Children of Kali

the long version

"In the early 1800s, the greatest criminal gang in history operated throughout India. Its members were inspired by religious fanatics and came from many faiths, yet they worshipped one goddess, Kali. In her name, they murdered more than one million Indian travellers - all without spilling a drop of blood. Their weapon was the handkerchief, their sacrament sugar, and the gang was supposedly eradicated by the British in the 1830s." "Today, a modern-day bandit named Veerappan is India's most-wanted man and most notorious criminal, responsible for more than 100 murders. Some say he is a freedom fighter, others that he is a vicious killer. Still at large in the jungles of southwestern India, he avoids capture, his followers claim, by magical powers." "In Children of Kali, Kevin Rushby searches for two criminal legends, both of which are deceptions in their own way, distorted and misused by those in power. Rushby recounts his quest to gain a meeting with Veerappan while he probes the legends of the Thug Cult and the legendary British policeman, William Sleeman, responsible for its suppression. He visits prisons and gangster hideouts, exploring the nature of crime and punishment in a country where good and evil may be as murky as the Ganges River." "A blend of travel journalism and history, infused with Rushby's infectious spirit and with memorable characters, Children of Kali connects past with present and reexamines the legacy of the British Raj."--Jacket.