Beggars

Introduction

Begging is a grave problem and it becomes graver when there are young children involved in the same. In India, the number of child beggars is huge. At an age when these young minds should be nurtured with love and care, given good education and involved in healthy activities, most of them are deprived of all this and are forced to beg for their livelihood. Those involved in begging cannot see beyond this work. They tend to involve their entire family in begging – be it their wives, children, grandchildren or any other family member.

Main Causes of Child Beggars in India

Here is a look at some of the main causes of child beggars in India:

Acute Poverty

Poverty is one of the main reasons that forces one to beg. A person who gets into begging seldom comes out of it. He involves his entire family in this profession. Young kids are especially considered good for this work and are thus forced to beg.

Lack of Education

Illiteracy is another reason for the rise in child beggars in our country. A person who is well-educated would never get involved in this work and nor would he force his children to beg.

Unemployment

The problem of unemployment in India has also led to the rise in the number of child beggars. People here feel that there is no use of studying hard and acquiring degrees as they wouldn’t get good job due to the problem of unemployment. This is why they involve their children in begging from the very beginning.

Refugee Community

Refugees who come from other countries because of different reasons find it hard to get a job and thus indulge in begging to meet their needs. They especially send their children for begging giving rise to child beggars.

Abandoned Children

Many children especially females are abandoned by their families immediately after their birth. Such children often get involved in begging as it is the easiest means to get food and money.

Religious Sentiments of Indians

Indians are superstitious by nature. They seldom deny money to child beggars carrying bowl with the pictures of God and oil in it. It is said that donating money this way wards of evil. This is another reason beggars send their children to beg from street to street.

Begging Gangs and Rackets

Child beggars are considered a good catch by those who run begging rackets. Young children are said to be good for this work mainly because people feel pity looking at their innocent faces deprived of the basic necessities and offer them food and alms. Thus, these gang leaders look for more and more children to involve them in begging.

Conclusion

The NGOs involved in fighting the rights of children and ensuring a safe and sound environment to nurture them well have raised concern over the rise in the number of child beggars. However, they cannot overcome this problem without help and support from the Indian government. We hope the government of our country understands the severity of this problem and takes stringent steps to eradicate it. We, as general public must also contribute towards discouraging this practice.