What Can You and I do?

Familiarity is the hardest thing sometimes. When something lies right in front of our eyes all the time, so common to our day to day existence, it becomes hard to discern its significance- hard to recognise its uncommonness.  Such a case is the sight of beggars on the streets of every city in India. In front of temples, under flyovers, on the pavements of narrow roads, knocking on the car’s window in the middle of congested traffic or sitting near hospitals, beggars are such a daily sight here that is hard to unsee them. Yet somehow, we have managed to see right past them.

A reality we continue to ignore.

This article does not end with a triumphant conclusion nor do I propose any earth-shattering solutions. It does not even end with a heroic act where I manage to uplift a group of beggars or mobilise them or any such feat which may soothe my conscience. No. Today I want to ask questions and hopefully the right questions, because sometimes that is all it takes. All of us are humans, compassionate beings with ideas of morality ingrained in us and we live as though we are ‘holier than thou’, then what is it that stops us from turning around and looking at that impoverished man a little longer and asking him his story?

At this point, I am not talking about the people who can afford to give Rs 100 to every beggar that comes their way. Chances are they usually do not even frequent the streets that are really home to several beggars. No doubt a noble and charitable impulse when they give money to the beggars that come knocking their way, but I see little use of it. That Rs 100 will probably serve him for a week and even less, if he has a family to feed. So in the long run, all that was done was give him a little more time. The question here is, how long? How long will these stand alone acts of generosity for individual beggars work? What purpose does this achieve in the big picture? Some cynics claim it makes them lazier. Some others say that’s not the issue, the important thing is for the time being both parties leave a little happier.

Such quick fixes are troubling. And films like “Slumdog Millionare” have not made it easier for people like me. The beggars on the streets were shown as working in a network controlled by thugs and the mafia. These people kidnapped children, tortured them, maimed them to the point of unrecognizable features and forced them to sit out on the streets and beg. The money collected thereafter is not even shared, rather they are given just enough to make them beg some more the next day. This practice is not even pure fiction, because there are findings that suggest that beggary works like an industry and has the spread across the length and breadth of the nation, consuming more children, women and men in the guise of missing persons and fraud. So every single time that I do decide to give some money, it occurs to me- am I sponsoring such groups? If I am, I should stop. But if I do stop then don’t these impoverished people suffer even more?

A slum in Kolkata, one of the largest metropolitan cities in India

It is such a horrible catch 22 situation that most of us today have become immune to this scenario. We no longer deal with such conscience confusing problems and prefer to ignore their existence. Except of course, for the acts of benevolence once in a while, depending on our mood. Beggars are a reality in India but it seems like a reality that everyone wants to deny. In big cities, you have sprawling shopping complexes, industrial hubs and shanties sitting side by side and living two very different realities. Outside the air-conditioned car that keeps its engine on to keep luxuries like the loud music and cool air, the beggar mother that comes with two children on her waist and shoulders and another pulling on her threadbare sari is ignored completely. Every single of us is guilty today. I wish I could put the blame solely on the government but that would be deceiving ourselves and a forced attempt to purge ourselves of our irresponsible behaviour. As a society, you and I have failed and we refuse to acknowledge that. Enough is not being done about the poor people in our country and we refuse to believe that. We do not let these trivial matters disturb our morning coffee, evening games and dreams at night. We are content with our small, insignificant lives, our illusions of our surroundings and we never let anything shatter this illusion- not a flood, not an ‘ethnic cleansing’, not a rape- nothing. And that I believe, is the most unsettling thing of all.