do.
Gorf Das
Wadhawa Singh, Saraj
15 0
39
>4 „
Nauder
Jiwan Singh
Mussammat Ati, Saraj
95 o
35
14 ,,
Do.
Katha Singh ...
Pindi Das, Saraj
38 o
2946
'3 ,
Howrah
John Singh
Wadhawa Singh, Saraj
15 0
1189
18 ,
Ras Road
Sohan Singh ...
Bhagwan Das, Saraj
25 o
103
19 •
Nauder
Sant Das
Pindi Das, Saraj
22 0
941
20 ,
Tanda
Diwan Singh ...
Mussammat Chandan, Saraj...
12 O
1661
25 .
Ras Road
Nand Singh
Do. Santo, Gota
25 o
9<53
26 ,
Lordganj
Sham Das
Sham Das, Saraj
22 O
251
26 .
Ranrhi
Ganda Singh ...
Mussammat Budhan, Saraj ...
25 o
312
26
Balapur
Do.
Do. Kirpa Devi, Saraj.
25 o
3ll
26 ,
Do.
Mathra Das
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ...
125 o
208
27 ,
Chandak (Mad-
Ganga Singh ...
Karam Chand, Saraj
IOO O
ras).
1694
27 ,
Howrah
Do.
Mussammat Jivan, Gota
29 o
163
27 ,
Sujanpur Tera .
Khushala Singh .
Do. Aso, Saraj
30 o
729
29 ,
Barly (Monim-
Baga Singh
Ganga Ram, Gota
25 o
abad).
242
30 „
Sileva
Nowak Singh ...
Munshi Ram, Gota
25 o
585
2 Feb.
Indorc
Wadhawa Singh .
Mussammat Ati, Saraj
20 o
280
3 „
Nauder
Sham Singh
Karm Singh, Gota
35 «>
'74
6 „
Raegaon (Akola)
Wadhawa Das...
Nihala, Saraj
55 "
172
6 ,
Do. do. .
Ganga Das
Divan Singh, Saraj
25 o
175
6 ,
Do. do. .
Kala Singh
Munshi Singh, Gota
32 c
BHATRAS.
321
No. of
money-
Date of
Office of issue.
Name of remitter
Name and residence
Amouut
of
order.
issue.
of payee.
money-
order.
1904.
Rs. a.
579
8 Feb.
Umrit
Hira Das
Pindi Das, Saraj
50 o
204
8 „
Khangaon
Gurdial Singh ...
Mussammat Ati, Saraj
75 o
202
8 „
-. Do.
Kala Singh
Sant Singh, Saraj
20 o
920
9 „
Tanda Wall Mu-
Garja Singh
Mussammat Ishri, Saraj
14 o
hammad Khan.
810
ii „
Hamirpur
Nihal Singh
Do. Budhan, Saraj ..
25 o
564
12 ,,
Sharalun
Ganda Das
Do. Jivan, Saraj
IOO O
767
13 ,,
H owrah
Jawahri Das ...
Sardul Singh, Gota
60 o
335
I I „
Shah Kot
Mangh Singh ...
Mussammat Budhan, Saraj ...
12 8
45
16 „
Aurangabad
Jiwan Das
Do. Ati, Saraj
5° °
H34
16 „
Marsaria
Garib Das
Man Singh, Gota
IO O
43
16 „
Aurangabad
Katha Singh ...
Pindi Das, Saraj
IOO O
660
19 „
Lahore
Radha Sham ...
Gurmukh Das, Saraj
5 o
659
19 „
Do.
Do.
Do. Saraj
25 o
60 1
20 „
Balapur
Ganga Das
Divan Singh, Saraj
34 o
773
22 „
Gwalior
Ditta Singh ...
Nihala, Saraj
40 o
774
22 „
Do.
Nihal Singh and
Nihala Shah, Saraj
25 o
Tirath Singh.
6i5
22 „
Firozepur
Dial Das
Mussammat Gangi, Gota
60 o
679
22 „
Bania
Natha Das
Dhanpat (Sahukar), Saraj
60 o
680
22 ,,
Do.
Sukhu Das
Nihala, Saraj
60 o
260
23 „
Khairpur
Nihal Singh ...
Buta Singh, Saraj
30 o
1887
23 „
H owrah
Sawan Singh ...
Mussammat Bhagwan Devi
5 o
Saraj.
1723
23 „
Bara Bazar
Wadhawa Das •••
Khera Das, Gota
IO O
1679
24 ,
Ras Road
Jivan Das
Mussammat Bhagan, Saraj ...
28 o
IOO
26 ,
Baij Nath
Labbu
Do. Budhi, Saraj ...
IO O
2290
26 ,
Sukhnam
Lai Singh
Jai Kishen, Gota
12 O
i3H
26 ,
Riwa
Asa Das
Mussammat Aso, Saraj
25 o
395
29 ,
Cawnpore
Lai Singh
Karm Singh, Gota
25 o
231
i Mar.
Mandalay
Nanak Singh ...
Mussammat Tabo, Gota
25 o
637
2 „
Daropka (Kang-
Atma Das
Do. Murmi, Dadian ...
35 o
ra).
638
2 „
Do. do. .
Do.
Do. do. Dadian ...
33 8
953
3 ,,
Nadaon
Kalo Singh
Do. do. Dadian ...
15 0
3"
7 ,,
Pinda Khar
Sant Das
Pindi Das, Saraj
56 o
441
8 „
Gulberga . .
Ganga Singh ...
Karm Chand, Saraj
IOO O
'744
8 „
Etawah . .
Sunder Singh ...
Mussammat Ati, Saraj
25 o
1612
9 „
Jubbulpore . .
Ganga Das
Do. Jivani, Gota
'5 o
306
10 ,,
Aulukswar . .
Lai Das
Do. Premi, Saraj
60 o
893
n ,
Jawala Mukhi . .
Nihala
Do. do. Gota
25 o
220
ii ,
Surat . .
