Dr Nancy Mengi
Beggars can be easily sighted at the traffic signal, religious places, tourist places, railway stations and the market. They thrive on the mercy of others and their survival depends upon how much sympathy they are able to arouse in the person before them by displaying (marketing) their vulnerability. That is why children, women with infants in arms, differently abled and older persons are the major players in this sector. Their earning capacity depends on their ability to emotionally incite the masses, requiring that their appearance and cries also portray their plight. Beggary is an age old phenomenon and is all pervasive, almost in every country. The response of members of the society is variable towards them- sympathy, anguish, annoyance and harassment is what they receive in return. Beggary, for a long time, has been treated with disdain and has been receiving the wrath of the masses and the government in India. Until a few years ago, beggary was treated as a crime; very much representing the colonial mindset. The European Vagrancy Act of 1874, prohibited vagrancy in India for the persons of European origin (which also included Americans and Australians) from begging in the cities of erstwhile Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, authorising the police to apprehend and present them before the magistrate who would order for the placement of the beggar in the workhouse, if employment is not on the cards for them. Post independence, Bombay Beggary Prevention Act, 1959, served as the model act for most of the states, penalising the act of begging which implies ‘(i) soliciting or receiving alms in a public place, whether or not under any pretence such as singing, dancing, fortune-telling, performing or offering any article for sale, (ii)exposing or exhibiting, with the object of obtaining or extorting alms any sore, wound, injury, deformity or disease whether of a human being or animal, (iii) having no visible means of subsistence and wandering about or remaining in any public place in such condition or manner, as makes it likely that the person doing so exists by soliciting or receiving alms, (iv) allowing oneself to be used as an exhibit for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms. The act gave powers to Police to arrest without warrant a person, who engages in begging. The same person, if proved a beggar, in the court would be ordered confinement in a place referred to as certified institution or a beggar home for a period upto three years and upto ten years on subsequent arrest.
The legislations on beggary have a draconian outlook towards beggars and not towards beggary per se. Beggars have been punished for long for being poor and not much efforts appear to have been made to bring them out of poverty. The High court of Delhi, strongly acted against the Anti-Beggary laws in 2018 by stating Beggary prevention act is unconstitutional and arbitrary for it snatches the right to life enshrined in the constitution under article 21. It stated that beggars have all the right to request for alms as imposition of prohibition on beggary, not just takes away the right to life but also Right to speech and movement (Article 19). The same suit was followed in J&K also when the J&K Prevention of Beggary Act, 1960 was struck off by the High Court. It is important to delve into the psycho social construct of the beggars. Studies depict that beggars suffer from low self esteem, inferiority complex, anxiety, stigma. They are seldom treated as part of the society and largely dwell on the margins, having no claims on the rights and entitlement. Their presence is negligibly felt and they easily fall prey to various precarious situations where they end up facing abuse, exploitation and harassment. They are easily inducted into drug dealing, sex trade, petty crimes and child labour, etc. There are various reasons which sustain begging such as poverty, religious sanctions, disability (both physical and mental), homelessness, unemployment, social ostracisation (as in case of transgender), and so on. They are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty and backwardness as they lack education and skills essential for earning a decent living out of a decent and respectable occupation. To consider them as a burden on society, is an easy escape and to understand that they are outcome of the circumstances and would continue to do so unless rigorous efforts are made in the direction, is what is required. Giving alms is certainly not a solution. Changing our outlook towards beggars and sustained efforts of government and civil society for fighting against poverty and powerlessness, could lead to better outcomes.
Decriminalisation of beggary is a certainly a reformatory step, but legislations on abolition of beggary also need to be expedited. Beggars are not even benefitted by the welfare schemes for poor and will continue to remain on margins, if concerted efforts for their rehabilitation and mainstreaming are not made. There is a need for development of a dedicated system, where social functioning of beggars can be improved by imparting them essential skills and training for employment, life skills for upholding their self-worth and mainstreaming them in the larger society. The growing numbers of beggars on the streets are a blemish on the development process, which is clearly not inclusive of a large number of population. The country shall truly progress only when the last person is benefited by the development efforts. Partnership of both government and civil society is required for bringing solution to the problem of beggary in the country.
(The author is Head, Department of Social Work at Central University of Jammu)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
