Socio-economic and structural analysis of beggars in Aligarh City.

Khan, Jabir Hasan ; Menka ; Husain, Nazmul 等

Beggars are now a concern alike of social reformer, the politician and the social scientists to understand the problem, analyse it and find remedies for the same. It is, therefore, necessary that empirical studies should be undertaken aimed at collecting relevant data on the subject. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyse the socio-economic status of beggars in Aligarh city of Uttar Pradesh. The study also highlights the causes of begging, the problems of beggars and their remedial measures.

Introduction

The prime responsibility of a nation is to provide basic amenities and facilities to its people and raise their quality of life (Pattanaik 2005). Beggars are the people who beg, that is who ask money for themselves without offering anything in return (Adler and Rosie 2000) and even do not find these basic needs or amenities (food, shelter, health and protection) without which life would be impossible. Begging is a complex and multifaceted problem that is most often caused by multiple and interrelated individual and structural deprivations. It leads to physical deterioration, mental incompetence, ill health and starvation, and wreaks lives by forcing them into crime, mental abnormalities, family maladjustments, and social irregularities of every description (Cama 1945).

According to the census of India, there were 7,50,307 beggars and vagrants in India in 1981 which declined to 5,42,875 in 1991, though it further increased to 6,27,688 in 2001. Out of the total, about two third beggars were in rural areas while one third in urban areas (Bhat 2007). The matter of begging is not the ignorable issue of the society but in fact begging has become one of the most problematic social issues of India. It is, therefore, necessary that empirical studies have to be undertaken aimed at collecting relevant data on the subject.

Aims and Objectives

The general aim of the study has been to examine the socio-economic status, causes and the problems of beggars in Aligarh City. The specific objectives of the study are to know about the incidence and extent of beggars in Aligarh city; to analyse the socio-economic causes of begging; to study the socio-economic composition and structure of beggars; to make an assessment of the standard of living of the beggars by examining the infrastructural facilities in their households; and to identify the socioeconomic problems of beggars and to suggest their remedial measures.

Study Area

Aligarh, a medium sized city, is spreading over an area of 36.10 sq. km. in the western part of Uttar Pradesh situated at 27[degrees]88'N latitude and 78[degrees]08'E longitude. It is situated along the New Delhi-Howrah railway line at the distance of about 126 Km. from New Delhi and about 1500 Km. from Kolkata. The city consists of 60 wards, accommodates a residential population of 6,69,087 of which 3,56,725 are males and 3,12,362 females (GUP 2004). The literacy rate in the city is 65.38 per cent and the male literacy rate is 75.85 per cent and females are 54.16 per cent literate. Muslims constitute nearly one-third of the total population of Aligarh city. There are three factors which have contributed to the development of Aligarh. These include the establishment of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during pre-independence period, the growth of trade through the establishment of light industries, and its demarcation as the district headquarter which gave it administrative importance.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Data Base and Methodology

The present study is based on the primary data generated through field survey and the direct questionnaire to the respondents in the Aligarh city, carried out during the months of January and February, 2009. Hundred beggars were interviewed from various parts of the city (see Table 1) for collection of information regarding their socio-economic characteristics, causes of begging and problems faced by them. After the field work was over, the data collected by using individual slips were scrutinised and were processed in tabular forms according to the various aspects of the study.

Socio-Economic Profile of Beggars in Aligarh City

Table 2 shows the age-sex composition of beggars in Aligarh city. Out of 100 beggars interviewed, two-third of them are males. Age plays an important role in begging. About 21 per cent beggars were above 60 years of age, one per cent in age-group 0-13, eight per cent in 14-90 age-group and 14 per cent beggars were in 21-30 age-group. The highest proportion of beggars, that is about 23 per cent, has been recorded in the 31-40 age-group, as they have more stamina to go place to place for begging in comparison to children and aged people. Moreover, 17 per cent beggars have been in 41-50 age-group and 16 per cent 51-60 years of age group. It indicates that about three-fourths of the beggars are in the productive age group of 21-60 years.

Religion and sex wise distribution of beggars is given in Table 3. Out of 100 beggars interviewed, 72 are Muslim and 28 Hindu by religion. Among Hindu beggars, 29 per cent belong to general castes, 29 per cent to OBC and 39 per cent to SC/ST and among the Muslim beggars, 39 per cent are of general castes and 61 per cent of OBC and no one has been of SC/ST.

The percentage distribution of educational level of beggars in Aligarh city is given under Table 4. The data given in Table 4 shows that there is mass illiteracy among beggars because 93 per cent of them were illiterate. Out of the total male beggars, three per cent were educated up to primary level, two per cent got education up to middle level, one per cent had education up to secondary level and one per cent got education up to graduation. And all the sampled female beggars were found illiterate.

