for A Childhood

BEGGING Analysis
of
Child
Beggars
in Delhi
 Begging for a Childhood
Analysis of Child Beggars in Delhi

Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights

National Capital Territory of Delhi
 List of Tables
List of Figures
Chapter I: Introduction 1
1.1 Review of Literature 2
1.2 Studies Exclusively Focused on Child Beggars 4
1.3 Notion of Child Begging 7
1.4 Types of Beggars 10
1.5 Causes 10
1.6 Magnitude and Extent of Child Beggars 11
Chapter II: The Policy 14
Contents

2.1 The Approach 14

2.2 The National Policy on Children 15
2.3 Five Year Plans 19
2.4 Millennium Development Goals and Child Protection 22
2.5 Drawbacks 25
Chapter III: State Response 26
2.1 International Regulations 26
2.2 Constitutional and Legal Provisions in India 28
Chapter IV: Research Design 34
4.1 Operational Definition 34
4.2 Research 35
4.3 Limitations of the 37
Chapter V: Magnitude of the problem of Child Beggary in Delhi 38
Chapter VI: Socio-Economic profile of Child 41
6.1 Gender and Age 41
6.2 Family type and Native 42
6.3 Identity 43
6.4 Stay arrangements in Delhi 43
6.5 Why and how they beg? 44
6.6 Involvement in activities other than begging 46
6.7 Earning and Spending Patterns 47
Chapter VII: Health and Nutrition 49
Chapter VIII: Education and Aspirations of Child Beggars 53
Chapter IX: Problems of Child Beggars 56
Chapter X: Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations 58
References 64
Appendix 1: Data Tables and additional Charts 70
Appendix 2: Schedule A– Survey of Child Beggars
Appendix 3: Schedule B- Interview Performa
List of Tables

Table 1: Administrative Districts in Delhi 36

Table 2: District Wise Distribution of Child Beggars 40
Table 3: Gender and Age Distribution of sample 41
Table 4: Native Place 42
Table 5: Consequences of not begging 45
Table 6: Who helps them when in trouble 57
Table 7: District Wise Cumulative Age & Gender Profile 70
Table 8 Gender & Age distribution of a sample 70
Table 9: District wise age distribution of Child Beggars 71
Table 10: Age when started begging 71
Table 11: District Wise Gender Profile 72
Table 12: Identity Proof Documents 72
Table 13: Reason for Leaving Home 73
Table 14: Types of Family - Gender Wise 73
Table 15: Family type and staying with in Delhi 74
Table 16: Consequence if they don't beg 74
Table 17: Dwelling Provider for Child Beggars 74
Table 18: Stay Arrangements of Child Beggars 75
Table 19: Other Activities in addition to Begging 75
Table 20: Interested in acquiring skills 76
Table 21: Age Wise Standard of Education 76
Table 22: Gender Wise Education distribution 77
Table 23: Willingness to go to school 77
Table 24: Education profile of 6-14 year children 77
Table 25: Interest in Studying 78
Table 26: Reasons for not going to school 78-79
Table 27: Earning and Expenses of child beggars 80
Table 28: Savings of Child Beggars 80
Table 29: Use of remaining money, if any 81
Table 30: Gender Wise Bank Account of Child Beggars 81
Table 31: Where they keep savings if any 81
Table 32: Hours Spent in Begging 82
Table 33: Loans taken if any 82
Table 34: Loans taken from 82
Table 35: Purpose of the loans, if taken 83
Table 36: Interest on Loan 83
Table 37: Repayment Status of loan 83
Table 38: Average hours of sleep 83
Table 39: Who the child beggars beg with 84
Table 40: Objects used for Begging 84
Table 41: Problems faced during begging 85
Table 42: Frequency of visit to a doctor 85
Table 43: Kind of Medical Treatment 85
Table 44: Money Spent on Medical treatment by Gender 86
Table 45: Money Spent on Medical Treatment by category 86
Table 46: Gender and Age Wise Daily Calorie Inkate 87
Table 47: Substance Abuse by Gender 87
Table 48: Substance Abuse by Age 88
Table 49: Substance Abuse vs. Family Type 88
Table 50: Rate of Substance Abuse- Number of substances used per person 88
Table 51: How Substances are Procured for Abuse by Children 89
Table 52: Facilities at Dwelling Place 89
Table 53: Source of help when the children are in trouble 90
Table 54: Who abuses Child Beggars 90
Table 55: Nature of Abuse 91
Table 56: Help desired from the Government 91
Table 57: Any Organisations children are associated with 91

