Begging Mafia

~By Anu. In December, 2006, I wrote this post about a beggar boy called Ajay near the BBC's central Delhi office. Recently, I thought about Ajay again when reading and hearing about Delhi's powerful, violent begging mafia.
    I have rarely given cash to beggars in the street here, because I always suspected organized crime at work. Well now, a friend who works as a cameraman for a major Indian channel confirms that he's seen the begging mafia with his own eyes.
    He describes quacks who will deliberately maim children for use in begging. He saw training sessions where people are taught the most efficient begging tactics. He witnessed money being handed over to local and regional commanders for begging rights. Of course I cannot confirm anything he says, as it was all hidden camera, and I have not seen these things myself. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that begging- across India - is an organized business.

For a start, here's a story that ran last year in the Indian Express about missing children in Kerala and the begging racket. I've nipped out an excerpt:

"The begging mafia is the biggest problem, says Jose Maveli, president of the Janaseva Sishu Bhavan in Aluva, Kerala’s largest charitable rehabilitation centres for children picked off the streets or handed by the police, courts and NGOs. It now has about 500 children, mostly from neighbouring states. A majority are those bought off poor parents by the begging mafia, abducted and put to work elsewhere, and run aways.

Organised begging rackets is big business. “Sometime ago, we trailed a racketeer in Thrissur driving around in his big car with his staff, collecting the day’s proceeds from children he had left to beg in the town. But these days the mafia mostly lie low,” said [Maveli].

Here's another story from 2007 about missing and exploited children. The piece cites a study for the UN in 2005 when 44,476 children disappeared, most of them trafficked, abducted and forced to work as cheap labour.

It all makes sense now. Months after I posted about Ajay, I tried to locate him again because I wanted to record a radio interview for the BBC. Armed with my microphone, I asked the beggar women who I'd seen with him many times where I might find him. They were vague, non-committal. Their body language suggested they were trying to hide something. They sent me off on a wild-goose chase... I never found Ajay. Other journalists have recounted how - if they ever try to film beggars- a mob of them will form and chase them off.

I will try to track down that hidden-camera story for display here... Meanwhile, the next time you're faced with a dirty little face at a traffic light, pleading eyes wide, asking for money... Well, it's your decision.

Comments

[Remya]

Its very sad and cruel that these kind of things happen in our educated Kerala also. but how can we ignore the innocent, dirty faces eventhough they are forced by a mafia. The victims are always the little ones. Won't they be treated bad if they don't EARN for thier BOSS?

[Rixse]

Organized begging has been a long known issue which is apparently ignored. It not only requires the political will but a social change. There has to be a motivation to fight the evil. Instead of dropping a rupee or two to the pleading eyes, why not pick that child and give food and help find a shelter for him. Giving hand outs is only perpetuating the problem. Kudos to Jose Maveli, we need more such institutions across the country to help the exploited children.