Beggary: A Peril To Society

People who are in extreme situation of need and poverty are called beggars. The state of being a beggar is called beggary. Beggary is a serious threat to the development of a nation, one of the dark faces of the Indian economy, this issue needs serious and urgent reform. 

CAUSES

The main cause of beggary is poverty. Lack of money to sustain their livelihood drives these helpless disenfranchised people to go out on the streets and beg for money. As per the Census 2011, there are 3.7 lakh beggars in the country. Lack of proper education and adequate skills are also strategic contributors to poor people resorting to beggary. This also has a dangerous impact as these beggars completely rely on begging as a source of income and remain uninterested in finding alternative sources of income. This has grave consequences for a developing nation such as India as instead of engaging in meaningful productive work, millions of people of all gender and ages are being wasted away with untapped resources which can derail a country’s progress in many ways. Beggars have become a menace to the society and now they have begun forcing their kids to do the same. A cruel aspect of begging is that they sometimes even resort to mutilating body parts to garner sympathy to earn more. It hinders the development of the country as well as its women and children. 

CHILD BEGGING

Nowadays child beggars have become very conspicuous. We see hundreds of children out on the streets every day begging for money. This is a part of a very dangerous racket run by unscrupulous men that use unsuspecting vulnerable children to fulfill their greed. This has now turned into a very profitable money minting business by drug cartels that kidnap little kids and force them to go out on the streets and beg for them only to pocket all the pennies they spent all day out in the sun begging for. These children are becoming victims of a heinous crime. These kids are starved, beaten, tortured and sometimes their limbs are cut off to garner the sympathy of passersby. The only way this can stop is if we all just stop handing out money. There is also the herculean task of changing attitudes towards begging, which is often accepted as a way of life for the poor and worthless. 

The government needs to ban the practice of begging on the streets. There should be an initiative by the government to provide these homeless people with homes and meaningful jobs. Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 child labor and child begging are prohibited, child cruelty is also a punishable offence under this act. 

Lakshyam NGO- Our purpose of existence is to enhance the lives of disadvantaged children and women, and to offer a positive direction and a healthier approach towards life. Lakshyam continues to vow a credible, honest, transparent and accountable organization that devotes itself towards a privileged future.