Beggars ARE choosers!

It was my girlie gang's day out. As I parked my car and was about to enter the coffee shop where I was supposed to meet my friends, a beggar, a boy barely ten sprinted towards me from nowhere and pleaded for money. Before I could even interact with the child, the security guard at the coffee shop shooed him away.

My other friend was not that lucky as she was hounded by the same beggar and when she refused to give him anything, the child abused her with very fowl words! When she entered the coffee shop exasperated and shared  her experience, we all laughed and started talking about our experiences with the growing menace of begging, a typical urban phenomena. Another friend narrated a shocking experience with an old beggar once, where he not only demanded the meal but insisted unflinchingly that my friend buys it from the same expensive restaurant she came out from! She also told us how humiliated she felt, when once a beggar lady threw back a twenty rupee note she had given her out of pity. The beggar lady hurled choicest of the abuses at her and furiously questioned her how come she gave only twenty rupees!!

We see beggars everywhere in our cities. At some temporary flash of compassion and pity we shell out some money without realizing that the very seemingly harmless act of kindness is responsible for the flourishing begging industry worth turnover of millions! Sadly, in India the conditioning is so deeply ingrained that when one tries to spread the awareness about this unhealthy practice, it is considered to be a blasphemy! The trade of begging thrives on this very mindset. People seem to be oblivious to the fact that it is criminal to beg! Since it is a comparatively easy option to earn money where regular flow is guaranteed, begging has become an organized industry growing to alarming dimensions!

I am not against reaching out to people in genuine need. As a rule, I never encourage begging. If the case looks genuine, I rather buy food or something that is really required. Giving away money doesn't provide permanent solution.

We have rules against begging but they are hardly implemented! Looking at the audacity of beggars that the incidents mentioned above reflect, I wonder if we are helping the right people. Is there any way we can fight this malady? Is it right to encourage begging directly or indirectly? What do you think?