They thrive on people's generosity

Beggars come from other states to earn money

Kashmiris are liberal in giving alms to beggars

She begs on the streets of commercial hub Lal Chowk every year during summer. Wearing a burqa (veil) she has learnt to speak Kashmiri as, according to her, begging becomes easy if you know the local language.

She identified herself as Kajri from Bihar and says she has been begging on the streets of Srinagar for nearly a decade. Wearing untidy and tattered clothes, Kajri says she has six children, all of whom are begging at designated venues in the city. It was only after a little persuasion that she agreed to speak. Asked where she was putting up with her children in Srinagar, Kajri declined to reveal her real identity. “We keep on moving from one place to another as we apprehend police might arrest and send us back to our state,” she told Deccan Herald.

She again declined to answer when asked how much she and her children earn daily. “I don’t know the amount as my children and I hand over it to my husband in the evening. He keeps all the money and takes care of our meals.”

“But one thing is clear that begging here is more profitable and less hard working than earlier labour job. For some time, my husband was working as a labourer but couldn’t feed the family properly even after a day of hard toil. Begging has improved financial condition of our family,” she revealed.

“People here (Kashmiris) are generous and easily get swayed once we consistently ask for alms. And on some special days people even don’t hesitate to pay Rs 100 note to a beggar,” she added.

Every year like Kajri, thousands of beggars from other states come to the Valley as soon as the tourist season begins. They are mostly seen at tourist places, masjids, shrines, hospitals, bus stands and traffic signals. A majority of them have set up colonies of tents on the outskirts and then roam in the lanes of Srinagar for alms.

These beggars move fearlessly in the busy and crowded streets catching many pedestrians off guard and are often seen pestering people to succumb to their demands even as policemen watch them. While men usually prefer to remain away from the city and beg in small towns, women along with their children beg in the city.

The traders around the commercial hub Lal Chowk blame government for its failure to curb the growing menace of begging. “Due to the fear of beggars, sometimes customers avoid visiting our showrooms as they (beggars) irk them. These beggars demand money in such a way that it seems like somebody is taking back his/her money forcibly from a borrower,” said Khurshid Wani, who owns a readymade garments showroom on posh Residency Road.

“The un-hygienic living pattern of migrant beggars is another concern as it results in spread of communicable and infectious diseases. Wherever the migrant beggars get settled, the atmosphere of that area gets polluted by the waste,” he complained.

The easiest target for beggars are youth, especially college girls and even young couples for whom the only way to get rid off the beggars is to give them money. During the month of Ramadan (fasting month), Kashmir witnesses a spurt in local and non-local beggars, as they flock to take advantage of the generosity of people. In this holy month, Muslims give away a part of their earnings as charity to poor and needy people.

 It is said that many Indians go to Dubai during Ramadan to beg and earn money. However, begging is an offence in that city.

Bashir Ahmad Shah, a former government official, says the unabated influx of beggars in Kashmir Valley has made the life of local people difficult as there is no immediate end to their entry into the Valley.

“The beggars who mostly come from northern states not only to fleece people but also indulge in petty crimes.  While the common people are worried over this alarming influx, the government has adopted an Ostrich-like attitude,” he blamed.

Temporary tent colonies set up by non-local beggars on the outskirts of Srinagar have become another cause of concern for the locals. “The colonies set up by them are illegal and have become biggest source of ills and infection. If the government is serious about curbing this menace they should not allow non-local beggars to enter into the state and they should be stopped at Lakhanpur,” Shah said.

While people blame law enforcing agencies for failing to curb the menace, police say they can’t stop the beggars from entering the state. “It is not written on somebody’s face when he enters J&K that he/she is coming for begging. We can arrest the beggars but after arresting them we’ve to let them go as there is no such law which permits police to detain the beggars for a long time,” a senior police officer told Deccan Herald.

He said, according to the law, if a beggar is detained he/she has to be sent to a beggar home while non-local beggars can be deported. “But in Kashmir there are no beggar homes,” the officer rued, adding when police arrest any non-local beggar, they deport them. “Society must realise that giving alms to child beggars encourages them to beg,” he added.

The alarming increase in number of beggars has become a matter of concern for those who want to help the needy. “It has become extremely difficult to identify the needy and helpless. Sometimes I pay my charity to a person who begs just because he has made it a profession as identifying the needy ones and the professional beggars has become a difficult job,” said Arshid Hussain, a businessman.

 In addition to the non-local beggars these days many non-locals carrying receipt books can be seen collecting donations in the name of building masjids and madrasas. “I am collecting donation for a masjid to be built in Uttar Pradesh,” said a man, who introduced himself as Arif from Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh.   

Asked what made him come to Kashmir, he said, “I had heard that Kashmiris are generous and in the past month I have come to know they really are.”