Hira Das
Nehal Chand, Saraj
34 o
282
U ,
Gurdaspur . .
Nabhu
Mussammat Budhi, Saraj
IO O
884
ii ,
Calcutta . .
Jawahri Das
Sardul Singh, Gota
30 o
894
12 ,
Jawala Mukhi ...
Utam
Mussammat Premi, Gota
5 o
731
14 ,
Nauder
Fakir Das (Udasi
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ...
60 o
Sadhu).
2945
14 „
Collectorganj ...
Natha Das
Dhanpat, Saraj
40 o
583
'4 „
Kamalia
Labhu Singh ...
Mussammat Ishri, Saraj
21 O
72O
14 „
Nauder
Tehl Das
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ...
125 o
724
14 ,,
Do.
Haveli Das
Do. Sidhi, Saraj
IO O
728
14 „
Do.
Ganda Das
Do. Ishri, Saraj
23 o
189
15 „
Azimganj (Mur-
Jivan Das
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ...
37 o
shidabad).
6^0
16 ,
Chatgaon
I.ahna Das
Lochman Singh, Gota
50 o
1388
16 „
H owrah
Ishar Singh
Sadho Singh, Saraj
50 o
380
16 „
Surat
Sant Das
Mussammat Mohandevi, Gota.
26 o
1344
18 „
Rajabpur (Mura-
Khushal Singh .
Bakhshish Singh, Dadian
35 o
dabad).
2492
21 „
Poona
Ganda Das
Mussammat Jivan, Saraj
80 o
1744
21 ,,
H owrah
Do.
Pillar Sint;h, S.ir.ij
40 o
B 514—21
322
APPENDIX VII.
Amount
No. of
money-
order.
Date of
issue.
Office of issue.
Name of remitter.
Name and residence
of payee.
of
money-
(irik-r.
1904.
R- ....
502
23 Mar.
Harda (Hoshan-
Ganga Das
Mussammat Jivan, Gota ... 10 o
gabad).
5°'
23 „
r\
Do.
Dial Das ... Do. Gangi, Gota ... 20 o
1113
20 „ Harappa
Mahan Das ... Do. Jamni, Dadian ... 20 o
534
28 „ Rorian
Hara Singh
Do. Jiwan, Gota ... 14 o
241
29 „ ; Hyderabad,
Gujar Singh
Dhanpat, Saraj ... 18 o
Sindh.
240
29 .,
Do.
Do.
Mussammat Ishri, Saraj ... 42 o
7820
29 „
Girgaon
Jivandas
Do. Ati, Saraj ... 40 o
709
30 „
Aurangabad
Sham Das
Karam Singh, Gota
50 o
706
30 ,,
Bhagwanpur
Hokam Singh ...
Karur Singh, Gota ...| 34 o
562
3i -,
Samandri
Kaka Singh
Mussammat Hari, Gota ...| 41 o
272
i Apr.
Patna
Jawanda
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ...
39 o
528
I „
Nawada
Karur Singh ...
Buta, Saraj
10 o
1004
I „
Howrah
Guru Das
Man Singh, Gota,
8 o
3439
6 „
Benares
Nand Singh
Mussammat Santo, Gota
25 o
454
6 „
Bejnath (Kang-
Labhu
Do. Budhi, Saraj ...j 10 o
ra).
64
«4 ,,
Jalna
Nanak Singh ...
Nihala (Sahukar), Saraj ... 20 o
65
<4 »
Do.
Hakam Singh ...
Sarup Singh, Saraj ... 25 o
8593
'5 ,,
Girgaon
Akar Das
Asa Singh, Saraj .. 50 o
»>37
16 „
Baia
Budha Das
Mussammat Bhagan, Saraj ... 100 o
33
18 „
Lahore
Rudha Sam
Gurmukh, Saraj ... 10 o
563
»9 „
Bejnath
Kaka Das
Mussammat Moni, Gota ... 20 o
565
'9 ..
Do.
Buta Das
Lochman Singh, Gota ... 19 8
593
22 „
Firozepur
Santu
Mussammat Hari, Saraj ...' 45 o
908
7 M
Dharrnsala
Nihala Singh ...
Do. Premi, Gota ... 25 o
663
7 „
Bejnath
Kaka Das
Do. Munni, Dadian ••• 20 o
1963
7 ..
Aligarh
Khushal Singh .
Dhanpat Shah, Saraj ... 25 o
225
9 „
Bhaggo (Simla) .
Ladha Singh ...
Pindi Shah, Saraj ... 2i o
765
9 ..
Polu (Lahore) ...
Ishar Das
Ram Kaur, Saraj ... 20 o
47'
'o „
Benares
Jawahri Das
Sardul Singh, Gota ... 25 o
8i3
»6 „
Bejnath
Buta Das
Lochman Singh, Gota ... 50 o
390
'7 ,,
Firozepur
Sant Ram
Mussammat Budhi, Saraj ... 40 o
854
'9 „
Chamba
Besakhi Das ...
Do. Premi, Gota ... 12 o
877
'9 ,,
Darwah
Bagga Das
Ganda Singh, Gota ... 25 o
283
21 ..
Dharmsala
Chet Das
Sundar Das, Saraj ... 18 o
866
23 -,
Dadal (Kangra) .
Sham Das
Mussammat Khemo, Saraj ... 11 o
167
23 -,
Do.
Phaggu Ram ...
Do. Bhagan, Saraj ... 25 o
148
23 .,
Sherkupura
Butta Singh
Do. Premi, Dadian ...' 20 o
494
23 „
Firozepur
Mula Singh
Karam Singh, Gota ... 10 o
302
24 .,
Lakhi Lara
Wadhawa Das...
Khera Das, Gota ... 20 o
499
24 „
Firozepur
Asa Singh
Mussammat Premi, Gota
25 o
1138
25 .,
Karachi
Mangli Singh ...
