Say NO to beggars
- Does the sight of beggars on the streets, worry you?
- Do you feel, sorry for them?
- Do you want to help them in some way or other?
If yes, please take my advice. Say No
to them. What I am telling you, may be contradictory to the popular, that by
giving alms to a beggar, we have done him some good, we have gained some good
karma or whatsoever but in fact we are doing a social harm of breeding more and
more beggars in the country. Tossing a coin in the beggar’s bowl may be
considered by few as a sign of affluence and magnanimity, but in fact we are
encouraging a social crime.
Begging is a social crime. Begging
gives a bad image of our country, to the rest of the world. We are a country
with huge intellectual capital, large man power force and many great social,
spiritual and business leaders. We need to be looked up and not looked
down. But because of beggary prevailing
in our country, we are looked down. Dan Boyle in his movie, “Slum dog
billionaire” has exposed this begging practice in India, to the rest of the
world. It is such a shame for our country. But we are just happy about the
movie winning an Oscar award!
India is developing at a fast pace in
terms of economic development. Statistics show, that our GDP and per capita
income has increased. If that is true, then the number of beggars in the street
should reduce. Is it not? But in spite
of all the positive developments, the number of beggars in India has increased
significantly.
In fact, I too have been supporting
this social crime for quiet long. Even when people told me not to do so, I
never use to heed to their words. I used to say, “What difference does it make
for me, if I shell out a few coins, but at least the beggar can buy a cup of
coffee”.
My perception of beggars changed, to a
great extent after I saw the Tamil movie, “Naan Kadavul” which talks about how
begging has become a mob business, like any other mafia activity. In the movie,
they show how the beggars are maimed, so that they become icons of sympathy to
the general public and thereby they can earn more. Maiming involves deforming the body, limb or
face, by causing external injuries, through crude and cruel means. I thought it
was just an exaggeration, but I came to see some live examples of this, in one
of my visit to the Sabarimala Ayyapan temple. It is then I decided that I will
not encourage this practice.
I am not saying that there is no real poverty in this country. Of course there is a lot of poverty and genuine needs. If you wish to help the people with genuine needs, I suggest that you do it through some organized sources like World Vision, CRY, Helpage India or any such organization that is committed to enhance the life of the deprived and downtrodden You can also volunteer to be a member of any social organization like the Rotary Club, Lions Club or Giants club, who are working on specific projects with a long term plan. In this way, you can reach out to the needy, in a more appropriate way.
God has blessed all of us, with a soft heart; so that we are sensitive to the needs of our surrounding and help those are in need. The beggars have capitalized on this emotion of ours and made it a profession. Let us not become victim to our emotions. Let us not encourage “beggary” anymore. Let us learn to say NO to beggars.
D. Senthil Kannan,
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