[www.keralites.net] Invisible human be(gg)ing

 

Invisible human be(gg)ing DUSHYANT HOLDS A BRIEF FOR THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN   We Indians claim to be fighting the `begging mafia' by simply looking the other way Did you know that a large part of the Indi an public wages a war against the mafia every day? In all likelihood even you do. I am, of course, talking about the beg ging "mafia". The weapon of choice against this mafia is indifference. Like most of you I presume, while growing up I often wondered whether giving alms to those begging is the right thing. According to a 2009 newspaper report, the Delhi government put out an advertisement saying those who give "alms may cause traffic jams, accidents, illiteracy, inconvenience, unemployment, robbery, rape, sex, theft, murder, prostitution, handicapped, assault, hooliganism... slums, poverty, debt, ignorance, aggression, encroachment, molestation, mugging..." or may be encouraging addiction to "biri, cigarette, alcohol, bhang, ganja, charas, heroin, mandrax..." Most people I spoke to then and meet even today share the sentiments behind the advertisement and say they refuse to give money to beggars because of various noble reasons: 1) They want to fight the begging mafia. They believe that by not giving money to these children, this mafia will realise that all the trouble is simply not worth their time, that it is an unprofitable business and shut shop. 2) Many people tell me that all these beggars in any case use money for alcohol, drugs, and more. I imagine all these people consider themselves to be part of a unique social rehabilitation or de-addiction programme. Every vehicle at a red light, then, is a mobile de-addiction van, if you may. This rehabilitation service is, of course, being offered for free. I wonder if these people believe that rather than they giving alms to anyone, it is the government who should be paying them, since they are performing a service for which many celebrities check into rehab centres and pay huge amounts of money. It is another matter that many of these people have had these conversations with me over a few drinks. Many residents of Delhi were, therefore, surprised to read a report which quoted the Delhi government as well as the Delhi police, who said that there were no organised begging mafias in Delhi. Which is not to say that there are no begging mafias across the country. I am told that in Mumbai especially, the begging mafia is widespread and active. It is also true that many of those who beg often indulge in drug and alcohol abuse and more. My disagreement, however, is different and twofold. First is with the lack of our own honesty. I find it difficult to stomach that we are moved by the plight of children who instead of being in school are begging on the streets, and yet are compelled to look away, for the noble purposes of fighting the mafia and helping beggars shed addiction. The truth is, most of us don't care.Mafia and de-addiction are merely convenient and ready excuses that help us live more easily with the fact that we don't care. My second problem can be better illustrated with an anecdote. A bunch of my friends were walking towards a fancy pub in Delhi to drink when a kid approached us and asked for alms.Most of us kept walking save for one, who stopped, looked at the kid, and said with a smile that she was sorry but she wouldn't be able to share anything with the kid. I was surprised and asked her why she did what she did. She said, well, give money if you want to and don't give it if you don't want to, but don't render the kid invisible. Which is true, isn't it? In the name of pledging our actions to a higher cause, most of us don't even look at the person knocking at our car window. The same friend does the same thing with eunuchs begging on the street: she rolls down her window and says, "I'm sorry, I don't have anything to give to you." On all the occasions I have seen her do this, believe me, the eunuch -their community being infamous for harassment -has politely said, "Koi baat nahin," and walked away. The indifference also manifests in governments, who wake up to the existence of beggars only when a foreign dignitary or a VIP is visiting.Why? Because beggars are embarrassing. They are a "bad advertisement for India" is how a former top cop reportedly described it. We sweep the problem under the proverbial carpet. So what should we do? Am I arguing that giving money is the solution? I don't know what the solution is. I do believe that this bizarre and inhumane refusal to even acknowledge the existence of another human is something that should force us to think of the society we are creating. There are children begging on the streets. Both the government as well as the people need to realise that they exist. That would be a start.

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Posted by: Cool Kis <cooolkis@gmail.com>

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