Do. Ishro, Saraj
9 o
1266
589
25 „
30
Lyallpur
Kangra
Nihal Singh ...
Buta Das
Dhanpat Shah, Saraj
Lochman Singh, Gota
40 o
25 o
863
Kalupur (Adma-
Moti Das
Sur Das, Saraj
IOI O
dabad).
863
1 ii
Kalupur
Ganga Das
Musammat Bhagwan Devi,
50 o
Saraj.
866
i .,
Do.
Gurdit Singh ...
Do do.
50 o
149
7 ,.
Karachi
Nihal Singh
Mussammat Ishri, Saraj
20 o
553
8 „
Sialkot
Superintendent,
Do. Ati, Saraj
23 o
Post Office.
829
'5 »
Kasur
Haveli Singh ...
Do. Aso, Saraj
25 o
827
'5 ..
Firozepur
Chanda Singh ...
Do. Jivani, Gota
10 O
828
15 „ Do-
Ata Singh
Puran Singh, Gota
23 o
45'
28 „ Do.
Asa Singh
Gunga Singh, Gota
8 o
«33
20 Aug.
Gogera
Nihal Das
Sadhu, Saraj
IO O
«879
1 5 Sept.
Bezabada
Nanak Das
Budhu, Saraj
21 o
Total ...
7.516 4
BHATKAS. 323
The mode of cheating adopted by these men is : —
First. — They visit different residents (European and native)
in every town they go to and pass themselves off as either
fakirs, pandits, or fortune-tellers. They produce a two-fold
sheet of paper upon which is the sketch of a cow or witch.
This is drawn with a piece of alum, and cannot be noticed till
such time as the paper is placed in water. Upon the paper
being so placed, the figure of a cow or witch appears
distinctly. If the figure of the witch should appear, the
person about to be cheated is told that the witch was
about to kill him, or her (as the case may be), but through
witchcraft (mantar) they have removed the witch, otherwise
death was certain.
Secondly. — Should the figure of a cow appear, they tell the
person that some time or other he tortured a cow ; and that
the cow is now cursing him. But having produced the cow's
form or figure through magic, they have saved the person
concerned.
The person on seeing either of the figures appears to get
quite timid, and seeing this opportunity, the cheat or swindler
tells him that the only way to be saved is to make a donation
either in gold, silver or clothes. At first they demand gold or
silver, telling the person it is the best offering to make, but in
the event of not being able to procure gold or silver they accept
clothes.
Another way in which they swindle the public is by
carrying about a thin piece of iron which is similar in shape
to a pair of fire-tongs (chimtas}. They visit the houses of
Europeans and natives, and after interviewing their servants
and ascertaining particulars regarding the occupants, they
send word by the servants that a sacred fakir wishes to tell
them their fortunes. On being admitted, the fakir places the
iron tongs into water with some salt and other ingredients.
As soon as the tongs are placed in the water, sparks fly out
and the tongs separate. He then tells the individual con-
cerned his fortune, particulars of which he had previously
obtained from the servant. When the fakir finds he has
charmed the ' looker-on,' he informs him that he has some
girls to marry and is therefore in need of money and asks the
persons to give something towards the subscription.
The fakir further states he has opened an institution as
an orphanage in his village where orphan children are fed,
clothed and educated. The person hearing all this, and
noticing the fakir's appearance, sympathises with him and
gives him money, etc.
APPENDIX VIII.
Pans of Orissa.
The following is an interesting report by Mr. R. Clarke,
Superintendent of Police, Angul, on the Pans of Orissa, which
appeared in the Extra Supplement to the Police Gazette of
the Central Provinces dated 2yth June 1906.
The Gurjat Pan, like his brother in the ' Mogulbandi,' is
a semi-aborigine. He calls himself a Hindu and has
caste rules, but Brahmans will have nothing to do with him,
and he is in fact a pariah, imitating the Hindus in some ways
and giving full rein to his aboriginal instincts in others. The
word ' pan ' is a contraction of the Sanskrit ' parna ' and
means a cave-dweller.
The Pans form about 18 per cent, of the population of
the Gurjats. In Angul they number 28,841, or roughly
14 per cent, of the inhabitants. In Dhenkanal State they
form 25 per cent., and in the other States their number varies
between these figures.
The majority of the tribe are landless, and those that
hold lands are very indifferent cultivators, ever ready to mort-
gage and sell their holdings, and incapable of tackling difficult
or uncleared land. Even village chaukidars seldom cultivate
their small jagir of five acres, the majority being leased out to
their ' Chasa ' neighbours in blidg.
The hereditary profession of the Pans is weaving, but
this is only regularly followed by a very small section of the
tribe. When cross-questioned, a Pan will invariably say,
' I am a weaver,' but this means nothing, and sounds better
than saying ' I am a thief/ which would be the truth. All
Pans weave occasionally for their own wants, and they are
kept in touch with their handicraft by pretty regular visits
to jail.
The Pans bear a very bad reputation among their neigh-
bours ; in fact the worst form of abuse one can offer to a
respectable man in the Gurjats is to call him a Pan. It is
also very noticeable that though the Kotghur rules allow any
Pan to be exempt who can get a respectable man to give a
bond for him, in no case has this been done. Still in many
ways these social outcasts sway the higher castes around
PANS OF ORISSA. 325
them. They are pluckier, and therefore in request for
services requiring personal courage. They do a certain
amount of watch and ward. If a cartman is travelling at
night he takes a few Pans with him. If a zemindar wants
backing up in a land dispute, he hires Pans. In this way
they are useful, and are therefore tolerated in spite of their
evil ways.
Theft is bred in the bone of the Gurjat Pan, but his
evolution into a dangerous criminal belongs to the last twenty
years, and is an interesting, if small, example of one of the
problems of Indian Jail administration. In olden days the
Pan was a cattle-lifter in neighbouring States, a cattle-poisoner
in his own State, and a pilferer everywhere ; but he rarely
committed burglary, and never dacoity ; of late years, equipped
with the excellent criminal training which can now be obtained
in a central jail, he has taken to gang dacoity with murder,
and is, in the opinion of the writer, going to give serious
trouble in the future, unless steps are taken to reorganize the
police forces of the Gurjat States, which are at present useless.
