The earliest authentic Indian historical notice of Thuggee is the statement in Zia-ud-Barni’s history of Firoz Shah, written in 1356, that about AD 1290 a thousand Thugs were captured at Delhi but that the Sultan with misplaced clemency, refused to sanction their execution, shipped them off to Lakhnaut, and there let them loose. No wonder Bengal was to become a hot-bed of Thuggee in later years! This places the antiquity of Indian Thuggee over five hundred years before it was suppressed. The next mention of thugs refers to the reign of Akbar (1556-1605), when some five hundred were captured in the Etawah district, always notorious for crime.

Still notorious, Etawah borders the district of Jalaun in which Pholan Devi was born.

Sir Francis Tuker, while recording Sleeman’s work, adds his own comments and observes:

Hindu and Muslim in India have for centuries been at enmity, the animosity stemming from the various Muslim conquests of India and the resulting oppression of the Hindus. The strangest aspect of the whole story of Thuggee is the complete burial of this hatchet among the members of the guild, the acceptance by Muslims of the Hindu deities as their spiritual patrons and Hindu ritual to serve those patrons: on the other hand, the ignoring of all Hindu taboos within the gang. The two creeds mixed in this ghastly trade.

In addition to the migration of Muslims from the north and the Middle East, over the years tens of thousands of low-caste Hindus converted to Islam (as they did to Christianity in the south) to escape the oppression of the Hindu caste system, and today Muslims form a substantial “minority” in India, numbering some 100 million people out of a total population of 800 million.

Apart from Sri Ram, Vikram Mallah had been influenced by another dacoit leader, renowned for his ability to kidnap the sons and relatives of rich landowners and extract huge ransoms. In recent years, Vikram had begun to think that Baba Mustaqeem, as he was known throughout the valley, was more cunning and successful than all the other bandit chiefs put together. Mustaqeem was Muslim but his band of men consisted of a mixture of Hindus, mostly of the lower castes, and men of his own faith. At the age of twenty-six, the age that Vikram Mallah was then, he had gained a reputation that ranked him second only to Malkhan Singh, the godfather of the gangs during the mid and late 1970s. With the return of Sri Ram imminent, Vikram wanted to expand his own power base through a wider alliance, so that the two Thakur brothers would not get the impression that he operated alone and was vulnerable to their whims. Despite his defence of his “guru”, Vikram Mallah realized that much of what had been said against him was fundamentally true. Sri Ram and his brother were not to be trusted too much. If their return created problems, he wanted to have an alternative around which to rally a split gang. He had already seen the wisdom of Mustaqeem’s perspective: kidnap-for-ransom was the safest and most lucrative way in which to operate. Raids on random villages sometimes delivered little and there was always the possibility of death. Many villagers in the region were armed and some chose to defend their property. He had already been shot once, in the leg, as a result of such resistance.

Mustaqeem’s code was: “take money from the rich and buy the support of the poor”. By contrast the Thakur gangs had a vested interest in establishing the dominance of their caste. Vikram Mallah, who came from a lower caste himself, had no such ambition. He saw no point in robbing his own caste of thelittle gold or money they might possess.

He discussed these ideas with Phoolan Devi, Bharat Singh and Madho Singh and all agreed that they should try and locate “Baba”. Rumour had it that his gang was camping in the ravines just north of the Chambal River.

Vikram Mallah and Phoolan Devi set out with about half their gang and travelled north, towards Etawah. Vikram knew of villages where they could pick up news of Mustaqeem’s where abouts. It proved to be less difficult than he had expected and within a couple of days they found themselves following a scout to the Muslim leader’s camp.

His gang was camped quite far from the river, in a clearing of thorny shrub. Mustaqeem greeted Vikram warmly, embracing him on sight.

It took him a few seconds to weigh up the rest and turning to Vikram he said, “Have you gone mad? What are you doing with this woman? Have I taught you nothing?”

Phoolan Devi, shocked and humiliated by his response, sat at a distance from the men, trying not to show her resentment. She had grown used to the prejudice of men and did not react as Mustaqeem tried to impress upon her lover that women brought bad luck and that their presence in a baghi gang symbolized death.

Vikram had been good-humoured but firm in clarifying that he made his own decisions in that respect and had come to discuss “business”. Much to Phoolan’s discomfort, Vikram informed her that they would sleep there that night because he needed to discuss certain maters with Mustaqeem. She had no choice but to accept, having decided to keep as aloof as possible.

On the way back to their own camp, two days later, Vikram informed her that he had struck a deal. For larger raids the two gangs would combine: they would assist each other in the face of a common enemy; they would share equally the loot o combined raids, regardless o how many men each side brought to the operation. In addition Mustaqeem had given him some useful tips; information that would lead to successful pakars (kidnaps). Vikram was jubilant about the alliance he had struck however short-lived it was to be for him personally. He now felt confident about taking on Sri Ram and Lala Ram on his own terms, having established connections outside their reach or influence. Baba Mustaqeem distrusted high-caste Hindus, and Thakurs in particular.

Within a day or two of this meeting, Sri Ram and his brother returned to join the gang. Phoolan records the events that followed:

“Vikram greeted them and handing over his rifle to Sri Ram, he put a red tilak on his forehead, saying ‘Thakur Sahib, now take care of your gang. Treat everyone with respect. In the eyes of God we are all equal. Think of Phoolan as your daughter. Fate has been very unkind to her.’

