Let’s be clear on this. India is no longer a poor country.
There was a time when people used to die of starvation. But things have changed, no such thing is happening any more.
However, You will still find poor people on the streets sleeping rough but not all of them will be beggars.
The Indian government has done lots to uplift the people of India out of poverty.
But…
You do find beggars on the streets:)
Many of them are concentrated at religious places. You go to a temple, a mosque, a church or a gurudwara (a Sikh place of worship) and you will be swamped by beggars.
You will find some at traffic lights. As soon as the car or taxi stops, you will find beggars knocking on your car window.
To be honest, most of them look perfectly fine and able to work. These beggars are not beggars in the real sense but opportunists.
They just want to feed on your emotions….
So how do you deal with beggars in India?
You can shoo them away,
Give them money,
Just ignore them and do nothing,
Give them something to eat like a biscuit or something,
Take them to a restaurant and feed them,
Don’t stop, keep walking as if you don’t care,
Give them a fresh bottle of water and say this is all you have,
Tell them you don’t have money,
Tell them they look perfectly fine and they don’t need any money,
Keep your windows up,
Tell them to get lost,
Beat them up (not really).
Begging in India has become a business. You’ll be surprised to know that in some cases, beggars have been found to be millionaires.
Just take a look at this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSF_5MzA8cU
If your heart does cry out for these beggars, perhaps you could spare a few change. It’s up to you entirely.
Enjoy India. India is almost beggar free.
