EDITORIAL

Where beggars are choosers

"B

eggars can’t be choosers" is an outdated English phrase in the Indian context. Here, in our country, beggars are choosers. They can perch themselves anywhere on the prominent crossings of the Capital. They can create nuisance anywhere they wish to, they can hinder smooth flow of traffic and the police seem to be lacking will to root out this ever- growing menace which brings a bad name to the country, that too, at a time, when we are trying to showcase to the world the strides we have made by hosting the Commonwealth Games.

The urchins appear from no where when a car stops at a traffic intersection. They knock on your window glass and beg for money, some of them as young as five years accompanied by their elder siblings. Some of them ‘perform’ circus antics to please the road users and get money out of them. Their parents relax on the dividers, waiting to pocket the money they collect. Some of the women folk also extend their hand out for whatever they can get. Now even eunuchs have joined the fray. They clap their palms in their typical fashion and beg for money. The malady is not limited to the country’s capital; the most sought after tourist destinations are full of swarms of beggars with no check on their growing population.

The capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur is soon going to be famous for its beggars where small groups of women roam around with a doctor’s prescription saying they need medical attention and expensive medicine urgently. Many a kind-hearted are fooled into paying money. These beggars show ‘wounds’ on their body, which, obviously, are superficially painted with colour, to make people believe that they are badly injured.

Agra is no exception. So the ‘golden triangle’ in tourist parlance has now become the golden triangle for beggars. There are organized gangs of beggars ; it was not long ago when a beggar woman in Jaipur was found to be having a bank account with over ten lakh rupees. Physically handicapped ones get preference in these organized outfits which mark their area of operation in each city. Instead of police action, they are supposed to be getting police protection. One can notice the proximity they enjoy with the local police when they continue to beg right under their nose and the cops look the other way.

In spite of court orders to round up beggars from the streets, little has been done in reality by the police. When are we going to get rid of the stigma that Indian cities are full of beggars? We were once labeled as a country of snake charmers, stray cows and dogs, but thanks to the animal protection organizations that we do not see any snake charmers or even bears and monkeys perform on the city streets. After so many years we have overcome it.

What if a beggar is hit by a car while begging on roadside ? Who will be punished? Indeed, the driver and not the beggar. Beggars not only are a source of nuisance, but have become a serious traffic hazard on busy intersections of the Capital. Some of them are said to be working in tandem with pick pockets, car lifters and other petty criminals. If there are laws against begging, they must be enforced and, that too, effectively.

These beggars must be picked up from the streets and rehabilitated like juvenile delinquents. We cannot allow a new generation of beggars to grow up from the roadsides and graduate in to the world of crime. When they become used to easy money, they take over to criminal activities without a second thought.

Can we allow our country to be swarmed with beggars all over the streets ?

                                                                                                    

-- Amit Mittal