JALANDHAR, Aug 11 — Easy money and comparatively lesser work pressure is luring scores of young and middle-aged idles of Doaba region of Punjab to undergo castration and join the ranks of eunuchs, easily recognised from their peculiar style of clapping and singing, colourful attire and forcible collection of money at the time of the birth of a child in rural as well urban areas of the entire northern region.

While on one hand this new phenomenon among youths and even those who are old and either unemployed or shirk work for the simple reason that they do not want to do hard labour has been enabling them to earn their livelihood in a better way, on the other hand it has been leading to a brisk business by quacks and even doctors who castrate willing youths after charging hefty amounts from them.

Interestingly, a sizeable chunk of idlers don’t even get themselves castrated but just start acting like eunuchs after changing their attire and forming small groups.

But both types of new entrants, irrespective of the fact that they have been castrated or not, have started eroding the monopoly of “real” eunuchs. This has even set off a process leading to dwindling of money collection of original eunuchs, notwithstanding the fact that in some cases “mahants” or heads of “deras” eunuchs prefer to employ effeminate but normal guys of urban and semi-urban areas to join them and perform in dancing troupes on a daily basis to supplement their income or in a conscious effort to make their troupe look big enough to impress rivals and common people.

There are about 50 “deras” of eunuchs in the Doaba region alone. Each of these “deras” has 30 to 50 eunuchs in it and according to an estimate at least about 10 per cent inmates of these “deras” are either those who have undergone castration or normal people who have been feigning to be eunuchs and have been performing dances and singing like them.

The number of “fake” eunuchs has been swelling with each passing day since the trend started three years ago. So are the worries of the original lot of eunuchs increasing who feel threatened and fear that the day when they would be sidelined and their profession would eventually be usurped and controlled by the new breed of “make-believe” eunuchs” are not far off. If this keeps on going at this pace and without any check we will be forced to starve or shift to some other profession”, said a visibly worried Shobha Hall, a leader of the eunuchs based here. Shobha was particularly critical of doctors and quacks who specialise in castration and said there should be a complete ban on the practice. “They bring a bad name to us as well as to our profession since new entrants indulge in pick-pocketing and thefts, as a result of which people have started viewing us with a bit of suspicion,” lamented Shobha and other members of her group in unison.

According to a survey conducted by The Tribune, most of those who have joined the ranks of eunuchs are handsome youngsters in the age group of 20-35 years. They usually hail from rural as well semi-urban areas of Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts. All of them have joined this

rather unusual and “off beat” profession after being lured by the great earning potential ranging between Rs 200 and Rs 600 a day for each of them. At times, a group of eunuchs even makes more in the shape of gold rings in case male child is born.