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India's Bizarre Case of the Rampaging Eunuchs

By David Lohr

Eunuchs, who are perhaps best described as castrated males, have been around at least since 900 BC. The practice of castrating portions of the male population is believed to have begun in China, and the eunuchs were initially utilized to stand guard over royal harems. Often thin and hairless with shrill voices, they can be an unsettling spectacle for the unsuspecting passerby.  Although their numbers have dwindled drastically in most parts of the world, it is believed that approximately 1 million eunuchs still exist today in India where gangs keep the practice alive. Known as hijras in that country, they have become a source of fear, and for good reason.The gangs of Indian eunuchs, it appears, have apparently turned from their traditional role of bringing good fortune to people by dancing at weddings and performing ritual blessings on newborn children, and are now instead using violence and threats of violence to extort money by menacing tourists and the general population in India's largest cities...continue to full post

Full post as published by Bizarre Crimes of the Week on April 16, 2008 (boomark / email).