Crime marches with civilization, and when the Tributary
States are more opened up and railways come, one may
venture to predict that the Gurjat Pan will make every use of
his chances. Possessed of the cunning of the Dom and the
physique of the Bhur, he has qualities which these criminals
lack. He is a positive lawyer in court ; it is very difficult to run
a ' bad-livelihood ' case against him on account of his influence
with his respectable neighbours, and, when cornered, he fights,
so that it needs good up-country police to deal with him — the
very class that are not available in Orissa. The greatest
mistake made up to the present in dealing with the Pans has
been sending the long-term prisoners to the big central jails
to mix with dangerous criminals, instead of keeping them at
Cuttack, as was done formerly. These men stand out as
leaders on their release, and all the Pan needs is a leader.
Once organized into a gang the Native States police are quite
incapable of dealing with them, and the lawlessness spreads
to Angul, which borders on no less than seven States. This
was what happened in 1902 with Nata Naik's gang. In
October of that year a series of dacoities, two of them accom-
panied with murder, were committed by a mixed gang of Angul
and Hindole Pans in Angul, Talcherand Hindole. The princi-
pal members of the gang were caught by the Angul police, and
against four of them — (i) Nata Naik, (2) Surendra Naik, (3)
Haladhar Naik, (4) Nata Naik, junior — a gang case success-
326 AITKNDIX VIII.
fully instituted and they were transported. These four nu-n
were as daring criminals as one could meet. They beat a
Ilindole head constable to death on the main road, and tlu-v
were only caught by the Angul police after a stand-up fight, in
which two constables were very roughly handled. While they
were at large, nobody would travel on the Cuttack and Sam-
balpur road at night on account of the frequent cases of high-
way robbery. This gang had hardly been broken up when
the Khondmal Pans began to give serious trouble, and a large
gang of them, under the leadership of one Kusun Digal,
practically held up the Khondmals for nearly two years, -Mid
were then only dealt with after a special police force had been
sanctioned by Government for the purpose. Twenty-five
members of this gang were eventually convicted to terms vary-
ing from twenty years' transportation to three years' rigorous
imprisonment, and six ' receivers' of stolen property were also
convicted.
After the exploits of Nata Naik's and Kusun Digal's
gangs, it was decided that something must be done to control
the Pans, so the Superintendent of Tributary Mahals sanction-
ed a set of rules drawn up by the Deputy Commissioner and
District Superintendent of Police, Angul, which had for their
object —
(i) The confining of all adult male Pans in each village
in a single house (' kotghur ') at night, under the eye of the
village headman, who records their attendance at 9 p. m. and
6 a. m. in a register kept for the purpose, land-owners and any
Pan who can get a respectable man to give a bond for him
being exempt. The register is brought to the thana by the
chaukiddr on parade days, and the names of all absent Pans
noted.
(2) The granting of the tickets- of-leave to all registered
Pans who leave their villages for any length of time.
(3) The apprehension of strange Pans who come to a
village without tickets. These men are sent to the thana with
the chaukiddr and made to give an account of themselves.
(4) The prosecution of Pans who absent themselves from
the ' kotghur ' under section 109, Criminal Procedure Code, tin
onus of proving that they have not been committing crime
being on them.
The rules have now been in force since 1903, and their
effect as a check upon crime was immediate. In 1902 the
PANS OF ORISSA. 327
average number of cases a month in Angul sub-division was
33'o. In 1903 it fell to 30*7 and in 190410 17*3. In the
Khondmals the effect of the rules is quite as marked, the
figures being —
Average number of cases per month in 1902 ... i6'i
1903 — H'4
1904 ... 8-0
The Khonds took to the new system enthusiastically and
during the harvest season they depute some of the villagers to
patrol the 4 kotghurs ' in turn all night, as they say this is
simpler than sending many men to watch the different fields.
These good results continue in the Khondmals, crime having
practically ceased in this tract, except on the border of Ganjam,
where foreign criminals come in. In Angul the system is
giving more trouble to work, because the Angul sarbarahkar
(headman) is so unreliable, and is not infrequently a ' receiver '
of stolen property and in league with his Pans. The success
or otherwise of the scheme depends entirely on the village
headman, as the chaukidars, being themselves Pans, cannot be
relied upon. The ' kotghur ' registers are inspected by superior
police officers when on tour ; and headmen who are not writing
up their registers or reporting absentees are sent to the Deputy
Commissioner for punishment. A head constable has also
been placed on special duty in Angul to supervise the working
of ' kotghurs,' but an officer of this stamp is not suitable for
such work. A sub-inspector should be placed on special duty,
under the Angul and Khondmals Inspectors, for this work only,
as it is essential that the headmen be kept up to the mark if
the system is to be worked at all.
Confining the Pans in beat houses at night is not a new
idea in these parts, but a revival of an old custom of the
Tributary States Rajas. It requires, however, constant and
extensive supervision to be satisfactory, and should, if the
effect is to be permanent, be worked in conjunction with some
scheme for inducing the Pans to take to cultivation, the
' kotghur ' rules being strictly enforced, and the test for allowing
a Pan to absent himself being that he is cultivating land. So
long as practically the whole of the Pans are landless they will
give trouble, even supposing they are kept in order in normal
years of good harvest when labour is plentiful ; they will
assuredly go out of hand when there is scarcity. This was what
happened in 1899-1900 in the Khondmals. Attached to every
Khond village there is a small colony of Pans who perform
328 API'KXDIX VIII.
menial service. They are practically serfs and as such are fed
and supported by the Khonds. In 1899-1900, when the
famine came, and the Khonds had less than enough for them-
selves, they turned out the Pans, who immediately became
wandering criminals, because a Pan will never patiently starve
when he can steal. The Pans, however, are few in number in
the Khondmals ; but supposing famine were to visit a State
like Dhenkanal, where a quarter of the population are Pans,
there is not the slightest doubt that crime would increase in the
most alarming manner, not only in Dhenkanal itself, but also
in Angul and Cuttack. No Government can afford to have
one-fourth of its population landless criminals, living from
hand to mouth, and the reclamation of the Gurjat Pan is one
of the most important and pressing administrative problems
in the Tributary States.