Table 5 shows the distribution of beggars by places of their birth. During the survey, it was observed that the beggars in Aligarh city were mainly migrants, coming from various parts of the country. Most of them migrated from the very populous and poor regions due to lack of availability of resources for their survival. The highest percentage of beggars was from Bihar, followed by West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and some other districts of Uttar Pradesh. Few beggars were also found here, who were forced by the circumstances to beg, such as, a person from Gujarat was found here, who lost his money and had nothing for returning to his home and that's why he was begging.

Table 6 depicts the percentage distribution of age at marriage of beggars in Aligarh city. About 80 per cent beggars were married and 20 per cent were unmarried. Out of total samples, 62 per cent were married in 15-12 age-group, five per cent in 21-25 age-group, two per cent in 26-30 age-group and two per cent in 31-35 age-group. Eight per cent beggars do not know about their age of marriage. So, it is quite clear from the above analysis that the incidence of early marriages is very common among the beggars in the study area.

Table 7 shows the percentage distribution of social, economic and biological causes which lead a person towards begging. Poverty, unemployment and inadequate earnings are the major economic causes which forced about 44 per cent of the beggars to resort to begging while among the social factors, namely, illiteracy, migration, customs, disruption of joint family and death of parents compelled to nearly 21 per cent of the beggars to beg.

Alcoholism is also one of the social causes and drove about three per cent of the beggars towards begging. Old age, diseases, disability and mental illness are the main biological factors which shared about 20 per cent in the total causes of the begging. Religious mendicancy contributes to about five per cent in begging and it is generally practiced at the vicinity of religious places like temples, mosques, etc.

Table 8 shows the percentage distribution of daffy income of beggars in Aligarh city. Dearth of personal income is the main cause of begging. The table shows that there is a great variation in daily income within beggars. Most of the beggar's daffy income lies between Rs. 10-50. Only 10 per cent beggars get more than Rs. 70 per day. There were four per cent beggars who asked only for kind not for cash. The distribution of whole time beggars and those involved both in begging as well as in other subsidiary economic activities is given in Table 9. As the other sources of income or subsidiary economic activities of beggars are concerned, out of 100 beggars 86 were whole time beggars. The rest also followed various economic activities; they were polythene pickers, sellers of ground nuts, plastic buckets, and a few of them were professional blood donors (getting Rs. 60 for a bottle of blood), and few of them were astrologers.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Figure 2 shows the percentage distribution of condition of houses of beggars and the type of facilities available in the dwelling. This infers that the general housing conditions of beggars are very poor. Out of the total samples, only six per cent beggars live in pucca and semi-pucca houses. A majority of them lives in slums (54 per cent) and premises of religious places (25 per cent). Thirteen per cent of total sampled beggars live in kachcha houses and one per cent take shelter in the redundant buildings of old industries and remaining one per cent take rest in the night near railway station, bus stands and school areas etc.

The further analysis of data also reveals that the main source of drinking water among the beggars is running water. 64 per cent beggars use public taps for drinking water and 35 per cent take it from hand pumps. Only one per cent beggars use well as the source of drinking water.

The fuel is the basic need of people for cooking whether people are rich or poor. A majority (47 per cent) of beggars use fuel wood for cooking, 36 per cent cooked by burning the leaves of trees, 12 per cent used cow dung as a fuel, and only two per cent were reported to use LPG as a fuel. Few beggars used electricity, kerosene oil and plastic for making food. One per cent beggars do not cook at home but they eat in hotels. So, the main sources of fuel used by beggars are wood, leaves of trees and cow dung which are available at very low costs and may also be got free of cost. An examination of data given in Figure 2 on the type of latrine used or sanitation facility available to beggars makes it clear that most of the beggars do not have this facility within the premises of their houses. Out of the total sampled beggars, the highest proportion (84 per cent) go to the fields for night soil, seven per cent use of them flush, five per cent have accessibility up to public toilets and 4 per cent have service system. No beggar has the facility of septic tank.

Table 10 shows the percentage distribution of durable goods possessed by beggars in Aligarh city. Ownership of modern objects gives a rough indication of how money is being spent on different commodities. It also provides some information on household decisions and tastes towards modernity. But the beggars of Aligarh city are the persons who even do not get proper food, cloth and shelter. 69 per cent beggars have no durable goods or appliances. Radio is the most common item used by beggars (27 per cent) because it is the cheapest means of entertainment for them. The next dominating item is the tape recorders and cycles which are possessed by 8 per cent beggars. But the more expensive items like fridge, iron, mobile, telephone, TV, and rickshaw are possessed by only a very small percentage of surveyed beggars. No one possesses here the costly items like scooters and jeeps etc. The percentage distribution of practices of bad habits among beggars is given in Table 11. Beggars beg because of money but many beggars reported addiction to one or other substances. Out of total sampled beggars, 34 per cent were smokers and 17 per cent used gutkha, 13 per cent chew the panmasala and 20 per cent used tobacco. Three per cent beggars have the addiction of drinking daru (locally made beer) and two per cent have the bad habit of gambling. However, 34 per cent of them have no bad habits.

