If Dhaka is the third most populous city in the world after Mogadishu of Somalia and Tanta of Egypt, the concentration of beggars is likely to be the highest in the Bangladesh capital. But if the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) area is separately taken into consideration, the density of population in per square kilometer at 39,353 far surpasses that of Mogadishu with 33,244. Beggar's concentration is just hypothetical but the day-to-day experiences with them should give rise to some really troubling questions.
Attempts taken by the autocrat Ershad government to make Dhaka free of beggars stood little chance of ending up in success. Many would like to attribute the phenomenal rise in the number of beggars to the Covid-19. But even before the pandemic struck, there had been the destitute asking for alms galore in this city. Some people privately called it a city of beggars alongside that of rickshaws and mosques.
Begging, as everyone admits, is not a particularly dignified profession. But still people are forced to take to this inglorious living. Every time a well-off person passes by a beggar who asks for money, the former cannot help feeling a sense of discomfort, unless the person has a heart of stone. Whatever may have brought the alms seeker to the street, here is a brutal encounter with human suffering and hardship in a society that has glaring divides in wealth. The system has created such unacceptable social divides where disparities in income and comfort are always disturbing.
One feels tempted to ask the rude question what do the beggars, the destitute have for them particularly when the nation is all set to shape anew its makeup following the success of the anti-discrimination movement. Will such hapless people have something to share in order to ameliorate their position out of the abject poverty and be part of an inclusive society? Let alone the disabled and physically infirm, there are able-bodied beggars who can be economically productive. Now the question is, if they will figure anywhere in the grand scheme of national welfare and prosperity.
True, a large number of them pretend to be what they are not. "A court is an assembly of noble and distinguished beggars", said Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. If the court is replaced by parliament or the Jatiya Sangsad and noble and distinguished by the rich and businessmen, the picture that emerges is a genuine reflection of what the country has so long put up with in terms of governance. The nation was shocked to know about Shahed Karim, the impostor, who defrauded innocent people in various ways through his fake medical malpractices.
But the more powerful and deceitful elements who have abused state power and wealth in order to deprive the rest of the population present a far horrifying picture of fraudulence and mental bankruptcy. Money in billions of Taka has been looted from banks and financial institutes, bribes taken from public works, particularly from mega projects, only to amass wealth and also launder it abroad.
Had a portion of such misappropriated money been used for the welfare of society, particularly for pulling the poor out of poverty, there would perhaps be no beggar. Now is the time when this issue of poverty and destitution should be critically assessed for making a difference in the situation.
True, beggars have adopted different styles in drawing attention of people. Sometimes such tactics are irritating, no doubt. For example, when a beggar asks one passer-by that he needs money for treatment of his ailing father and he asks the same passer-by on his return within half an hour, to buy a loaf for him, it is clear the alms seeker is not a genuine beggar. Then there are a few who under veil pretend to be from families not used to begging but are forced to on account of dire needs. They ask not for money but a kilogram of rice. But the one such woman excelled all others when she asked a customer of hog apple to purchase some for her.
However, all such ploys may be out of the box but pale before the intrigues and guiles the so-called educated, sophisticated and privileged have resorted to simply with the ulterior motive of leaving the economy lame and out of blood. So, the case of beggars certainly deserves a patient hearing and compassion for consideration.
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