Some years ago an attempt was made to start Pan settle-
ments around Purnaghur, the then head-quarters of Angul.
A certain amount of good land was acquired, and the Pans
who were started upon it were supplied with ploughing cattle
and a little money. The men selected were ' dagis ' who had
never cultivated and were averse to cultivation, and during a
season of drought, when the harvest was bad, they sold their
cattle and bolted. The experiences of Dom settlements in
Gorakhpur and Champaran do not incline one to favour
schemes of the above description ; still Mr. Daly, the then
District Superintendent of Police, Angul, has recorded his
opinion that the settlements were a failure, through neglect of
supervision, and that if the Pans had been helped a little
through the first bad years they would have settled down to
cultivation. The Pan has everything against him when he
tries to cultivate, for though there is abundance of land, only
absolutely uncleared land is available for him, as most of the
Chasas in Angul have taken up far more land than they cul-
tivate, owing to the very light assessments on newly acquired
land in this district. There is also a considerable amount of
procedure before the land is granted, which means attending
court and tipping am/as which the Pan cannot afford to do.
The Chasas also object to the Pans cultivating and do every-
thing they can do to hinder them. The result is that only
from two to five per cent, of Pans really earn their living by
cultivation, an extraordinarily small proportion in an entirely
agricultural country.
It would pay Government and the Tributary States Rajas
to be much more liberal with the Pans than they have been
PANS OF ORISSA. 329
in the past. The Chasas might be made to disgorge most of
the lightly assessed land, and the Pans settled on it with
takdvi advances which Government were prepared to write off
as lost. The success or otherwise of such a policy would
probably depend on the officer who worked it, but it is at all
events worth trying. The above remarks may seem some-
what'outside the province of a police report, but in reality it is
not so, because practically all the crime in the Gurjats is
committed by Pans, so, that settlement of the Pans and
prevention of crime are more or less synonymous terms.
APPENDIX IN.
Haburas.
The following account of the Haburas, taken from
Crooke's " Tribes and Castes of the North- Western Provinces
and Oudh," is reproduced from the Supplement to the Central
Provinces Police Gazette dated 22nd November 1905.
The Haburas are a vagrant thieving tribe, found chiefly
Habura in the Central Ganges-Jumna Duab.
They are connected with the regular
gipsy tribes of Sansiya and Bhatu. They have a traditional
connection with the old ruined city of Noh-Khera to the north
of pargana Jelasar, in the Etah District, where they frequently
make their way during the rainy season to arrange marriage
and other caste matters in a series of general tribal councils.
They claim their descent from the Chauhan Rajputs,
who lived at Jartauli in the Aligarh
triba' District, and have a strong tribal
council under a president who man-
ages all caste business.
They are usually exogamous, though in some sub-divisions
„ . the only rule of exogamy is the
1V1 irriscrc • ^^
prohibition of marrying in their own
camp or horde. Up to the recent times they used to recruit
the clan by kidnapping girls of other castes, and there seems
good reason to believe that they still introduce in the tribe
outcast women of other castes. For a virgin bride the price
fixed by tribal custom is Rs. 25 to be paid by the father of the
bridegroom, who also pays the expenses of the marriage feast.
The feeling against inter-tribal immorality is strong, and a
seducer of a married woman has to pay Rs. 120 before
being re-admitted to caste. Girls before marriage enjoy con-
siderable freedom, and a departure from strict virtue is not
seriously noticed. Generally speaking though the women are
not particularly virtuous, they are not habitually prostituted by
their male relatives as are the women of other gipsy tribes.
Widows and divorced women are remarried and their offsprings
are regarded legitimate.
They both cremate and bury the dead. Those who can
afford the cost of wood adopt the
Death ceremonies. . 1,1 • i
former, and the rest either bury the
corpse or expose it in the jungle.
HABURAS.
33
In religion they profess to be Hindus, but accept little or
no service from the Brahmans. In
some places when a boy reaches the
age of twelve he is initiated before a Jogi and trained in
thieving.
In other places they worship Kali Bhawani. They observe
the usual festivals — Salono, Holi, Diwali, and Dasahara.
They bathe in the Ganges in honour of the sacred dead.
In Aligarh it is reported that they are almost omnivorous,
but will not eat the flesh of cows or
Social status and occupation. . . _. . f .
donkeys. I he only castes from whom
they will not take any food are the Chamar, Bhangi, Dhobi
and Kalar.
They do not use any medicine, but when ill pray to Devi
Zahir Pir. They have much fear of the Evil Eye, their remedy
for which is to get a fakir or a jogi to blow on a vessel of
water, which is then waved over the head of the patient. As
a rule they are truthful among themselves, but lie to others to
procure the release of a clansman. Their oaths are as
follows: — The most binding is to light a lamp (c-hirag) and
then blow it out. By this he means, " If I lie may my family
be destroyed as I blow out the light. " If a Habura can be
induced to take this oath, he will never lie. Another form of
oath is to cut the root of a pipal tree. The third is swearing
by Devi.
The vagrant branch of the tribes supplies some of the
most audacious criminals in the
Criminal habits. *T •. i n • A
United Provinces. A recent report
says : " They are the pest of the neighbourhoods which they
frequent, are continuously pilfering, stealing standing crops,
attacking carts and passengers along the road, committing
robberies and even dacoities." The boys are trained at first
in field robbery and are then taken out on excursions for the
purpose of burglary. When they go to rob fields the gang con-
sists of not less than twenty men. When out for the purpose
of burglary, eight or nine go together. They seldom use
violence except to save themselves from arrest and they never
carry any weapon, except bludgeons. If a crime has been
committed and traced to any horde, -the chief immediately
determines who are to be given up. Usually a compromise is
made with the police ; two out of six or three out of eight are
made over to justice, the rest escaping. All the chief does
332 AIM'I-.NDIX IX.
is to repeat a form of words, and then taking two of the
grains of wheat offered to the god, he plarr.s tlu-in on the
head of the scapegoat. The oath of the brotherhood is upon
him, and whether he be guilty or not, he confesses to tin-
Magistrate or Judge and goes to the gallows or to a lifelong
exile confident that his chief and brethren will, as they are
bound, feed and protect his wife and children.
In Aligarh at the present day if a Habura is killed in the
commission of a crime, his accomplices give his widow one
hundred and fifty rupees ; if he is only arrested, they have to
support his wife and family until he is released. Neither men
nor women wear any jewellery. They do not go long distances
to commit crime, and in the daylight they can easily be
identified as Haburas, because both men and women wear the
modicum of clothes consistent with decency. They do not
attempt to conceal their movements from the police ; and if
one of the gang be arrested, the headman will at once give
notice of the fact. The only stolen property they bring into
the camp is grain ; jewellery, vessels, and clothes they conceal
in earthen vessels and bury them in the neighbourhood of the
encampment. They are generally supported by some land-
owner, who assists them in the disposal of stolen property and
gets a commission of four annas in the rupee.
Argot. Their argot
—
corn of all kinds
kau.
bread
tuk.
mother
ai.
father
babu.
son
dikra.
daughter
dikri.
wife
dhaniyani.
husband
dhanni.
son-in-law
pahuna (guest)
vessels of all kinds . . .
tanwara.
clothes
lugariya.
shoes
khakra.
bullock
dlianda.
cow
jengariya.
go from here . .
paro hind.
run away
ii.'isija.
p"li<«'inan
kapahi.
police officer
mota modliunn.
APPENDIX X.
Jadua Brahmins.
The following are particulars regarding the modus operandi
of a fraternity known as Jadua Brahmins, taken from the
Supplement to the Police Gazette, Lower Provinces, dated 1 5th
July 1904 and 3ist March 1905.
In order to collect information for their depredations ihey
open a small rice and dal shop in some village. One of them
visits the village in the garb of a mahant. After he has been
there a few hours, another one turns up disguised as a
zamindar and represents to the villagers that he comes from
some distant place. Seeing the mahant he expresses great
joy and begins to worship him with such profound respect as
to excite the curiosity of the villagers. The spurious zamin-
dar tells them that the mahant possesses supernatural powers
and gave him saris, money and cattle. He presses the
mahant to go with him to his home and the credulity of the
villagers is worked up and used for swindling.
Their recognized modus operandi is usually as follows : —
They start out in parties of three or four, and • having
ascertained by preliminary enquiry the whereabouts of any
likely dupe, one of the party enters the village in the guise of
a religious mendicant and taking up his quarters in the village
pretends to devote himself to religious meditation. A second
man generally accompanies him as a chela. The others of the
party enter the village shortly after and go about inquiring if
a very holy Brahmin has been seen. They go to the house
of the intended dupe, who naturally asks why they are seeking
the Brahmin, and they reply that they have come to do
homage to him as he has turned their brass and silver orna-
ments to gold. The dupe at once goes with them in search
of the Brahmin and is greatly impressed at the scene he wit-
nesses between the ' Babaji ' and his accomplices, and at once
falls into the trap, saying he, too, has a quantity of silver that
he would like to have turned into gold. The Brahmin pretends
reluctance, but eventually yields to the dupe's entreaties and
allows himself to be led to the house, where, with his chela he
takes up his quarters in an inner room, dark and with a mud
floor. A variety of tricks are now resorted to, to impress the
334 APPENDIX X.
dupe with a sense of the magic powers of the swindlers.
Sometimes he is directed to place a rupee on his forehead and
go to the door and look at the sun for five minutes, being
assured that when he returns the Brahmin will have disap-
peared by magic. Having looked at the sun for five minutes,
naturally the dupe can see nothing on returning to a dark
room, and expresses wonder at the Brahmin's disappearance
and gradual reappearance as his (the dupe's) eyes get used
to the darkness. Sometimes he is taken out at night to a
bagicha outside the village, the Brahmin promising to show
him the goddess Bhagwati or any other selected deity, who is
duly represented by one of the confederates and promises all
good fortune to the dupe.
The silver ornaments, all that can be collected, are made
over to the Brahmin, who pretends to tie them in a cloth and
bury them in the floor of the room. He then calls for^///,
oil and incense, and lights a fire over the place where they are
said to be buried and bids the dupe watch over it closely for
several hours or some days until he, the Brahmin, returns.
The Brahmin and his chela with the silver concealed about
them then leave the village, join their confederates, and make
their escape. The dupe patiently watches the fire, until tired
of waiting for the Brahmin's return, he digs up the earth and
finds nothing in the cloth but stones and rubbish.
This is an outline of the trick as usually practised, but
there may be many varieties of it. When the dupe possesses
gold ornaments, these are obtained in the same way by a
promise that they will be doubled.
The Jadua Brahmins of Alamgunge are all nominally under
police surveillance.
APPENDIX XI.
Counterfeit Coins.
Mr. F. H. Vincent, of the Indian Police, Bombay Presi-
dency, gives the following hints on the detection of counterfeit
coins.
Counterfeits are of two kinds, cast and die-struck. The
majority of cast coin are made of base
Cast coins. ' , ..< . , .
metal like tin, pewter or even lead or
an admixture of one or more of these with a very small
quantity of copper.
