Conversion to Hijrah (EUNUCH) – Is it need based or a crime

Young boys were allegedly kidnapped and kept under illegal custody for months together. After demoralization had set in due to prolonged confinement, surgery was done on their private parts and female hormones were given to the persons.

Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine
Year : 2004, Volume : 26, Issue : 4
Print ISSN : 0971-0973.

Conversion to Hijrah (EUNUCH) – Is it need based or a crime

Authors: Dr. Dalal J. S.1, DRME (Pb.), State Medicolegal Advisor, Principal, Professor & Head, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Gorea R. K.2, Professor & Head, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Rai Hakumat1, Additional Professor, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Chanana Ashok1, Associate Professor, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Kaur Paramjeet2, Associate Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dr. Rai Gurmanjit2, Assistant Professor, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Aggarwal A. D.2, Junior Resident, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Mittal Shilekh1, Junior Resident, Forensic Medicine, Dr. Chawla Rahul1, Junior Resident, Forensic Medicine

1GMC, Amritsar
2GMC, Patiala

Abstract
Young boys were allegedly kidnapped and kept under illegal custody for months together. After demoralization had set in due to prolonged confinement, surgery was done on their private parts and female hormones were given to the persons. The converted person were made to wear female garments and performed in groups as a female dancers and earned money while in captivity. After a few years the person approached the police that this heinous crime had been done against their will.

Introduction
In the 8th century BC Chinese emperors kept eunuchs to guard their harems and also used them as domestic servants. [1]. In the Mughal dynasty, the Hijrahs were officially employed to take care of harems as they were castrated males, which could not exploit the females sexually, but were able to carry out all the domestic work. Hijrahs were synthesized by castrating the males at young age and as such, they were neither physically declared as males nor females. With the decline of the Mughal dynasty this system of preparing Hijrahs and using them as source of earning persisted in the society of Hijrahs. Since long thee has been a tradition in India that at the auspicious occasions eunuchs go to houses where celebrations are being held. They go to such houses, sing and dance and collect money as “shaguns”. Now-a-days they are also seen amusing in trains and asking for money. Usually they take away the child who is born as eunuch from the parents. They train the child to sing and dance. Some unemployed persons also join the group as instrumental musician.

When the old Hijrah is unable to amuse the public by dancing, immediately they keep eye on some vulnerable child, castrate him illegally and then assemble that child in their group by either threatening the parents of that child or by luring them with money and other daily needs of life. In majority of the cases, if every thing goes alright mutually, then there is hardly any dispute which is reported to the police or legal authorities. But at times the synthesized Hijrah or his parents might report the matter to police or legal authorities contesting the cruel action on their child or it may be money dispute, which brings the matter on the surface.

Some perverted males may join this profession deliberately for earning as well as by transvesting their sex to satisfy their mental aberration of becoming a female. There is another set of perverted males who are called as Zananas. They are basically males having intact male organs but behave like females in their garments and habits and even they attract males for sodomy. In metros both Hijrahs and Zananas are professionally working as catamites for earning their livelihood.

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Published: 16 Oct 2005

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Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine