Brothers in Alms

I've just finished reading a post written by my schoolmate Kiran Rao about his encounter with a "child-beggar" and how it got him thinking if he was committing a moral offense by giving alms. I've always been against the idea of giving alms to beggars irrespective of how old/young they are. But now, it has really got me thinking.

A few months back my cousin and I were waiting at a busy traffic signal waiting for the light to turn green, when an old man walked up to us asking for money. I firmly but politely turned him down, only for him to be called back by cousin, who gave him a Rs. 10 note. Needless to say, I didn't approve of my cousin's deed of charity. I told him that he was encouraging begging, a social evil eating up our society, instead of fighting it, and that one should work to earn a living. My cousin argued that the guy had probably got so used to begging through all his years that he just lacked the motivation to work for food. So does that mean that we do our bit in killing whatever little motivation is left in him by offering him easy money, I quipped. The signal turned green, and our topic of discussion changed as my bike soared through the busy streets of Ameerpet. Come to think of it now, what if that old man didn't receive any alms that day, and he turned to stealing to sustain himself ? And then made a habit of it, because he finds it more convenient and less despicable, if not honourable.

Out on the streets we have the able bodied and the physically impaired beggars. Some of these beggars have families and are forced to beg by their parents who in all likelihood are beggars themselves. The others beg and earn money for their dalaals, who in return for the money earned by these kids, provides them with food and shelter.

Kiran writes "what the parents don’t see are that if the kid goes to school instead of wasting his childhood in begging, he’ll probably get a proper "job" and in the long run make more money". Kids in poor families, are looked upon as a source of income, which explains why most of the maids who have worked/work in our houses have more than 3 kids who do odd jobs to support her (there may be exceptions, but these would be very few in number, so few that one could actually count them on their fingers and toes). These kids are expected are contribute to the expenses of the family, and sending them to school would not only mean that they wouldn't be contributing much financially, but would also be an added expense to their parents.

This pops up another question... Why are some kids forced to beg by their parents instead of being encouraged to work? Well, this happens only in the case of those whose parents are lazy bums, and want their kids to make money without breaking a sweat.


I don't think I have ever given money to an able bodied child. I've always believed that when a child begged for money, they ought to be turned down and told to work instead of begging. Even if one kid out of 100 pays heed and actually works to earn his/her money, our society would change for good. The parents of such at the end of the day only care if the money is in and not really worry about how their kid got it. Mind you, by asking kids to work I am in no way endorsing the idea of child-labour.

I was just about to finish this post with a couple of more lines, when I realized that all along I was just talking about the able-bodied. What about those who are genuinely handicapped? What work could a man with no hands possibly get? Begging racket in India is as prevalent and affluent as the drug cartel in South America. Infants and homeless young kids are nabbed or enticed with the lure of food and shelter and their body parts are then mutilated and are forced into begging. What about the torture that they go through? Who will save these unfortunate ones from their misery? Will we ever be able to do that? I believe I've answered some of the questions my friend raised. Who's gonna answer the questions that I've raised? Or will some questions forever remain unanswered???