Authored by Jayaroopinni S S As soon as I parked my vehicle in front of the ATM in one of the busiest streets in Chennai, an unmasked beggar woman with a newborn child came really close to me for alms. I got alarmed and asked her to wear a mask, which she did. This is not the first time I have encountered such an incident since the Covid outbreak. Paupers are everywhere to be seen in India especially in places of worship, restaurants, small tiffin centres, traffic signals, railway stations, etc. The then Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot in March 2021 informed Rajya Sabha that India has around 4 lakh beggars according to 2011 census 1 . Giving alms is considered as a dharma, act of love and compassion in various religions. We could still come across people who consider the same. But the modern age ‘begging’ is more than what we have known. When the states are providing food grains and other cooking essentials for a very low price, the context of what is kno...
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