Laws For Beggars, Justice for Whom: A Critical Review of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act 1959

Abstract

The poor are being hounded all over the country, for being poor. Instead of addressing deep-rooted issues of inequity, illiteracy, unemployment, a skewed distribution of resources, poverty, etc. the government and its strong arm, the police, have again taken to finding fault with poor and indigent people. Poor are not alien to India. For the last few centuries India has suffered acute poverty. From the ancient times, the main cause of poverty was various taxes. Almost one-quarter of the total population was very poor. But at the time of the Emperor Akbor the situation of the poor improved. Looking back, we can see that at the time of Harshbardhana, people were becoming paupers. There were heavy taxes on the common people and farmers. So, to improve economic conditions, Harshbardhana used to distribute money, food, clothes, etc. Although history tells us that Harshabardhana was a great king, an in-depth study of economics proves that the imposition of taxes made people into paupers. The British period worsened the situation. But the post-colonial Indian government never tried to rectify the faulty system by repealing anti-poverty or beggary laws. We are trying to sweep the problem under the carpet. In fact, poor women, children and elderly people need help from the government to obtain food and shelter.