The Life and Death of 'Indian Robin Hood' Muniswamy Veerappan

Every nation has legends about noble robbers, but not everyone has the chance to live at the same time as such a "Robin Hood". Residents of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala were lucky in this sense, they were able to personally meet their hero Munisamy Veerappan. He cannot be called a good person, but the people loved Veerappan, which allowed him to engage in robbery and poaching with impunity for decades.

Muniswamy Veerappan was born on January 18, 1952, in the village of Gopinatham, Karnataka. His family lived in extreme poverty and belonged to the lowest caste. The boy completed only five years of schooling, after which he began helping his father, who was engaged in small-time smuggling. But this standard of living did not satisfy young Veerappan; he dreamed of more.

At the age of 14, Veerappan decided to escape poverty and chose a criminal path - robbery, poaching and smuggling. He joined a gang that made a living by extracting elephant tusks and sandalwood. The guys from the jungle did not disdain kidnapping rich people and tourists, for whom they demanded ransom.

Veerappan committed his first murder at the age of 16, and by 18, his “service record” already included hundreds of crimes: robberies, arson, kidnappings and reprisals against victims. Over the years, his audacity grew, as did his influence in the criminal world. Muniswamy even kidnapped high-ranking officials and A-list celebrities.

In 2000, Muniswamy Veerappan's gang kidnapped the famous Bollywood actor Raj Kumar. The criminals demanded a ransom of 20 million rupees. After lengthy negotiations, the authorities managed to free the star by paying 5 million rupees. In addition to money, Veerappan also made political demands.

Muniswamy Veerappana demanded justice reforms in Tamil Nadu, the return of Tamil language to government schools and measures to support the poor. He also demanded the release of rebels from the anti-government group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from jail. The government ignored these demands.

Veerappan was sincerely loved by the people, and for good reason. The robber helped the poor, often giving them large sums of money, cattle, and food. He also clashed with the police, who were not respected by ordinary people in South India. Many believed that the police protected the interests of the authorities and the rich, ignoring the needs of ordinary citizens.

Veerappan's gang also collaborated with Tamil rebels who were fighting for the rights of their people. All this gave the bandit a reputation as the Indian Robin Hood. For many years, he successfully avoided raids and unexpectedly attacked his enemies, thanks to the support of the local population. An entire army of informants allowed the robber to be one step ahead of his pursuers.

The peasants were also attracted to Veerappan's lifestyle. In his youth, he had taken a vow not to drink alcohol, take drugs or engage in casual sex. He kept his promise all his life. In the mid-1980s, the bandit fell in love with a girl from a peasant family named Muthulakshmi. Whenever possible, Veerappan would meet his beloved in the jungle, not far from her village.

The girl's parents, although they respected the bandit, were against their affair. They wanted a quiet and safe life for their daughter. As a result, Muthulakshmi ran away with her beloved, and the couple got married in one of the secluded forest temples in January 1990. The girl steadfastly endured the hardships of nomadic life and even spent 8 months of pregnancy in the jungle.

But giving birth far from civilization and then hiding in the tropical forests with the child was dangerous. So Veerappan returned his beloved to her father. He brought his disobedient daughter to the city of Chennai and handed her over to the police. But the law enforcement officers were afraid to pursue the wife of a daring and vengeful robber. Muthulakshmi was placed in a women's hostel, where she gave birth to a girl.

After the birth, the woman was allowed to return to her home, but she was kept under surveillance. Despite this, she communicated with her husband through his confidants who came to the village at night. When the child grew up, Muthulakshmi left him with her parents and returned to the jungle to her beloved.

Muthulakshmi and Veerappan had two more children in the forest, but only one survived. According to one local legend, a bandit strangled the newborn girl during a raid so that her cries would not give away the gang. The veracity of this story is unknown. It is likely just an attempt by journalists to denigrate a man who was truly loved by the people.

For more than 30 years, Indian authorities have tried unsuccessfully to catch or eliminate Veerappan. In addition to robberies, he caused serious damage to the economy and nature of the country's southern states. His people cut down hundreds of hectares of valuable sandalwood to sell it on the black market.

In addition, it is estimated that over the years of its activity, the gang killed about 2,000 elephants for their tusks and several hundred tigers for their skins. As for human victims, the gang was responsible for 184 proven murders and countless people who simply disappeared into the dense jungle.

The "Indian Robin Hood" Muniswamy Veerappan died in October 2004. It happened in a fight with the Special Task Force (STF) of the Tamil Nadu police. The authorities carried out a large-scale special operation called "Cocoon" to bring down the gang of robbers.

That day, many of Veerappan's comrades died, several were detained, and some simply disappeared into the jungle, leaving no trace. The police also suffered losses - the gang fought back fiercely, because it was clear to everyone that there would be no mercy. For a long time, people refused to believe in Veerappan's death, even when pictures of his body appeared in all the Indian media.

The dubious fame of the robber did not prevent him from firmly entering world culture. Veerappan became the prototype for heroes of books, films and even characters of computer games. In August 2023, Netflix released the documentary series "Hunting Veerappan".

In 2014, the British company Lush presented the perfume "Smuggler's Soul", which was based on the aroma of sandalwood and oriental spices. The product packaging featured Veerappan himself with his famous bushy moustache, which became the bandit's calling card. The advertisement described the aroma as "exciting and dangerous".

Veerappan's story is still controversial: for some, he was a brutal criminal, for others, a folk hero. Do you think he deserved his popularity or is his image romanticized? Share your opinion in the comments!