The English language has adopted thousands of words over the years from nearly every imaginable language.  One word that we take for granted in its usage, and tend to forget in its origins, is that of the word "thug".  Surprisingly, this word has not changed much in its usage since it developed in 14th century India.

The word "thug" is actually a shortened version of the word "Thuggee".  The Thuggee were members of a gang that ran throughout the subcontinent for much of the last millennium.  Very little is actually known about how the thugs operated, which is why they are widely referred to as a cult.  In fact the term is a slight misnomer in that they came from Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim backgrounds.  The Thuggee were very secretive and disciplined in their operation.  The primary method was one of infiltration within traveling caravans.  Members would join a caravan and travel with the group secretly for as long as it would take to gain the trust of the fellow travelers.  Often the thugs would even employ children within their ranks to increase their "innocent" appearance.  The discipline required to stay "hidden" and to not even acknowledge acquaintance with other Thuggee members for sometimes literally hundreds of miles is not short of amazing, and goes a long way to explaining the centuries of dominance the Thuggee enjoyed.  After trust was firmly established, the thugs would attack in a secluded spot, usually early in the morning while the travelers were going about daily chores and making a good deal of noise.  The thugs would silently move through the crowd and kill people one by one.  Often some members of the cult would play loud music and cause commotion to avoid drawing attention to the killings.  The Thuggee were absolutely meticulous about making sure that every single caravan member was killed, with the possible exception of children who were groomed and trained to become thugs.  This insured the continued anonymity of the gang members.  In fact, part of the modus operandi of the Thuggee was to rely on a complete surprise factor.  As shocking as it is to suddenly be strangled, it is even more of a shock if that comes from a person you have come to trust and befriend.  The preferred method of murder was strangulation with a "yellow scarf" or rumal.  This method in fact became iconically associated with the Thuggee. Once all of the caravan victims were killed, they were buried in unmarked graves designed to look like a camp site.  Since it often took a very long time for the caravans to make it across the subcontinent, these murders often would not be discovered for months, during which time the Thuggee managed to disappear entirely into Indian society.

With the advent of horse and train transportation, the methods of the Thuggee became rather obsolete.  While it is impossible to fully track the history of the Thugs due to the massive secrecy, it is believed that they were wiped out by the British in the 1830s.  While there are rumors of Thuggee cults mantaining viability into the 20th Century, it is unlikely in that the level of secrecy required in modern Indian society could be upheld for so long.  In the end, the Thuggee simply faded into the background of Indian society becoming ripe material for legend throughout the subcontinent.  Next time you consider getting "Thug Life" tattooed on your knuckles, consider the Thuggee and how much more commitment true Thug Life would require than a simple LA street gang.