Dacoity - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dacoity is a term used for "banditry

Banditry

Banditry refers to the life and practice of bandits which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as "one who is proscribed or outlawed; hence, a lawless desperate marauder, a brigand: usually applied to members of the organized gangs which infest the mountainous districts of Italy, Sicily, Spain,...

" in India. The spelling is the anglicized version of the Hindi word and as a colloquial Anglo-Indian

Anglo-Indian

Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...

word with this meaning, also appears in the Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases (1903) Banditry is criminal activity involving robbery by groups of armed bandits. The Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts, 1836–1848

Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts, 1836–1848

The Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts, 1836–1848 in British India under East India Company rule were a series of legal acts that outlawed thugee—a practice in North and Central India involving robbery and ritualized murder and mutilation on highways—and dacoity, a form of banditry...

was enacted in British India under East India Company rule

Company rule in India

Company rule in India refers to the rule or dominion of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent...

. Areas with ravines or forests, like Chambal

Chambal

Chambal may refer to:* Chambal Jatt* Chambal Division* Chambal River...

, Chilapata Forests

Chilapata Forests

The Chilapata Forest is a dense forest near Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Dooars, Jalpaiguri District. It is about 20 km from Alipurduar, and just a few minutes away from Hasimara town...

were once known for dacoits.

Etymology

The word "Dacoity" is the anglicized version of the Hindustani

Hindustani language

Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...

word ḍakaitī (historically spelled dakaitee, Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

डकैती or Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

ڈکیتی or Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

ডাকাতি) which comes from ḍākū (historically spelled dakoo, Hindi

Hindi

: डाकू, Urdu

Urdu

: ڈاکو, meaning "armed robber") or Bangla ḍakat (ডাকাত).

In Hindi

Hindi

Dacoity (Hindi

Hindi

: डकैती ḍakaitī, Urdu

Urdu

: ڈکیتی ḍakaitī, Bengali

Bengali language

: ডাকাতি ḍakati) means "armed robbery

Robbery

Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....

".
The term Dacoit (Hindi

Hindi

: डकैत ḍakait, Urdu

Urdu

: ڈکیت ḍakait, Bengali

Bengali language

: ডাকাত ḍakat) means "a bandit". According to OED ("A member of a class of robbers in India and Burma, who plunder in armed bands.") Dacoits existed in Burma as well as India, and Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...

's fictional Private Mulvaney was hunting Burmese "dacoits" in The Taking of Lungtungpen

The Taking of Lungtungpen

The Taking of Lungtungpen is a short story by Rudyard Kipling which was first published in the Civil and Military Gazette on April 11, 1887, and in book form in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills in 1888, and in subsequent editions of that collection...

. Sax Rohmer

Sax Rohmer

Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...

's legendary criminal mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu

Fu Manchu

Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...

also employed Burmese dacoits as his henchmen. The term was also applied, according to OED, to "pirates who formerly infested the Ganges between Calcutta and Burhampore

Baharampur

Baharampur is a city in the West Bengal state of India. Baharampur is the sixth largest city in West Bengal and situated in central part of West Bengal. Baharampur is nominated for becoming the municipal corporation...

".

"Known Dacoit" (K.D.) is a term used by the Indian police forces to classify criminals.

Famous dacoits

The most infamous dacoit was probably India's Phoolan Devi

Phoolan Devi

Phoolan Devi , popularly known as the "Bandit Queen", was an Indian dacoit and later a politician. After being gang-raped by some upper-caste members of her gang, Phoolan Devi turned a bandit, and killed 22 upper-caste villagers in 1981. Following this, she became notorious across India as a bandit...

who authored an autobiography. The movie, Bandit Queen

Bandit Queen

Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...

, released in 1994, was based on her life. But the title of the most legendary dacoit is held by Daku Man Singh

Man Singh (dacoit)

Man Singh, known as "Daku Man Singh", meaning Dacoit Maan Singh, was a notorious dacoit, or bandit, born in Agra to a Rajput Family.-Biography:...

. Between 1939 and 1955, Daku Man Singh had notched over 1,000 armed robberies, 185 murders, and countless ransom kidnappings. He was involved in 90 police encounters and had killed 32 policemen.

More recently, dacoit Veerappan

Veerappan

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan commonly known as Veerappan, was a notorious dacoit, or robber bandit, of India. He was active for a period of years in a broad swath of land covering 6,000 km² in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu...

of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

state evaded authorities for decades until he was shot dead in 2004. He was active for a period of years in a broad swathe of land covering 6,000 km² in the states of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

and Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

. Chambal

Chambal Division

Chambal Division is an administrative geographical unit of Madhya Pradesh state of India. Morena is the administrative headquarters of the division. Currently , the division consists of the three districts of Morena, Bhind and Sheopur....

dacoit Nirbhay Singh Gujjar

Nirbhay Gujjar

Nirbhay Singh Gurjar was the most wanted dacoit of Chambal, India. There was a reward of Rs. 2.5 lakh on his head.He was shot dead on November 8, 2005 by police.-References:...

achieved national renown before being killed in 2005.
The most infamous dacoit was Sultana Daku in district Bijnor

Bijnor

Bijnor variously spelt as Bijnaur and Bijnour, is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India...

