Children of Kali

They murdered more than a million Indian travellers without spilling a drop of blood. They were inspired by religious fanaticism, yet came from many faiths. Their weapon was the handkerchief, their sacrament sugar, and their goddess Kali. They were the thugs, the greatest criminal gang in history. Modern day bandit Veerappan is also responsible for more than a hundred murders. Some say he is a freedom fighter, others that he is a vicious killer. Still at large in the jungles, he is India’s most wanted man and notorious criminal. Two criminal legends: one ancient, one modern, but both deceptions, distorted and misused by those in power to further their own ends. In Children of Kali, Kevin Rushby investigates the dark side of India. His quest to uncover the reality behind Veerappan’s story and that of the thugs takes him to prisons and gangster hideouts, probing the nature of crime and punishment. Part history and part personal record, Children of Kali reveals how British India demonized millions as hereditary criminals, setting off a witch-hunt whose effects are still felt today. It is a book about the misunderstanding of what is alien and exotic—and few things have been more misunderstood than the nature of Kali herself.