Arshid Ali Khan may have his tail removed (Picture: Barcroft)

A 13-year-old boy was considering having his tail removed despite being worshipped as a god because of it.

Arshid Ali Khan, from Punjab, India, is seen as the incarnation of Hanuman, a Hindu monkey god, because of the mysterious growth emanating from his lower back.

But he now has the chance of being able to move without the use of the wheelchair if he has it surgically removed.

‘This tail has been given to me by God. I am worshipped because I pray to god and the wishes of people come true,’ he said.


Arshid was not worried people may stop making pilgrimages to see him if he underwent the operation.



He added: ‘Doctors can remove my tail – but people will continue to believe in me.’

But his grandfather, Iqbal Qureshi, who he lives with, was not convinced the surgery would improve his undiagnosed disorder.

‘It is for Balaji to decide. If he wants to get the tail removed, we do not mind,’ he said.

‘He has trouble walking and so we are asking doctors what can be done.’

Arshid was not the first person to have a mysterious tail, with a man from West Bengal and a child from China also being born with the peculiar growth.