Why are these people begging despite having professional degrees?
There are many in the country who have had to resort to begging despite receiving a good education. Most sociologists consider economic and political corruption the reason for this. In the last census, the Gujarat government revealed that India has 78,000 beggars who have either passed 12th standard or hold a diploma. Similarly, the report released by the Social Welfare Department in Bihar revealed that 4.5 percent of the beggars in the state are educated.
A person joined a hospital as a ward boy after not receiving a job as per his merit. He later left the job and started begging. He is now earning more than before and has also built a team of 30 beggars.
A 50-year-old MBA graduate, Farzona, was recently caught begging in Hyderabad. Having worked as an account officer in London, she moved to her architect son’s house in Anandbagh after her husband’s death. When she approached a godman to seek help for her troubled life, he told her to become a beggar to turn her luck around.
Another 44-year-old woman, Rabiya Baseera, was caught begging in front of a dargah in Hyderabad. A green card holder in the USA, Rabiya was cheated by her own family, who took all her money. Thus, she was forced to resort to begging.
Hailing from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, a man had to leave his education midway due to poor financial conditions. After moving to Mumbai, he got a job but as a bonded labourer. He then started begging to earn for his parents.
Sociologists and educationalists in the country believe that the problem is the lack of synergy between the education system and means of livelihood. They fear that the number of educated beggars might even be higher than the numbers stated.
Recently, a video of a Chinese graduate student begging on the streets went viral on social media. He held a signboard requesting onlookers to invest in him rather than a beggar. His signboard also said that he would return the money to the lenders once he became successful. This student also carried a notebook with him to register the details of the donors.
Over the years, so many reports have been released which reveal the reality of this world. The 2011 census showed that 78,000 of the 3.72 lakh beggars in the country had completed their school education. It was also said that 3,000 of these beggars held a professional degree.
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