A History of the Mahrattas v1.c13.93

v1.c13.93

¹ [See pp. 16, 17, supra. The dress and appearance of some sects of religious mendicants constitute a very effective disguise. The Bhāmtas, a criminal tribe of the Deccan and Southern Marāthā districts, frequently assume this disguise, which gives them easy access to inhabited areas. It has also been occasionally adopted in recent years by members of the revolutionary party in Bengal. (Report of Rowlatt Sedition Committee, 1918, p. 44.) V. A. Smith in a footnote on page 592 of his edition of Sleeman's Rambles (1915) remarks: ‘The author's other works show that Thugs frequently assumed the guise of ascetics, and much of the secret crime of India is known to be committed by men who adopt the garb of holiness. A man disguised as a fakir is often sent on by dacoits (gang-robbers) as a spy and decoy.’ Mackintosh mentions that the Rāmosīs, when preparing for a robbery, adopted ‘the dress of a Goosyne (Gosain) or Vyraggy (Vairāgī), who wear clothes of a dark orange or brick-dust colour, or of a Waggiah (Vāghē, a male devotee of Khandoba).’ (Account of the Origin, &c. of the Tribe of Ramoossies, Bombay, 1833.)]