Protection measures

In Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

State, women belonging to a village defence group have been issued gun permits to fend off dacoity. The chief minister of the district, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, recognized the role the women had played in defending their villages without guns. He stated that he wanted to enable these women to better defend both themselves and their villages, and issued the gun permits to advance this goal.

In popular culture

As the dacoits flourished through the 1950s-1970s, they were theme was several films made in the era, starting with Ganga Jamuna
Ganga Jamuna
Gunga Jumna is a 1961 dacoit drama Bollywood film produced by Dilip Kumar and directed by Nitin Bose. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in the lead with Nasir Khan, Azra, Leela Chitnis, Kanhaiyalal, Anwar Hussain, Nasir Hussain, Helen forms an ensemble cast...

(1961) and Raj Kapoor’s Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), and Sunil Dutt

Sunil Dutt

Sunil Dutt , born Sunil Balraj Dutt, was an Indian Hindi movie actor , producer, director and politician. He was the cabinet minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Manmohan Singh government...

's classic, Mujhe Jeene Do
Mujhe Jeene Do
Mujhe Jeene Do is a 1963 Hindi film directed by Moni Bhattacharjee. This dacoit-drama stars Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Nirupa Roy, Rajendranath and Mumtaz....

(1963). Other films in this genre were, Khote Sikkay
Khote Sikkay
Khote Sikkay is an Indian film inspired by the American Cowboy genre complete with horses and poncho's. Feroz Khan and Danny Denzongpa played 2 out of a gang of men hired by a villager to save his village from the dacoits. Narendra Bedi made this movie for a 1973 release...

(1973), Mera Gaon Mera Desh
Mera Gaon Mera Desh
Mera Gaon Mera Desh is a 1971 Indian film made by Raj Khosla, starring Dharmendra in the lead role and also Vinod Khanna as the villain.-Performances:...

(1971), and Kuchhe Dhaage
Kuchhe Dhaage
Kuchhe Dhaage is a 1973 Bollywood action film directed by Raj Khosla. The film stars Vinod Khanna, Maushumi and Kabir Bedi. Laxmikant Pyarelal scored tuned lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi which were quite popular in those days. It is one of the big film of the year.-Cast:*Vinod Khanna ... Thakur...

(1973) both by Raj Khosla

Raj Khosla

Raj Khosla was one of the top directors, producer and screenwriter in Hindi films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in ‘neo-noir’ and style in Indian cinema since black & white times, and also as a "women's director" because he showcased actresses at their best. He is often...

, the latter inspired the blockbuster, Sholay
Sholay
Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...

(1975) had the character of Gabbar Singh

Gabbar Singh (character)

Gabbar Singh is a fictional character and the antagonist in the 1975 Indian movie Sholay written by Salim-Javed and also later featured in the spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay....

played by Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan was an acclaimed Indian actor and director. He worked in over 130 films in his film career spanning nearly twenty years. He enjoyed popularity for his villainous roles in Hindi films the most famous being the unforgettable Gabbar Singh in 1975 classic Sholay...

. Sholay became a classic in the genre, and its success lead to a surge in films in this genre, Ganga Ki Saugandh
Ganga Ki Saugandh
Ganga Ki Saugandh is a 1978 Hindi movie. Produced and directed by Sultan Ahmed this film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Amjad Khan, Pran, I. S. Johar, Bindu, and Anju Mahendru. The music is by Kalyanji Anandji....

(1978) once again with Amitabh Bachchan, and Amjad Khan.

Punjabi biopic Jatt Jeona Morh
Jatt Jeona Morh (1991 film)
Jatt Jeona Morh, released in 1991, is a Punjabi film starring Gugu Gill and Gurkirtan. It is based on the real life Dacoit Jatt Jeona Morh. It is directed by Ravinder Ravi. It became a quite big hit in Punjab.-Plot:...

about the noted dacoit, Jatt Jeona Morh, was made in 1991, also in the same year came, Jagga Daku
Jagga Daku (1991 film)
Jagga Daku is a Punjabi movie released in 1991. It is based on the real life Punjabi dacoit Jagga Daku. It had Yograj Singh in the main role as Jagga Daku....

based on a noted outlaw and dacoit during British Raj, Jagga Daku.

Hindi novel, पैंसठ लाख की डकैती (Painstth Lakh ki Dacoity, 1977) was written by Surender Mohan Pathak

Surender Mohan Pathak

Surender Mohan Pathak is an author of Hindi-language crime fiction with nearly 300 novels to his credit. His writing career, along with his full time job in Indian Telephone Industries, Delhi, began in the early 1960s with his brilliant Hindi translations of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, and...

, it was translated as The 65 Lakh Heist
The 65 Lakh Heist
The 65 Lakh Heist is first English version of any Surender Mohan Pathak book. The hindi crime thriller पैंसठ लाख की डकैती . was first published in 1977. The novel revolves around the exploit of Vimal and his friends that is breaking the vault the Bharat Bank at Amritsar to loot 65 Lakh rupees...

.

External links

As modern world closes in, India's fabled bandits are disappearing - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Etymology

Famous dacoits

Protection measures

In popular culture

Further reading

External links