“We all left the area together. In a very short time, Sri Ram showed us his true colours. He established his rights over the gang and would make them run his personal errands, including having his feet massaged and pressed by gang members after a hard day’s walk.

“Gang members began protesting to Vikram saying, ‘Chief, he’s causing trouble. He thinks of no one but himself. Who is he to us anyway?’ They warned that many would not tolerate Sri Ram’s behaviour for long and the gang would soon become fragmented. This worried Vikram, so he took Sri Ram aside and told him, ‘All the men are turning hostile towards you; just be a little careful.’ Sri Ram started behaving himself from then on and stopped ordering people around. We all thought he had changed.

“One day we arrived in the jungles of Hamirpur on the banks of the Betwa River. In the morning, we sent a message to the mukhiya [headman] of Dadri village, asking him to send us food and supplies. But he came himself to tell us that his granddaughter was getting married and he was delighted that we had come on such an auspicious occasion. He invited us all to join in the festivities. Vikram selected five men whom he trusted from the gang, under the leadership of Bharat, and sent them to join the celebrations, warning them not to drink too much or cause any trouble in the village. He gave him 5000 rupees and a gold chain to be presented to the bride.

“These people had barely left when there was another invitation from a neighbouring village, for the wedding o the daughter of a poor peasant. Once again Vikram selected some men and asked Sri Ram if he would lead them to the village. Sri Ram refused, saying he wouldn’t know what to do there. So Vikram called Chhote Mishra and handed him another 5000 rupees and a gold chain, giving the men the same warnings.

“Now only the junior members of the gang were left with us, Sri Ram and Lala Ram. Sri Ram saw this opportunity and began planning Vikram’s death. At noon he suggested that Vikram and he go down to the river to bathe. Vikram asked me whether I wanted to go, whereupon Sri Ram began teasing him, saying these days he couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without Phoolan. This annoyed Vikram but he had also been provoked in front of Mahavir, a distant relative of Sri Ram who had come to visit him, so he got up and the three of them went down to the river.

“When theyreached the river bank, Sri Ram said he had not eaten melon in a long time and went looking for one. It was the melon season and they grew in abundance in fields along the river. Vikram started talking to a boatman and sat down on his charpai, waiting for Sri Ram to return. Vikram had his back to the other two so did not see what happened but he thinks Mahavir fired the shot because, when he heard it and felt the pain, he looked round and saw Sri Ram’s relative running away fast across the fields.

“There was consternation among members of the gang when they heard the sound of a shot. They didn’t know who was shooting. Then the man on guard duty climbed a sand bank; he saw Vikram lying under the charpai with the boatman, Mahavir running away and Sri Ram trying to take charge of the situation, saying that all was well, there was no need to panic.

“I ran with other members of the gang towards the river. We heard Vikram shouting, ‘Stop where you are. Don’t come near me. I have been shot by someone.’ Then he called out to me and said. ‘Phoolan, you come here, alone.’ I went up to him and started crying when I saw the blood. Vikram said, ‘Don’t be a fool. I’m all right. Where’s your rifle?’ I had left it in the camp. He then said, ‘Now help me stand up and stop crying. If you weep they will think you can’t deal with a crisis so pull yourself together.’ Then with the support of my arm he got up. He grasped his rifle, tightened his lungi and shouted to the rest, ‘I don’t know how bad it is. I don’t know whether I will live or die, but put down your guns and come closer, one at a time.’

“Sri Ram threw his gun down and started wailing like a woman as he rushed to embrace him. The others also came and we helped Vikram back to the camp. He asked Sri Ram why his relative had run away so fast and the reply was: ‘He’s only a simple farmer. He’s not used to our ways. Perhaps he thought it was the police and got frightened thinking we’d been surrounded.’

Later that evening, Bharat and Chote Mishra had returned with the rest and they all sat close by Vikram Mallah, watching his fever rise. A bullet had lodged itself in his thigh. Blood seeped steadily through the bandages Phoolan had made of clean srips of khaki, torn from new uniforms the gang had recently acquired, to which she had been attaching labels of rank. Bharat rushed back to the village of Dadri to arrange some form of transport. Phoolan and Vareylal, Vikram’s uncle, were determined to try to get him to Jhansi somehow. Vikram’s elder brother lived there with his family and could help them find a good doctor. Vareylal was sure of that.

While they waited, Sri Ram tried to prevail upon Phoolan Devi not to lose her head and make reckless decisions. “Can’t you see he is dying? I’ve seen dying men before and I know Vikram would not like to die like a dog in police hands. Keep him here among friends who can perform his last rites. If he dies in hospital, the police will take his body.”

Convinced that Sri Ram had been behind the attack, Phoolan Devi was in no mood to listen to his opinions and snapped back, “I will not let him die and he is not going to die. All I know is that someone shot him and there were no police in sight.”

Hours passed and eventually an old farmer arrived with his bullock cart. Again Sri Ram said, “This is madness, putting him into that thing. Think of how long it will take you to get to Jhansi!”

Again she said to him coldly, “What did you expect from this village? A helicopter? Anyway, stop all your stupid talk. What I need is money to pay the doctor and anyone who is really his friend should give me what they’ve got. Vikram would have done the same if it were any of you.”