India, the land of revered saints, sages and statesmen bows its head down with shame at the deeply entrenched menace of child beggary and disappearing children! Although our country is a leading developing nation after China, yet the menace of child beggary is alarming. Begging is one of the most serious social issues in India. It is estimated that half a million people in India are beggars.
According to a report by NHRC on India, 40,000 children are abducted each year which means one child goes missing every 8 minutes, over 25% of whom remain untraced. Last year around this time four children were rescued by the Calangute Police on the charges of begging. The rescued children were lodged in Apna Ghar in Merces. Huge publicity was given to the rescuers. May we know where these children are now? What do we exactly mean when we say “rescue of a child”? Forced begging offers an important area for the struggle for children’s rights because it represents one of the most extreme, yet troubling and commonplace, forms of exploitation of children in the world today.
Begging is usually an act of desperation and fits into the ILO Convention No. 182 as one of the worst forms of Child Labour that is hazardous: physically, emotionally, morally and intellectually to the child’s well-being. State laws on begging differ fundamentally in their approach towards the treatment of children found begging. Under the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act 2015, children found begging are to be treated as victims in need of “care and protection”. Section 24(1) of the Juvenile Justice Act Provides that whoever employs or uses any juvenile child for the purpose of begging or causes any juvenile to beg can be imprisoned up to three years and shall also be liable for fine. Those who abet begging are also liable for the same punishment.
Child begging is very clearly a part of the organised crime. It is the ‘Mafia’ which benefits from this lucrative business of child exploitation and mutilations. A child begging is not only one of the worst forms of child labour, but also one of which violates a child’s right and against his/her dignity. It’s time for us to decriminalise beggary, and offer a life of dignity to all beggars. Far too often, child beggars are treated as a problem by authorities. They are beaten and mistreated by the very authorities who should be there to protect them.
A wide range of training programmes for police and social workers are needed to help them to proactively and sensitively respond to the causative reasons for the child into begging and to meet the particular needs of these children. Beggar homes should be opened where training in various crafts and trade may be provided to them. Immediately, the Government of Goa has an empty ‘Apna Ghar’ at Merces which can accommodate these street beggars who are to be admitted by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) as children in need of care and protection. Besides, there are several other children’s homes run by the government which are vacant with full staff including cooks but without inmates.
It’s hard to imagine the challenges children on the streets face on a daily basis. They are forced to beg and are commonly beaten up by those who are driving them to work. They work for long hours and hand over most of their income to their ‘Patrao’. Children are the cradle of a multi million rupee industry that is run by cartels and mafias. The sad part is that this issue is not properly addressed by the authorities.
The Right to Education Act (RTE) was passed by parliament in August 2009. It makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary school. It requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children (to be reimbursed by the State as part of the public-private partnership plan). There are tens of thousands of children who are not even aware of the role of education in their life! What have we done to bring education to the door step of these children? Contrary to the popular belief, many homeless individuals want to better themselves and change their situation. There is no quick-fix solution to this problem. Rehabilitation should be done aiming at preserving the well being of the powerless rather than to promote the prestige of the powerful.
The children of today are assets of tomorrow. Education which is a fundamental right of every child in our country is still a pipe dream for many children in India, especially the ones who are steeped in poverty and in dire need. Poverty and lack of education are major factors that lead to desperate acts like child begging which is one of the most heart breaking and acute problems that mocks the conscience of our country.
Arpita Khan’s wedding was very much in the news as she is the sister of the famous Bollywood Actor, Salman Khan. Little do people know about her being the biological daughter of a homeless beggar woman!
Destitution refers to a state of poverty arising from economic or social deprivation. Persons in destitution include the homeless, beggars and people with physical and mental disabilities as well as the old and the infirm. It has often been observed that children from lower socio-economic level are more likely to be abused due to parental poverty and hence are forced to beg so that they can supplement the total earnings of the family. Sometimes they are even beaten up and maimed for this purpose. Beggars may operate in public places such as transport routes, parks and markets. Prime Minister Nehru had once said that children are the future of the nation. So, therefore, isn’t the bright future for our nation and its people in peril and at stake when our children’s lives are ruined?
(The writer is a member of the Juvenile Justice Board Goa).