The spuriousness of such inferior cast coins is immediately
established by their colour. The
"test?61 colour of genuine rupees, either fresh
from the mint or after they have been
in circulation, is very distinctive and hence a glance at them
enables us to pick out inferior cast coins. Secondly, such
coins are softer than genuine ones. Thirdly, their ring is dull.
These three tests are, as a rule, sufficient to enable us to detect
such inferior cast coins. There are also other signs which often
enable us to positively assert that a counterfeit is a cast one,
for these it is advisable to provide oneself with a magnifying
glass and examine the suspected coin closely by means of it,
comparing it with a genuine coin, for preference of the same
year's coinage. The surface will, as a rule, be found to be more
or less ' pitted,' that is to say, covered with very small holes,
the lettering will not stand out so sharply and clearly as on a
genuine coin ; the finer detail apparent on the design of a
genuine coin will be wanting and small excresences and flaws
are almost always present.
In further confirmation it is only necessary to turn to the
milling. This instead of being regu-
Millmg. , , r •<• i i
larly spaced, even, of uniform depth,
and of a definite number of serrations for particular years of
coinage, will be found to differ in one or all of these details.
In bad specimens the milling right round the coin is defective,
in better ones only that portion where the strip of metal
representing the channel of the mould has been cut off, and in
the best class of counterfeits in which the milling has probably
been impressed by some implement, such as a milling tool, one
must rely on touch and on counting the number of serrations
in order to obtain a clue to their spuriousness.
336 AiM'Kxnix xi.
Having examined a coin as to colour, hardness, ring and
surface finish, we may now turn to the
Weighment. . . ~ J .-.-
more scientific tests. Of these the
simplest and the only one capable of easy applicationis that
of weighment. Fine balances weighing to a fraction of a grain
are not always at hand and perhaps the simplest method of
checking the weight is to weigh the suspected coin against a
number of other coins, preferably of the same year's coinage,
using a goldsmith's balance. If in all or even the majority of
cases it does not tally with the genuine rupees used, it may
safely be looked upon as a counterfeit.
Further tests such as specific gravity or assay, we need not
trouble ourselves with, they are best left in the hands of
experts, to whom in all cases of doubt coins should be sub-
mitted for final inspection.
Totally distinct from the cast coins, both in their method
of manufacture and in their appearance,
Die-struck coins. ,. , , . r *,..,
are die-struck counterfeits, whereas
a cast coin is prepared by the metal being melted and poured
into the mould, usually of sand or clay, a die-struck coin is
made by the impression being struck on to discs of metal by
means of metal dies.
In the former process the mould is usually injured after
one or two castings, hence it is broken up again and remade
preparatory to further castings. In the latter process coins can
be struck so long as the dies last, a variable period depending
on the material they are made of and the method and manner
in which the blow is struck. Die-struck counterfeits can be
divided into two classes : those made by means of dies engraved
by hand and those by means of dies on to which the impression
has been transferred.
Engraving is an art known to very few and it is a safe
assertion to make that no die has been
engraved by a counterfeiter that would
pass any but the most casual scrutiny. Innumerable speci-
mens of counterfeits prepared from engraved dies have come
to hand and each and all show certain pronounced defects of
which the following are the most common : —
Harshness or hardness of outline and detail. Want of
relief. Incorrect lettering or inversion
Their faults. f , , , ,
of some letters, more trequently an
' N '. Much of the fine detail of the reverse is also lost and
COUNTERFEIT COINS. 337
such a counterfeit requires only one glance to enable one to
classify it at once as struck from engraved dies.
On the other hand, counterfeits which have been struck
from dies prepared by the other method,
Superior dies. , ., . f e ±\_ • j •
exhibit none or these signs and are in
every way superior to coins made from such rough engraved
dies. They show most, if not all, the finer detail. They are
bound to be exact copies, as the impression on the dies was
obtained from a genuine coin and they therefore do not show
any marked irregularities or mistakes in the features or
lettering.
Their fault however lies in want of relief. The lettering
also does not stand out as square as
Their faults. , . D / ,
that or a genuine coin, both these
faults are in a great measure due to insufficient force being
used when the coin is struck. Nearly all such coins exhibit
some one flaw which will repeat itself in all struck from the
same set of dies and if a number of coins are found all pos-
sessing any such flaw we have positive proof of the same set of
dies having been used. This of course applies equally to coins
struck from hand-engraved dies, as to those prepared from the
other class. Common flaws in the latter class are small dots
or marks from cracks in the dies.
A sign by which a counterfeit can occasionally be dis-
tinguished from a genuine coin is in the non-correspondence
of the axes of the obverse and reverse. If a genuine coin is
taken between the thumb and the first finger so that an
imaginary line passes through the centre of the design of the
reverse, and the coin rotated, the head of the obverse will be
found correctly and squarely placed. In counterfeits such is
often not the case, the fault being due to incorrect adjustment
of the dies.
Another sign which immediately exposes a counterfeit is
sometimes forthcoming when corresponding dies of the same
year have not been used and though such carelessness or
indifference may seem extraordinary, yet frequent instances
have come to notice. This error becomes particularly glaring
when an obverse prior to the year 1877 which contains the
inscription " Victoria Queen " is used with a reverse giving a
year of coinage subsequent to this date or vice versa. It is
therefore well to remember that coins up to and including
1876 should have the inscription " Victoria Queen," subsequent
B 514—22
33$ APPENDIX XI.
to that date " Victoria Empress." From 1903 onwards coins
bear the inscription " Edward VII, King and Emperor."
As regards examination of die-struck counterfeits we of
course have again recourse to the tests given under cast
coins. Unless made of the proper alloy, their colour will
again give us a good indication and due attention must
also be paid to the ring, milling and weight.
It must at the same time be remembered that none of these
tests are infallible and that a coin may exhibit any of the
faults above enumerated and yet be a genuine mint struck
coin.
In such a case the coin is either mint defective or
has been maltreated. If a coin is by
Genuine but mint defective r j u* u J
coins rare chance found which does not
ring at all, it may almost with
certainty be looked upon as genuine, though mint defective.
