Beggars

[Maja]

It has always been my practice to give food instead of money to beggars. Sadly, it's true that they are being used my crime syndicates to extort money from people. They play on people's goodness and willingness to help. But of course, we can't distinguish the ones handled by the crooks from the ones that really need help. So it would be better just to give them food.

 

[djordjem87]

I love to help people. I think we should all do it but not like this. In this way we are encouraging our piece of sh** governments not to deal with this issue. They will buy alcohol from the money I give them, cigarettes ... Or whatever. They are the responsibility of government not of people who pay taxes. I was living on Malta for almost two years and I haven't seen one beggar that was a Maltese citizen. I saw an African man with his feet cut in half but he was the only one and he was off the streets very quickly.

 

[pwarbi]

Whoever is responsible for the beggars is the bigger story, and usually the blame falls on the head of the government in the genuine cases like you say.

These days though there are a lot of people who have chosen to beg as a way of life, and these are the ones you need to be wary of as they are just scam artist's trying to con you into making you feel sorry for them.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

To be perfectly honest, most beggars (not just in India) are known to prey on tourists for a quick and easy payout. A lot of the beggars you see while traveling have a tendency to pick your pockets while you are not looking, some would extort money from you, while some would even straight up and rob you for your valuables. Be careful around them, and make sure to not let your guard down under any circumstances. It is better to be safe than sorry, and I'm sure they would be able to understand your caution when you explain it to them.

 

[pwarbi]

Beggars and pickpockets while can be the same people, I've always found that there's two distinct categories. The pickpockets will take your money by deceit and you won't even know it's gone till you go to pay for something, but the beggars try and take your money in a more upfront way.

The beggars will try to play on your conscience and trick you into actually handing the money over rather than them having to take it.

 

[Admin]

The best way to deal with beggars is to "ignore" them. You are not really helping them by giving them a bit of money, you are creating a menace for other tourists. No one can die of hunger in any of the big cities in India. There are hundreds of Sikh gurdwaras (Sikh temples) where food is served free of cost round the clock and whoever goes there is treated with respect no matter what you look like or what you are wearing, how rich or poor you are and food is very nutritious as well. There is no restriction on how much you eat, eat as much as you can/want and keep returning three times a day every day and no one would say a word or make you feel unwelcome.

Next time you see a beggar in India please remember the above