Indian eunuchs mourn 15 killed in fire at ceremony

By MUNEEZA NAQVI, Associated Press – 17 hours ago

NEW DELHI (AP) — An isolated and shunned community of castrated men, transvestites and transsexuals mourned Monday for 15 comrades killed when a fire blazed through a makeshift tent where they had gathered to honor deceased friends.

The fire Sunday night sent the thousands of gathered eunuchs into a panic as people struggled to escape the burning tent, witnesses and police said. In addition to those killed, at least 36 others were injured, most of them elderly.

The term eunuch, or hijra, is used in India to describe a community of people who identify themselves as neither male nor female but as members of a third gender. They traditionally survive by begging, dancing at weddings or blessing newborn babies and are frequently subjected to discrimination.

While the community of 700,000 is often mocked, eunuchs' prayers and good wishes — and curses if they are angered — are considered powerful by most Indians.

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