Firstly, no coiner would make or pass a coin which did not
ring at all, and secondly, ocular proof in furtherance of the
above statement can usually be found on careful examination
of such ' dead ' coin, for the edge at some part or other
will show a hair-like fissure, or in pronounced cases will even
have slightly opened out. Both are sure indications that the
coin in its first stage of manufacture was subjected to heavy
rolling and hence passed through the mint. Exposure to
certain fumes, to fire, burial in the ground, conversion to an
ornament and constant circulation, are also factors to be
taken into consideration as they all affect a coin and may
alter its colour, ring, milling and weight, but such influences
will generally make themselves apparent by other indications
as well.
APPENDIX XII.
Counterfeit Coins
The following hints on detecting counterfeit rupees, taken
from the Madras Police Gazette dated lyth November 1906,
will be found interesting and instructive.
(1) A suspected coin should, if possible, be compared
with two genuine coins of the same description and examined
in a good light.
(2) When rung on a stone slab or similar hard surface, a
genuine coin should give a clear high note. Counterfeits do
not, as a rule, ring well.
(3) The colour of the coin should be scrutinised, a brassy
or dull leaden appearance would generally point to the coin
being counterfeit. Some counterfeits have a peculiar glazed
appearance. A genuine coin should be silvery and dull or
bright according to the treatment it ha's received.
(4) In a genuine coin the thickness at the rim is made the
same all round. In counterfeit coins the rim is sometimes
thicker at one point than another (especially in the case of
struck counterfeits), and the coin itself may be slightly bent or
distorted.
(5) The rim of a genuine coin is regularly milled all the
way round with straight lines at right angles to the faces. All
rupees minted since 1904 have 150 serrations or teeth in the
milling. In counterfeits the lines of the milling are often at a
slant, the distances between the lines are irregular and the
lines (or ridges) themselves uneven and broken. This is a
most important test. The milling can best be examined by
placing the suspected coin between two good ones (of the
same description), so that the rims of all the three are close
together and can be seen at the same time. Defects can be
readily detected.
(6) The beading on the inner side of the rim of the coin
should be even and regular all round, the pearls being uniform
in size and shape, and equi-distant from each other. On coun-
terfeits the pearls are often badly shaped, uneven in size and
spaced at irregular intervals. A peculiarity of some counter-
feits is that the pearls are very small and far apart, but this is
also the case in some genuine coins of 1840.
34° APPENDIX XII.
(7) The devices on the obverse and reverse should be
clear and well-defined. Blurred lines or edges and an imper-
fect impression (unless plainly due to wear and tear) are
suspicious.
(8) Letters and figures of the inscription should be clear,
well-defined and sharp-edged. Blurred, irregular or double
lines are to be regarded with suspicion. In some counterfeits
the letters are much thinner than on genuine coins.
(9) The plain surface of the coin (i. e.y the portion not
occupied by device or inscription) should be smooth, even
and free from blemish. An uneven, spotted or rough surface
is suspicious.
(10) The edges of the rim should be smooth to the touch.
Rough, jagged edges are suspicious.
(11) All cast coins are counterfeits. In a cast coin the
surfaces may be granulated or pitted with minute pin-holes
which appear as black spots to the naked eye, but can be felt
with the point of a needle or pin. The milling is often defect-
ive, especially at the point where the metal was poured into
the mould. The letters and figures in cast coins nearly always
present a rounded appearance instead of having square, sharp
edges.
(12) A counterfeit coin will generally be found to exhibit
at least two of the faults indicated above. A coin should not
be condemned for only one fault unless it is very marked.
BOMBAY : PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT CENTRAL I'KESS
ILLUSTRATIONS.
/V.s< r//>//7V matter of Plate I.
Ex. 31.
Dhiiria carried by Gujerat criminals.
Ex. 29.
Bhil's bow and arrows.
Ex. 44.
Pungi or blow-gourd forming part of Kaikadi's ( Pamlor's and
Kail Korva's) disguise.
Ex. 55.
Mina gydn or house-breaking instrument.
Ex. 54.
/ \insi carried by Kolis and Vrigliris of Gujerat.
Ex. 26.
Kariyali dhdng carried by Kolis and Y;ighris of Gujerat.
Ex. II.
(iujrrat Koli's kdtor or boomerang.
PLATE I.
PLATE II.
Ex. 23.
Part of Chhapparband's paraphernalia. Palli or iron spoon, tongs, moulds
for counterfeiting rupees and 8-anna pieces, some of the coin
turned out and clay shaped like a dnrgah.
Chhapparband's characteristic mould, taken from a drawing.
PLATE III.
Ex. 37.
Manvar Baori's mould, counterfeit rupee in the rough and palli or ladle.
Manvar Baori's characteristic mould, taken from a drawing.
PLATE IV.
Ex. 53.
Kangatti: Kaikadi's Waddar's and Berad's jemmy in the Carnatic.
Ex. 56.
Bauriah's makeshift scales.
Ex. 40.
Jemmy common among nomadic tribes living in pals.
Ex. 46.
Khdtariya : Gujerat Koli's and Ya'ghri's jemmy.
Ex. 41.
Arasukuchi: Berad's jemmy.
PLATE V.
Ex. 52.
Slings, khantad (jemmy) and knives carried by Kanjars.
PLATE VI.
Ex. 20.
Bauriah burglar's knife, waxed taper, ball of wax and gvtut (jemmy).
Ex. 38.
Oudhia's bamboo fork for lifting window and door fastenings,
gydus and tongs.
PLATE VII.
Ex. 42.
Korne (chunam scraper) carried by Bhamptas
for picking locks (actual size).
Ex. 10.
Bhampta's ulmukhs or curved knives (actual size)
Ex. 50.
Piece of metal made to look like a bar of gold,
used by Yaghri cheats (actual size).
• .-. . ..
A 001 047 454 2
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