Table 12 shows the percentage distribution of diseases among beggars in Aligarh city. Health problems are very common among the beggars. These people suffer from many diseases due to their unhygienic living conditions, poor nutrition and bad habits. They, generally, eat and drink without washing their hands. Most of them are the victims of diseases like asthma, tuberculosis, gout and rheumatisms and eye diseases; the proportion of beggars suffered by these diseases has been recorded 49 per cent, 39 per cent, 23 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Moreover, 20 per cent of them were physically handicapped. In addition, eight per cent of them have venereal diseases and four per cent suffer from leprosy. However, 25 per cent beggars have no diseases and 19 per cent did not know about any kind of diseases.

The percentage distribution of types of problems faced by beggars is given in Table 13. The table reveals the fact that the most serious problem faced by beggars is their low income. Out of total sampled beggars, two-third (66 per cent) of them reported about the problem of insufficient income. Generally, poverty is the most frequent precipitant of the problem of begging. Beneath the poverty lies the scarcity of resources and inaccessibility of beggars in the available resources. Beggars, facing the problems caused by the widening gap between the basic needs and the resources available, can not afford the rapid rising cost of living. Chronic food shortage and unsanitary living conditions cause worst health problems for them. Beggars depend on the mercy of citizens. Rude behaviour of the donors and the torture by policemen are also the problems faced by the beggars of the study area.

Conclusion

The foregoing reveals that the high concentration of beggars is found near railway station along bridges and in slum areas. The number of male beggars is high in comparison to female beggars, and majority of them were Muslims by religion. The literacy rate among them was very low. The beggars got married at early age. Most of the beggars migrated from the states of Bihar and West Bengal to the district. Majority of the beggars begged through out the week. They begged both in kind and cash. Most of them are the heads of their families and are disease affected and having the bad habits like smoking, drinking and chewing gutkha, tobacco or panmasala, etc. Their housing conditions are very poor. Generally, they do not have potable water to drink, pure air to breath, not to mention anything about their fooding, clothing and lodging. Their accessibility in modern infrastruetural facilities is very poor. The main causes behind begging are their poverty, unemployment, low income and illiteracy.

The following remedial measures may be adopted to overcome the problems of the beggars and to contain the practice of begging. Provide accommodation and medical facilities to the beggars. Provide financial assistance and social security to the beggars. Improve the literacy level of beggars and to make them aware about the various government poverty alleviation programmes. Allocate agricultural lands to beggars and develop agro-based industries in rural areas. Provide assets to the beggars to enable them to earn the means of their livelihood. Bring change in the negative attitude of general population for the beggars. Pass an ideal Vagrancy Act for the rescue of beggars.

References

Adler, M. Bromley, C., & Rosie, M. (2000): 'Bagging as a Challenge to the Welfare State', in R. Jowell, J. Curtice, et.al. (Ed.), British Social Attitudes: the 17th Report, Focusing on Diversity, Sage Publication, London, pp. 209-237.

Bhat, N. (2007): 'Begging--The Social Dilemma', Newstrack: India, Daily News Paper, Published from New Delhi, August 11, Saturday, New Delhi.

Cama, K.H. (1945): 'Types of Beggar', in Kumarappa J.M. (Ed.), Our Beggar Problem: How to Tackles, Padma Publication Limited, Bombay, pp. 1-17.

GUP (2004): 'Annual Report 2004', Lucknow.

Pattanaik, B.K. (2005): 'Poverty, Basic Needs and Rural Livelihood', Kurukshetra, Vol. 53, No. 11, September, pp. 33-38.

Jabir Hasan Khan *, Menka ** and Nazmul Husain **

* Reader, Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, e-mail: [email protected]

** Research Scholars, Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, e-mails: [email protected] and [email protected]

Table 1
Distribution of Places of
Begging and Number of Beggars
Interviewed at these Places in
Aligarh City

Places of No. of
Begging Beggars
 Interviewed

Katpula Bridge 18
Markets 17
Railway Station 13
University Campus 10
Mosques 8
Upper Fort 8
Temples 6
Slums 8
Other Places 12
Total 100

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 2
Age and Sex Composition of Beggar
Population--Aligarh City

