Begging is an offence

Begging is an offence under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959. It remains in force in Maharashtra and Gujarat, while other states have enacted their own laws. Uttar Pradesh has the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Beggary Act, 1975. The Act empowers the police to arrest a person found begging, and the magistrate may either release the person on bond or detain him in a certified institution.

However, the practical question remains: who will bear the burden of detaining, feeding, rehabilitating, and monitoring such large numbers of people? Therefore, begging has never really stopped. At times beggars are part of organised criminal chains, and sometimes they even act as informers because of their constant visibility on roads and public spaces. Religious places, railway and bus stations, restaurants, markets, traffic crossings, and other crowded areas are common places where beggars are seen. Many religious-minded or fearful people offer them food or money in the belief that such charity earns punya.

Narendra Modi once narrated a story about a beggar who could not get alms the entire day despite wandering everywhere. Hungry and exhausted, he imagined a piece of bread in one hand and a pinch of salt in the other. He pretended to dip the bread in salt, ate imaginary morsels, and then drank a glass of water to satisfy himself.

A gentleman observing him asked what he was doing. The beggar explained how he was trying to settle his hunger with imaginary food. The gentleman then asked, “If you had to imagine food anyway, why imagine only bread and salt? You could have imagined rich dishes, vegetables, pickles, sweets, or anything you liked most.”

The beggar had no answer.

The lesson of the story is that when one has to dream or imagine, one should not dream small. One must project even a small picture on a bigger screen to make it larger in life.😊