Interrogation, Investigation, and Empire

W.H. Sleeman’s Thuggee Campaign and the Colonial Archive

Abstract

This paper explores W.H. Sleeman’s depiction of Thuggee in 19th-century colonial India and its role in shaping colonial ideas of crime and control. Sleeman’s 1838 work, The Thugs and Phansigars of India: Comprising a History of the Rise and Progress of That Extraordinary Fraternity of Assassins, portrays Thuggee as an ancient and deeply rooted cultural practice in India. His accounts are marked by exaggeration, generalisation, and religious framing, which helped justify colonial intervention. The study examines Sleeman’s investigative methods, reliance on informants, and his omission of socio-economic contexts, which contributed to stereotyping and targeting specific communities. During this period, the colonial government relied on tools like education, religion, and legal systems to tighten its control over the population. Branding certain groups as “criminal tribes” based on caste and religion became a key strategy. Sleeman’s efforts to identify and eliminate Thuggee reflect this larger project of using the legal framework to suppress communities. This paper critically analyses his methods of interrogation and investigation to understand how guilt was established beyond reasonable doubt and how his narrative shaped colonial policies. It argues that Sleeman’s work not only reinforced prejudices but also institutionalised systems of discrimination that helped the colonial regime maintain its dominance.