Book Review: The Children of Kali by Kevin Rushby

by Aarcee

December 16, 2005

It is in man’s nature to trust the printed word more than the spoken word. Printed word that gets published is often seen as a well researched Holy Grail which people read with trust and reverence. Even among printed and published works, Government reports are seen as the last word in truth. This human psychology can be exploited by government campaigns to misinform the world and write a history favorable to them.

We have, for the last 60 years, been ‘led to believe’ by books based on British records, that during the early days of British Raj, there existed a menace in the forests of India called Thugee. The Thugs were people who engaged in deceit – befriending unwary travelers and killing them by strangulation and making off with their booty. The Thugs, the books told us, traveled as gangs disguised as travelers. The were devout worshippers of the Hindu Goddess Kali and spoke a tongue of coded messages that was called Ramaseena. By British accounts, a valiant Englishman named William Sleeman put an end to this scourge by a determined pursuit and prosecution of the evil minded criminals. In his exploits, Sleeman is portrayed something like a super human – a Tarzan of sorts, rooting out the evil from the innards of India.

The reality may, however, be very different. If you are an avid reader and claim to be an intellectual, I would strongly suggest you to read the recently published book, “The Children of Kali” by Kevin Rushby. This is a ‘must read’ book for many reasons. It is very analytical in its approach. It approaches India with neutrality – not with a mindset of derision that the average evangelical Englishman had for the real and imagined customs of India.

In their own minds, the British saw themselves as the spreaders of Civilization and Christianity (which some considered to be an integral part of being civilized). It was very sobering for them to find that when they arrived in India, Christianity had been around for centuries ! It was no news to India. The body of St. Thomas had lain in state in Goa for centuries when the British set foot on the Indian soil. India had a culture of its own which was based on ‘sanskar’ and personal responsibility. The British tried to poke holes in anything they could find. When they could not, they concocted stories. The British evangelicals used packaged permissiveness with Christianity to lure Indian youth – especially in the Northeastern part of the country , when the fact remains that Christianity and traditional Indian value systems go very well hand in hand – as practiced by a lot of Christians from the traditional southern part of the country..

Exaggerated tales of barbarism made good selling back in England, where eager readers lapped up tales of how the brave British Officers were reforming the cult ridden, devil worshipping society of India. It this light, it also appears that an occasional sporadic incident to sati could have been portrayed as a widespread barbaric custom. When we read the accounts written by the British, we must be aware of the biases that they carried with them. Most were evangelical, seeing Indians as lascivious pagan sinners who worshipped a devil (which in itself is a corruption of the word ‘devi’). It burnt them that, even though they lorded over India, they could not get many Hindus to bring them a glass of water. The Hindus saw them as ‘malech’, and there are accounts of how the British fumed when recalling such incidents.

By the methodical piecing together of evidence available today, the author in “The Children of Kali” points out to a systematic plunder of India’s forests to clear agricultural land to grow poppy for opium. The opium grown in India was exported to China. The British held a complete monopoly on the opium trade. No one else was allowed to trade in opium. Some clandestine trade by others, nevertheless, went on. The British, through their indulgence in the opium trade, have earned their place as the pioneer drug peddlers of the world. They pushed the farmers beyond the edge of penury by forcing them to cultivate poppy on a significant part of their land. The British bought at opium that was extracted from the poppy pods a pathetically low price. This exploitation resulted in widespread poverty. The enormous cash flow generated by the opium trade became a target for the hungry farmers. A few sporadic cases of robberies were given the label of a widespread cult to Thugee. The Hindu faith was also pulled in – both to lend credence to the theory and to malign its face. To the readers back in London, Kali, without any explanation, could very easily be seen as the face of devilry. Indian men were portrayed as lascivious wretches. “The Passage to India” and “The Jewel of the Crown” both carry this message. It made a good story and above all, it allowed the racist elements in the British government to brutally execute those who threatened their opium trade. They also used this excuse to deport large number of people as cheap labor to other colonies on the pretext of “kala pani”. This widespread execution prevented the loot of the spoils to the opium trade by the poor and hungry farmers who had become famished growing poppy for the British. The story of Thugee and association with Kali was a very crafty way of covering up the indiscriminate hangings. The British theorized that the so called Thugs had thievery built into them at the genetic level.

It surely helped them that it was only they (the British) alone who were writing history at that time. They not only recorded history, they invented parts of it – of course to their own benefit.

I encourage every reader of PD to read this book. It is an excellent piece of literature written with a lot of understanding of and empathy to various Indian institutions.

 

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