As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Poverty is but the worst form of violence”. A considerable amount of Indians, still live under the poverty the line. They have to work during the day, so that they can afford a dinner at night. Such is the state of India. Poverty has been an age-old issue, which is not given proper treatment even today. As the saying goes, “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”. Even in this technologically advanced era, we yet have to tackle issues like poverty. One of the greatest examples which reflect the poverty of India, are the beggars of Mumbai.
The beggars of Mumbai are also called the “Eight Wonder “of Mumbai. You can find them on the streets, at traffic signals, taxi stands and train platforms. As the term “Beggars” suggests their daily activity includes begging. They actually in literal terms afford a living by begging on the streets. They have been amongst the original inhabitants of Mumbai. You go to any part of Mumbai, you will find them. They don’t make for a good sight, but are also unavoidable. The “Mumbaikars” have to interact and tackle with them everyday.
They make an integral part of Mumbai’s population. The beggars have a long history with Mumbai. One can rightly say that the beggars came into existence, when Mumbai got its independent identity (as a developed city) or even before that. These beggars can be classified into various sub-sections. "There are many categories of beggars in Mumbai. Most of them are children, some of whom are used by gangs and coerced into begging," says Vijay Raghavan of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences that works with beggars on a regular basis. They vary from old aged individuals to young toddlers who can’t even speak properly. Most of the beggars are physically handicapped or exploited young children who are forced into begging by their parents.
In Mumbai, it is considered as a family tradition. One will observe that there are families who have been into begging since years. It is become like their standard occupation. Most of these beggars are uneducated, drug addicts or migrated individuals from other parts of India. Some of them are even forced into begging, if they can’t afford a living for themselves. One also observes a hierarchy in the beggars. There are various levels of beggars. As mentioned above, begging is also a kind of occupation. Even beggars have posts. The beggars also have to pay tax, in colloquial terms what is called as “Hafta”, to the local goons.
Their lifestyle includes getting up early in the morning and planning their schedule for the day. The beggars have their own internal unions, who manage their work and accounts. The “Begging Industry”, is like any other work organization where it has employees, in this case it is the beggars. Like they say, every coin has two sides to it. The beggars are not as underprivileged as they appear. In fact they are one of the fastest growing economic sectors in Mumbai. They are an industry worth 180 crore and the figures are increasing every passing year. There are some famous beggars, who actually earn 1000-1500Rs every day.
It is observed that the beggars, own investments and properties in and around Mumbai and also in their native villages. It is fast growing profeesion. The beggars have literally become addicted to begging. In one of my interaction with a beggar, he said, “ “that now begging has become a part of my life. I have become immune to the humiliation by people and have actually started to enjoy begging. And will continue doing so.” This is the attitude which is commonly observed amongst the beggars. It has become one of the easiest way of earning money. They don’t even wish to upgrade or educate themselves. They are now set in their lives and enjoy what they do to earn an living.
There have been a number of movies, documentaries and articles showing the lives and lifestyles of these beggars. Some of the famous works include Madhur Bhandarkars’s “Traffic Signal” and Danny Boyle’s, “Slumdog Millionarie”. Both of the movies have shown an extraordinary and diverse picture of the beggars of Mumbai. They have highlighted the various highs and lows in the lives of the beggars. The biggest home for the beggars in Mumabi, is at Dharavi. One will find the most number of beggars here.
There are various institutes “Astitva”, “Ashirwad”, “Barefoot” and “Beggars Home” like which willingly want to help these underprivileged people. At the end of the day they are also human beings. And they also have every right to the three basic necessities of life, ie food, clothing and shelter. In order to eradicate poverty, one of the key initiatives is to improve the life of these beggars. It only take a step, and a lot can been done for these beggars.
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BIBLOGRAPHY
1) www.kmat.com?bhiksha
2) www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
3) www.digisol.org?webroot/institutes
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