Begging in India

Begging in India can be very confronting and sometimes a bit alarming so it is worth giving a bit thought about it before you go.

The huge increase in Indias economy due to technologies and industry is having a great impact on many people in India. There wealth is rising, they can buy a car, they have stability and a rising standard of living. Unfortunately this big change has affected an incredibly small proportion of the Indian people leaving the country with ever increasing poverty and begging problems.

Travel tips for dealing with Begging in India

The poverty is really in your face right from the moment you arrive at the airport. A man with lepracy was my first experience, he popped out from underneath a motorway bridge and shoved his bandgaged hand in through the window while the car was at a red light. It was a shock and then glad that the light soon turned green!

It can be very disheartening constantly saying no to hundreds of worthy people and it doesn't help that they are incredibly persistant and don't take no for an answer, often following you down the street.

You really can't help them all but if you must there are a few guidelines to follow:

Giving to beggars

It's best to give to those that perform a service, like cleaning your shoes, singing and dacing. Also the elderly and crippled are a good cause. Always avoid giving to women with babies as they are usually borrowed of someone else.

Only give to beggars when you are leaving a place rather than arriveing especially at train stations where you may have to wait for hours for your train while being surroinded by beggars.

Of course it's up to you whom you give your money too, sometimes you see such sad case's of begging in India you can't help but get your wallet out but money rarely helps, at most it eases the pain for a short time.

Some scams to watch out for

Here is one that Im sure I fell for:

Visitors are often approached by a child or woman wanting some powdered milk to feed a baby. They will assist you to a nearby stall or shop that happens to sell varuous vessels containing this 'milk' However, the milk will be expensively priced (often around 200 rupees) and if you hand over the money for it, the shopkeeper and the beggar will simply split the proceeds between them.

Beggars also rent babies from their mothers each day, to give their begging more credibility. Rent-a-Baby..........

Organised Begging

In return for the right to sit on that territory and if they're are lucky, food and water and protection the beggar must hand over a portion if not all of his/hers days takings. To better understand this imagine that there are one million beggars in Mumbai (the figure is not far off), each with thier own specified spot. Each one is given protection and some food in return from 1 rupee a day. Thats one gang leader who is raking in one Million rupees a day. This sounds fair enough, the beggars are being looked after and some one is getting rich but there is more. Say a beggar does't make enough money.....he gets dumped, probably in a river. Next comes the mutilations, babys have there eyes taken out or there back twisted.... a man with only one arm will surely earn more begging in India than a man with two...?