Do you come across poor homeless people and beggars on the street during your travels? It’s a frequent sight in the developing and under-developed countries. The number of homeless people in developed countries like the USA is astonishingly huge despite all the wealth; homeless people are easy to spot on the streets. Here in India, the incidence of beggary is quite high. For years, the image of India was synonymous with The Taj Mahal, snake charmers, and beggars in the western hemisphere which of course is not completely true.
Are all homeless people beggars?
I shot these two pictures a couple of years ago at Jal Mahal, a well-known tourist spot in Jaipur while capturing a sunrise. I observed this man sitting on the steps near the lake.
There was something striking about him. He was busy watching a sunrise. Unlike beggars pestering people for money, he was lost in his thoughts. The twisted stick on his right added to the mystery. I was not certain if he wanted a spiritual experience of a sunrise or was reciting religious chants. I was curious to strike a conversation but chose not to. Apparently, he seems to be homeless.
Too often, we get confused with the homeless and beggars. Not all homeless people are beggars. It is not uncommon to find laborers and rickshaw people sleeping on the streets in India because they don’t have a home. A large number of such people are poor from neighboring areas and villages; livelihood is what brings them to the city. They earn just enough to eat; a home to live in is a dream.
Reasons for Begging in India
Have you ever wondered what makes people beg? It’s a complex answer. I’m no expert in this field, but I assume it is a lack of opportunities, dire situations, begging rackets, or easy money. I don’t think most beggars lead an easy life. There are so many odds that they have to fight. Some are forced to beg because of circumstances like disability, mentally challenged and socially unwanted people; they have been turned down by society or relatives.
Many of us have been chased by beggars at some point in our lives. Some really pester beyond the acceptable levels by pulling clothes or knocking on the door or window of a car. Some beggars use expletive language if you decide not to give money. Foreign tourists invariably experience being chased by beggars. It is part of the “Indian experience.” While some travelers choose to hand out money to beggars, many opt-outs. Once I saw a tourist kicking a begging kid because he pissed him off beyond his tolerance level.
Beggary Scams In India
The following are the most popular begging scams in Jaipur, India
- Pregnant Lady ploy -a few years ago, a common begging scam going around in Jaipur involved a gang of women at traffic signals with a young pregnant woman who pretended to be in labor pain. One of their gang members would approach gullible drivers to seek the financial help of the so-called pregnant woman. This went around for quite some time until it was reported in the newspaper and with the modus operandi out in the open, the gang vanished.
- Hijra gangs (transvestite) are involved in begging. They are well known for using psychological pressure and resort to using expletive language if people don’t hand them money. Many people give in just to avoid an unpleasant experience. Although it is not very popular in Jaipur, this is commonly experienced in Indian trains.
- Jai Shani Maharaj! This scam is very popular in Jaipur on Saturdays, the day of Shani Dev. Shani also refers to Saturday. Pious Hindus are afraid of Shani because he is considered inauspicious & brings bad luck. Beggars posing as “Baba” carry a picture of Shani Dev in a bucket and demand money to quell bad luck. People toss a few coins because they feel it’s a small price to pay in comparison to attracting bad luck if they don’t pay. Well, we all know who gets to eat the cake!
- Car cleaners – Beggars posing as car cleaners are easy to find at traffic signals in Jaipur. They carry a dirty mop, do a quick 5-second clean-up of a car, and demand money for their service! This is disguised begging because it comes in the garb of cleaning.
How to deal with begging & beggars?
It is always a dilemma whether to be kind to beggars & poor people and part some money or to chase them off/act indifferently. Its been reported kidnapped kids are forced into begging; a supervisor keeps a vigil on their activities from a distance. All the collection finds its way to the head of the gang by the end of the day. There are many rackets across India involved in child abduction. They force such children into begging; it is a lucrative business for many. Even though the estimates indicate a few thousand kids are abducted every year for begging in India, the actual figures can be close to a hundred thousand. The general consensus is that begging should not be encouraged since it is a social evil and giving money provides impetus to begging. Many feel otherwise because they are kind-hearted and can’t see the suffering.
Cause & Effect of beggary
If the energies of the young and able are channelized into productive work, it will improve their lives and help society as well as the country. Often, an entire family is involved in begging. Traffic signals, railway stations, temples, and tourist sites are where beggars are most active in India. A few years ago, local authorities in Jaipur undertook a drive to ensure there are no beggars at traffic signals because they are a traffic hazard. Beggars were picked-up from traffic signals during the course of a week and dropped outside the city limits. As you might have guessed, they found their way back to their “work area.” The idea didn’t work because there was no concrete plan; it was an eyewash and bound to fail. I’m sure the opinion of people will be divided. Some people feel humanity is above everything else, and there is another set of people who feel that begging needs to stop.
Once I met a poor man, a Jogi who spent most of his life in a Shiva temple in a jungle near Jaipur while hiking. In conversation, he confided that he hailed from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. He ran away from home at a young age because his relatives “betrayed” him. “Is Duniya me Apna Koi Nahi Hota?” (there is no one to call your own in this world) he said that with deep grief. I asked him how he survived without work and money? He said he lived on alms & food distributed by pious souls. Not all poor people are beggars. Some are ruled by special circumstances like this one.
How to help beggars in India?
