In the beginning they were free-loaders in the army of the Marhattas and marched in the rearguard as non-combatants. However, they shared in the war booty and when the war was over they returned to their homes and engaged in cultivation of their fields. The structure of the Pindaris changed when the East India Company extended its hegemony and as a result of it the solders who were in the service of the Indian rulers became unemployed. They joined this gang in order to earn their livelihood through loot and plunder.

As people of every caste and creed joined the gang it became multi-religious and multi-cultured in its character. Moreover, they no longer remained under the authority of any state or ruler and organised themselves under their own leadership and settled in those areas which were safe for their activities.

It was the custom of the Pindaris to launch their campaign of plunder during the Dasehra festival as this festival was traditionally considered to be a good omen by thugs and bandits all across India, and they shared their booty with the deity in gratitude. The main areas of their looting activities were Mewar, Marwar, Malwa and Rajputana. When these territories were exhausted as a result of plunder, they turned their attention to Maharashtara. Before launching a campaign they selected a leader who was well acquainted with the geography of the area. They kept their movements in complete secrecy. At one point they divided into different parties and again gathered on the same spot after completing their mission.

They travelled in groups of two or three thousand, covering nearly 40 km every day as they carried nothing but a bit of bread for food and grass for their horses. Their favourite weapon was an 18-foot-long spear and every 15th person had a gun. It was said that their attack was so sudden that people did not have time to defend themselves. If, however, they found that the situation was not favourable, they rapidly fled from the scene. As their main motive was to plunder, they were not ready to die fighting. Therefore, they tried not to fight any battle and raided those places where there was no army to defeat. They chose routes where they were in no danger of being attacked by any force.

The Pindaris took those things which were valuable and light to carry and burnt the rest. As soon as they entered the targeted area, they forced the inhabitants to provide them food and take care of their horses. They were merciless in their treatment of their victims. When they got their hands on a wealthy person they tortured him by adopting different painful methods until he gave them all his wealth. Sometimes they killed the men and took away women and children as war booty.

When they returned to their settlement after a successful campaign, they deposited the plunder with their leader for distribution. The leader kept a quarter of the booty for himself, usually choosing the most valuable and precious items. As each campaign was financed by a loan from a trader, this was also paid off from the booty. Then there was the distribution and every Pindari got his share. Each one then put his share for sale in the market which became a sort of festival and people from surrounding areas came shopping. The market remained open until all things were sold. After that, they started preparation for the next adventure.

In the beginning the Pindaris did not attack territories which were under the East India Company. But in 1808, 1809 and 1812 they raided the British territories as well. This alarmed the British government which realised that if the Pindaris were not crushed and law and order not maintained, it would lose its credibility in the eyes of the Indians. Thus it began to collect information about Pindaris, their leaders, their activities and their settlements.

The British finally declared war against the Pindaris in 1817 who were routed almost at once as they were not accustomed to regular warfare. One by one their leaders laid down their arms; some of them compromised but some refused and died either in prison or in clashes. This ended the dreadful reign of terror and British government restored peace to its territories.

Today we have modern Pindaris in our society who plunder the resources of the state and society without any punishment. Our government is not bothered; in fact, it sometime legalises the acts of robbery. As a result,s the Pindaris have resurrected in a new form to target us.