The beggars are everywhere in India. Recently a woman showed a video by which on one hand she gives biscuits to beggars and on the other, she filmed it up like she performed something extraordinary. And while charity acts may seem kind in the moment, glamorizing begging ignores the bigger problem. And so many, millions of beggars in every city.
Begging is more than poverty. It is a failure in social and economic systems. Most beggars are people who’ve lost jobs, families -- homes, social networks -- and people who feel insecure or hopeless without much help at all. Some are elderly with no help -- and others are children who are being driven to begging because of circumstance or community or as part of a larger movement or group.
The government plays a big role in this problem. Lack of well-paid jobs, a subpar social welfare system and substandard rehabilitation programs force vulnerable victims to beg. While proposals are being implemented on paper, they are generally poor at delivering recovery services. Rehabilitation centers are in short supply and many beggars return to the streets because their services are unable to last beyond temporary employment.
Helping beggars get food or money can also provide temporary relief but documenting one piece of relief for social media turns it into what is truly about self-promotion versus true service. And it makes begging seem ordinary and not driven by the root causes. In what empathy should not be based on handouts but on helping beggars achieve dignity through work and shelter and education.
Begging affects the image of cities and questions social justice. The stark inequality gap between rich and poor only goes so far to show how many people have failed at the lowest level. As opposed to celebrating charity, society should be pursuing better policies for tackling poverty, creation of jobs and healthcare and education for the underprivileged.
The story about a woman who handed out biscuits to beggars looks like kindness, but it is an indication for a bigger picture. Begging is not something we can be proud of, it represents a social crisis and the government should not let people feel encouraged to give for survival. Change comes only and only when beggars are given dignity and their hardships are taken to the next level if we post them anonymously on social media.