Should you provide money to beggars? That’s a tricky situation and calls for a careful analysis of the situation. If possible, don’t hand out money. If you feel compassionate you can buy them food that can be consumed immediately. I don’t advocate distributing money unless the situation calls for the same, especially the children for the reasons detailed in the post. Many people find begging as a means of easy money. If at all you need to hand over money choose between Rs 10 and 50. Many organizations in India collect leftover food and distribute it to beggars and poor people. I have written about people donating old clothes here in India during the Diwali festival. In winter, many affluent people distribute blankets to homeless and poor people in India. It has been reported that some recipients sell these blankets and use realizations for buying drugs. While this should not deter people from donating, I sincerely feel any act that improves the lives or conditions of poor people must be undertaken. The idea is to make a positive impact on the life of indigent people and society in general. Above anything else, treat poor people with respect; they are humans after all.
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most people ask money instead of things which we offers things to take.
System, society, luck makes them choose this way to gohead
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Thanks for sharing your thought.
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I was instructed not to give to beggars by my guide – this is decades ago, as he said it just encourages them. Some of the disabled and blind beggars have no other or few other options in life, so I wished to give to them.
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As I mentioned earlier in this blog, the world is divided with people siding towards either of the sides. Ultimately, it is how we think. I’m glad you are kind enough to help the one in need. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Do you travel on a regular basis?
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I love to, if I can
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🙂
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Thank you for the info. this is very useful for me before vacationing to India. visiting Kurusetra was my dream, the place where Panca Pandavas fought in the Mahabarata story.
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I hope you will be able to visit your dream destination soon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Very sad… You are showing only poor Faces in your Blog. I don’t know what is your understanding about India but these pictures are not portraying real India, India which is world Guru, centre of yoga, largest democracy, full of diversity and awesome weather.
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Dear Unique soul, there are many happy faces also in this post. Probably, you missed them. I have captured what I saw on the streets. I agree there is a lot to capture on the streets. Thanks, for sharing your thoughts.
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Dear arv! I respect you but you have captured what you intended to capture. I don’t think Indian street is full of only beggars and poor faces. Check your all the pictures which you have shared. You are protraying wrong image of India. You have to clean your mind, preoccupied mind is dangerous. India is no more snake catcher country.
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Thanks for the inputs. I will certainly have another look, unique soul.
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Well written and informative
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Thanks, Mahima. Do you have any experiences to share?
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Well I am an Indian so I do go through a lot of such experiences. Recent one was when a beggar denied taking 2rupey coin, he wanted at least 10 rupees and literally forced me to give him that amount
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It is a common occurance. Many beggars don’t accept any coins.
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You have so skillfully brought about a very sensitive but predominant in most of Indian cities and towns.This would have required extensive research I am sure and the scams are so true that I have also observed them in my city.
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Thanks. I think it’s difficult to avoid begging situations living in India. I have tried to bring out both sides of the coin. What’s your stand?
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This is a very good behavior of a human being
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Thank you for sharing
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Awesome post!!! Do check my blogs tooo about the problems we face in India😄😄😄😄😄
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Thanks. You have a lovely blog. The post I liked is on mother Teresa.
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Do checkout my blog for amazing food which you should try in India❤
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Done. Chk your blog
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Awesome Post.Thanks for sharing 😍
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I’m glad you liked it, Amod
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Fabulous post 😍
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Thanks. 🙂
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Informative post.
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This post has covered up all the points. Although, it’s common information for many still some are unaware of such things. Olden times it was difficult for hijras to find job , hence they had to ask for money on street. There is an improvement of job opportunities for transgenders but the number of opportunities and the number of candidates in need is unmatched. There are gangs who are misusing such system . Men are purposely acting as hijra and harassing people on street for money. Especially, such men are more after girls. Once I complained about child labour gang of Bangalore to child organisation centre of India. They told me they have sent bus of police to the location but could not find beggers and labourers. This is a lie because the gang stays there for years on the main signal. What happened next day is, there was no gang from next day on that spot for one year. Exactly after one year , they were back. Part of these gang were women who were moved to other signal for that year. I don’t know what mystery happened here. The signal have main police station but still I have seen men pretending to be hijra giving huge some of money to other goon. I have seen no action on beggars and child labourers. Once I called up Ngo to help an old lady . Ngo asked me to first approach that police station and find her family .After that action will be taken. Again from next day the old lady never came back. I asked all the vendors who seemed to be her family but I discovered no one knew her location or family. When enquired people , they said an auto person leaves her morning for begging and picks her back in evening. I traced her for 6 months but could not find . I think police needs to take care of all beggars too by sending them to ngos and also help in finding children’s real family. Sadly, even today no one is making use of aadhar card finger print to find lost child family address. I just thougt to share 3 of my experiences here . Quite a long comment.. Well written post 😊
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And their are few migrant workers who force their own children to go to food stalls and beg food from people there..Their parents earn enough to feed them yet they are forced..Forcing own children to beg food, evan though they earn almost 500-700 rupees daily , is the biggest and most immoral begging scam in this universe.
Alas ! What type of mothers they are who can’t cook food for their own bloods
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I think there are worse and much more immoral scams, for example Harvard University, Virgin Airlines and other multibillion dollar companies begging for handouts during the Covid crises. As for the mothers, don’t be so hard on them until you know their precise circumstances.
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The scams are not restricted to just the ones you have listed. Everyone is out to get money from you by making an emotional picth that involves poor people. Uber is also one of them. It has been asking for people to donate money in the name of poor drivers. Whatever I have mentioned here is not merely a hypothesis.
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Yeah… the super wealthy just love to get wealthier at the expense of anyone or anything.
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That’s the reality.
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nyc one dude
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shames us all
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Well the begging scams are not exclusive to India. It’s universal. On a brighter note, Indians tend to be more soft hearted when it comes to handing out money to the poor people.
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