Age- Male Female Total
groups
 No. Per No. Per No. Per
 cent cent cent

0-13 1 1.60 0 0.00 1 1.00
14-20 5 6.20 3 7.69 8 8.00
21-30 8 13.10 6 15.30 14 14.00
31-40 16 26.20 7 17.90 23 23.00
41-50 7 11.40 10 25.60 14 17.00
51-60 10 16.30 6 15.30 16 16.00
Above 60 14 22.90 7 17.90 21 21.00
Total 61 100.00 39 100.00 100 100.00

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 3
Religion and Caste-wise Distribution of
Beggars in Aligarh City

 Hindu Muslim Total

Caste No. Per No. Per No. Per
 cent cent cent

General 8 29.00 28 39.00 36 36.00
OBC 9 32.00 44 61.00 53 53.00
SC/ST 11 39.00 -- -- 11 11.00
Total 28 100.00 72 100.00 100 100.00

Note: OBC--Other Backward Caste, SC--Scheduled Caste,
ST--Scheduled Tribe Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 4
Educational Level of Beggars in Aligarh City

 Male Female Total

Educational No. Per No. Per No. Per
Status cent cent cent

Illiterate 54 88.50 39 100.00 93 93.00
Primary 3 4.90 0 0 3 3.00
Middle 2 3.30 0 0 2 2.00
Secondary 1 1.65 0 0 1 1.00
Graduate 1 1.65 0 0 1 1.00
Total 61 100.00 39 100.00 100 100.00

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 5
Sex-wise Distribution of Beggars in Aligarh
City According to their Places of Origin

 Beggars

States/Districts Male Female Total

Within Aligarh 10 7 17
Other districts 10 14 24
 of U.P.
Bihar 23 10 33
West Bengal 9 7 16
Madhya Pradesh 3 0 03
Others 6 1 07
Total 61 39 100

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 6
Percentage Distribution of Marital
Status of Beggars in Aligarh City

Age- Number Per
groups cent

15-20 62 62
21-25 5 5
26-30 2 2
31-35 2 2
36-40 1 1
Unmarried 20 20
Don't know 8 8
Total 100 100

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 7
Percentage Distribution of Causes of Begging
in Aligarh City

Type Causes Percentage

Economic Poverty 19.36
 Unemployment 13.96
 Inadequate earning 11.11
 Un-remunerative 2.53
 agriculture

Social Customs 2.5
 Migration 5.1
 Disruption of 3.17
 joint family
 Death of parents/ 3.80
 no parental care
 Tempted by others 1.58
 Illiteracy 6.03
 Substance abuse- 2.85
 alcoholism and
 drug abuse
 Personal beliefs, 3.17
 actions and choices

Biological Aged 6.03
 Diseased 7.40
 Mental illness 2.22
 Disability 4.12

Religious Religious mendicancy 5.07
 Total 100

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 8
Percentage Distribution of Daily
Income of Beggars by Begging in
Aligarh City

Daily Income Percentage
(Rs.)

Less than 10 9
11-20 10
21-30 15
31-40 24
41-50 12
51-60 9
61-70 7
Above 70 10
Kind 4
Total 100

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 9
Distribution of Subsidiary Economic
Activities of Beggars in Aligarh City

Subsidiary Number Percentage
Occupation

Not-known 3 3.00
Whole time Beggar 86 86.00
Rag picker 3 3.00
Blood sold 3 3.00
Horoscope 1 1.00
Ground nut selling 2 2.00
Plastic buckets selling 1 1.00
Other Persons 1 1.00
Total 100 100.00

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 10
Percentage Distribution of Durable Goods
Possessed by Beggars in Aligarh City

Items Percentage

Radio 27.00
Tape Recorder 4.00
Cycle 4.00
TV 3.00
Scooter 0.00
Fridge 1.00
Iron 1.00
Car 1.00
Mobile 1.00
Telephone 1.00
Jeep 0.00
Watch 1.00
Rickshaw 2.00
Others 1.00
No item 69.00

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 11
Percentage Distribution of Practices
of Bad Habits among Beggars in
Aligarh City

Bad Habits Percentage

Smoking 34.00
Tobacco 20.00
Gutkha 17.00
Pan Masala 13.00
Drinking (Daru) 3.00
Gambling 2.00
No 34.00

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 12
Percentage Distribution of Incidence of
Diseases among Beggars in Aligarh City

Incidence of Disease Percentage

Asthma 49
Tuberculosis 39
Gout and Rheumatisms 23
Physically handicapped 20
Eye diseases 15
Venereal diseases 8
Leprosy 4
Not known 12
No disease 25

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.

Table 13
Percentage Distribution of Types of
Problems Faced by Beggars in Aligarh City

Problems Percentage

Insufficient income 66
Health problem 59
Lack of food,
 clothes and shelter 45
Ignorance of
 passers-by 35
Rude behaviours
 of donors 27
Feeling ashamed or
 embarrassing 26
Torture by police 15
Others 40

Source: Based on field survey, 2009.