The continuing practice of begging indicates deep socio-economic disparities in the country. As per the 2011 census, there were more than 413 thousand beggars and vagrants in India. They include women, children, transgender and elderly who are forced to beg for survival.
Earlier, giving and accepting alms was part of spiritual practices aimed at cultivating humility but these days an act of charity has detached from its original intent and become begging either due to poverty or criminal activities even involving the trafficking of persons including children for this purpose generating a substantial amount of money for their captors. Further, as a result of societal neglect, physically challenged individuals have no choice but to depend on others for survival and daily sustenance.
Speaking at an open house on the subject NHRC acting chairperson, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, highlighted the importance of the Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE)-B Scheme, which focuses on the rehabilitation of individuals engaged in begging. She added the Commission is dedicated to protecting the human rights of these individuals, ensuring they are treated with dignity and fairness.
The commission also emphasized the need to re-evaluate existing laws and approaches, advocating for a shift from punitive measures to a focus on rehabilitation, in alignment with constitutional principles and recent court rulings. This shift offers a path to more effective and humane solutions to the issue of begging.
Key suggestions:
- Identify and map areas with high concentrations of begging, and conduct a survey of beggars to create a comprehensive database;• State governments should work towards issuing Aadhaar cards to all beggars, facilitating their access to social security schemes and benefits;
• Begging should be decriminalized, as punitive measures and rehabilitation efforts cannot be effectively combined;
• Beggars are not a homogeneous group; therefore, initiatives for them should be tailored to meet their individual needs.
NHRC open house on ‘Preventing beggary and rehabilitation of individuals engaged in beggary’ calls for concerted effort
NHRC Secretary General, Shri Bharat Lal informed that the Commission recently issued an Advisory to the Centre and State governments and UT Administrations to develop strategies aimed at eliminating the need for begging and enhancing the quality of life for those involved in it. He also said that governments, especially in recent years, have been committed to continually improving the quality of life for citizens. There have been focused efforts to ensure universal access to basic services such as water, housing, and electricity. He pointed out that if 80 crore people in the country can receive free food grains, rehabilitation of about 4 lakh individuals engaged in begging should not be difficult.
Shri Lal said that if different stakeholders including civil society organizations worked together it should not be difficult to rehabilitate them. They can also have access to food grains, housing, electricity connections, toilets, and cooking gas by providing an Aadhar card to them.
Chandra Mishra, Director of Beggars Corporation Private Limited, shared how he is transforming beggars into entrepreneurs by involving them as stakeholders in his company. The other participants included Shri Joginder Singh, Registrar (Law), NHRC, representative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Bihar, Government of Rajasthan, Government of NCT of Delhi, NGOs, Academia, and eminent subject-matter experts.
