http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=130364






A PERSON I come across and visiting my workplace every morning, is the beggar, one or the other. Many of you may have a similar experience in the morning. Beggars are omnipresent in India - at traffic lights, outside the cinemas, eating joints, banquet halls, religious places or any other place; you name it and they are there. I really feel very sad about this malaise, a large part of our society is afflicted with.

Begging has been practised in India from time immemorial. The so-called bhikshuks lived in the good old days too. Of course the modus operandi and other aspects have altogether changed now. Many aspects of begging need to be considered. Like any other profession, it boasts of proper working hours, varying according to the convenience of the beggar and the potential alms-givers. Beggars employ different marketing strategies to gain your sympathy and extract the maximum out of you.

Most of us are aware that, begging, like any other business, is run by highly organised mafia groups and is a big industry by itself. Different types of beggars are around: the aged ones asking for help, attributing their advanced age to begging; the handicapped boys and girls highlighting their physical inability as an excuse for begging; the children in rags asking for money to buy food; the young women carrying infants and ostensibly begging on behalf of their child. A slightly different class of beggars moves from door to door, seeking money or food. Another class, holding a picture of a god / goddess, seeks money in the name of god / goddess. Im sure some other types come to your mind while reading this article.

On an average, a beggar is able to earn anywhere between Rs.50 and Rs 200 per day and at times, even more. It is not a bad figure, viewed against the average daily income of an Indian. Most of the beggars are into it not out of choice but out of compulsion occasioned by unemployment or poverty. For some of them it has become a family vocation over a period of time. According to a survey conducted by the department of Social Work, Delhi University, many of the beggars are even highly educated (graduates and post-graduates) and beg during the weekends owing to unemployment or just to add to their meagre earnings.

It is not that the government of India is ignorant of this serious issue. Begging at a public place is a crime under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, which was applied to Delhi too, in 1961. But this Act has some lacunae, the most serious lacuna being that it targets any person who is poor and destitute. But even a labourer or rag picker may conform to this description and so can be randomly picked up by the authorities and treated in the same manner as a beggar. Traffic police has issued a notification according to which giving alms to beggars at traffic lights is a crime. Kidnapping / maiming a child for the purpose of begging is also punishable under Section 363A of the said Act.

Both the Central and state governments have constructed homes for the rehabilitation of beggars. But according to the data available, most of the beggar homes remain unoccupied to the extent of 50 per cent. The reasons for this state of affairs are many, the primary one being the pathetic conditions obtaining there the conditions are not much different from those obtaining on the footpath, which otherwise the poor fellows use as their home. The Delhi government is introducing a foolproof biometric system for identification and rehabilitation of beggars in the capital. This has been resorted to, with the aim of making NCR beggar-free by 2010, when Commonwealth Games are slated to be held. The department of education has launched a campaign, under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, to make Chandigarh and its surroundings beggar-free. The aim is to bring the large population of beggars into the mainstream. The Bihar government is on the same track - it is creating jobs for rehabilitation of beggars; beggars will wear the products they are required to market or spread awareness about AIDS and other diseases. The government also plans to establish a school-cum-home for women beggars where vocational training will also be arranged at the same time. Many NGOs are also working on similar lines.

An equally important question is what can we do to tackle this problem, as responsible citizens? The answer is not that easy, at least for me. Watching the miserable face tapping on your car and looking towards you with hope and fear leaves you filled with guilt. You just cannot ignore these faces. But giving alms to these people will aggravate the problem rather than solve it. Although we have been independent for more than half a century, a large population of our country lives in miserable conditions. Just take a look at the figures: according to a United Nations World Food Programme report, India has the largest number of under-nourished people in the world. The number of unemployed has also increased since independence. All these factors directly or indirectly promote begging. The number of beggars has increased many times since 1947 and a significant number is being added every year. Another contributing factor is encouragement, which you and I provide, by way of alms.

The problem of begging, in my view, needs to be tackled at the grassroots level and all sections of society should contribute to it - be it the Central or State government or the NGOs, private organisations and individuals like you and I. Imparting education and creating employment for these unprivileged fellows can be a promising solution to the problem. But what is on paper should be actually implemented. Emphasis should be placed on vocational education so the children of beggars do not in turn become beggars but earn their livelihood, instead. The beggar homes that exist must be rendered habitable. Actually there are so many things which can be done or which are already being practised, but the question is their effectiveness. India is suffering from a serious malaise, viz., corruption because of which all efforts become futile. Another aspect to be considered is counselling. Leading a respectable life is the right of every human being but these people have left behind their self-respect and ego before coming to this profession. Counselling them on the importance of basic human traits like self-esteem or self-respect may lead them to give up begging. No doubt, counselling them into working to earn a living is a tough job. But if we really want this so-called ugly face (read beggars) of India to vanish, such measures should be launched on top priority. Can we hope that our children or their children will not get to see beggars, not even outside temples and other religious places?

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FAAKHER E CHAAMB

imagine hindustan without htis it will not looka hindustan

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FAAKHER E CHAAMB

LMAO, why the eff are you posting pics of Muslims?

bharat chaka



just becuase their colour is dark ur not accpeting them indians


beileve me they are all hindus and ass well as brahmins

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FAAKHER E CHAAMB

they are muslims like u from phuckistan.




colours of Kaziranga

watching too much bollywood glasmorous movies make hindus forget about real india





but relaity is different

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FAAKHER E CHAAMB

phuckistan has more beggars per capita




colours of Kaziranga

India may have many beggar in the streets..........

but I do belief Pakistan is the only nation where beggars are inside the Government.

After all, what do you call people who beg from aid from USA, Chinese and even overseas Pakistani?

hindu woman sucid eof poverty
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/Woman-jumps-into-river-with-kids-two-die/articleshow/5020506.cms



Woman jumps into river with kids, two die


ASANSOL: A woman jumped into the Barakar river along with her three daughters on Wednesday. While Parbati Choudhury (38) and her eldest daughter
was saved, the other two daughters were drowned.

Police suspect Parbati was driven to take the extreme step as she was unable to cope with her abject poverty.

Dipak Bauri, a local mason, was working on a newly-constructed bridge on Barakar, near the Bengal-Jharkhand border, when he saw Parbati goading her children Arti (9), Suman (6) and Asha (4) to jump in. The children did as told. Before he could react, Parbati, too, had jumped in.

Dipak dived in and managed to drag Parbati and Arti to safety. But it was too late to save Suman and Asha. They were washed away by the currents. Police could not fish out the bodies till late in the evening.

Parbati's husband works as a daily labourer and often works in illegal coal mines, said sources. The family used to stay in the coal town of Nirsa in Dhanbad. Parbati reached the spot with the intention to commit suicide. She and her daughter have been admitted to a local hospital. Efforts are on to trace her husband, said Prasoon Banerjee, ASP, Asansol.

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FAAKHER E CHAAMB