List of Figures

Figure 1: Distribution of Boys, Girls and Infants 38

Figure 2: District location of Child Beggars 39
Figure 3 Age when children started Begging 42
Figure 4 Reasons for leaving home 43
Figure 5 Who the Child Beggars stay with 43
Figure 6 Dwelling Place at Night 44
Figure 7: Do children like begging? 45
Figure 8 Are children forced to beg? 45
Figure 9: Other activities in addition to begging 46
Figure 10 Earning of Child Beggars 47
Figure 11: Gender Wise Spending Pattern 47
Figure 12 Calorie Consumption per day 49
Figure 13: Source for Medical Treatment 50
Figure 14: Substance Abuse by Age 51
Figure 15: Substance Abuse by Stay arrangement 51
Figure 16: Willingness to go to School 54
Figure 17: Age Wise Education Level 53
Figure 18: Willingness to take skill training 54
Figure 19: Problems during begging 56
Figure 20: Help needed from the Govt 57
Figure 21: Native Place 72
Figure 22: Forced to beg by whom, if so? 79
Figure 23: Number of other family members begging 80
Foreword
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights felt
the need for looking closely at the issue of Child Beggars in Delhi.
For this purpose, a research study was commissioned under the guidance of Prof. Sneh
Lata Tandon, former Prof. and Head, Department of Social Work & Dean, Faculty of
Social Sciences, University of Delhi. The study has assessed the magnitude of the issue of
child begging in Delhi including an analysis of the socio-economic profile of child
beggars. Efforts have been made to suggest measures to prevent child begging and
programmes have been proposed for rehabilitation of child beggars.
The research work for the study utilized both quantitative and qualitative
approaches for obtaining and analysing information. The study included detailed
interviews with children who begged and covers the 11 districts of the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. The staff utilized was suitably briefed about the process of data
collection to be followed and the Interview Schedules were pre-tested by them.
The study not only reviews the other works undertaken nationally and
internationally on the subject but also documents important plans and policies including
the millennium development goals for child protection, the National Policy of Children
and the Five Year Plans. The various constitutional and legal provisions as well as
international regulations on the subject of child begging have also been discussed and
analysed.
The Commission is grateful to Prof. Sneh Lata Tandon, an authority on various
aspects of social work, for having undertaken this task on behalf of DCPCR and put
together this report meticulously and diligently. The study report was coordinated in the
Commission by Sh. M.M Vidyarthi, Member DCPCR and its findings were discussed in
the Commission with all Members. DCPCR is sure that the document will serve as a
useful input in the planning and putting in place of various programmes and strategies by
concerned departments and stakeholders of the NCT of Delhi in order to appropriately
deal with the issue of child begging.

Arun Mathur
Chairperson
Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights
August, 2015
 Chapter-1

Introduction
The problem of beggary is not new. Begging has been a traditional profession in
India since ancient times. Charity is considered as one of the noblest of human virtues
according to Hindu tradition (Dhruvasan 1963, 10-12). Among Muslims 'Zakat' or alms-
giving is done during Ramzan (Ramadan). Giving to the poor is regarded as one of the
highest duties for any Christian. In Buddhism begging by holy men is ascribed value
because it is believed that it teaches them humility and enables them to break away from
all forms of material bondage.
Many, however, view the beggars as undeserving of help and their begging
activity a result of pathological, self-induced and self-selected circumstances (Esmonde
2002, 63-86; Wilson 1991, 14-19). While, it is true that a small number of people “choose
the lifestyle”, the vast majority begs due to lack of other alternatives (Khan, Jabir Hasan;
Ahmed Menka and Nisar, 2013, 114-119). People who beg are part of a broader street
homelessness problem and are amongst the most vulnerable people in our society
(CRISIS, 2003). Amongst the urban poor the most marginalized and socially invisible are
those living on the streets. The urban homeless in India are a highly heterogeneous group
of persons ranging from recent migrant workers to people suffering from a variety of
disabilities (including mental illness) – many of whom survive through begging (Prasad,
2012).
Beggary has lately come into focus not only because of the increasing numbers
especially of the women and child beggars but also because of the emphasis on rights'
perspective i.e. right to survival and right to life with dignity and also because of the
ongoing debate on whether begging should be considered as a law and order problem or
as a social and humane problem? In fact it should primarily be considered as a problem of
 social exclusion. There seems to be a relationship between begging, homelessness and
poor physical and mental health. It is viewed as a sign of growing poverty, or indigence,
and as an occupation of last resort. Philip (2005) in his study found that there was a clear
association between begging, homelessness, poverty, mental illness, drug dependency
and inadequate access to housing, income support and health care services.
Although in recent years begging has become highly visible in the urban centres,
yet the experiences and motivations of people involved in this activity have remained
under- researched.

1.1 Review of Literature

Scanning of available literature shows that research studies were carried out on the
problem of beggary from 1945 onwards. Kumarappa, (1945) dealt with different aspects of
the beggars in his edited book “Our Beggar Problem: How to Tackle It”, in which
specialists from different fields (Cama; Mukharjee; Gupta; Bhatia; Moorthy; Mehta and
Titus; Bulsara; and Barnabas) discussed the problem from various angles, such as, Types of
Beggars; Causes of Begging; Mental traits of Beggars; Beggars–A Menace to Public Health;
Professional organisations among Beggars; Historical Survey; From charity to social work;
Legislation relating to Beggary; and Plea for Social Security to prevent Pauperism.
It was in 1947 that a survey of 200 beggars was conducted in Lucknow. The survey
revealed that most of the beggars were impoverished rural migrants, disabled, aged, and
women and children in difficult circumstances and were even more vulnerable. Gore, et
al. (1959) empirically researched and analyzed the nature of the problem of beggars in
metropolitan Delhi; Moorthy, (1959) did a pilot survey of the typology of beggars in
Greater Bombay with a view to understand the causes, types and the extent of the beggar
problem and the possible methods for their rehabilitation; Prasad, (1960) studied the
beggars of Meerut; In 1959-60 Report on the Beggar Problem in the City of Ahmedabad
was conducted by Tara Patel, Gujarat University; Ratan, (1961) undertook the study of
beggars in Kanpur; Srivastava (1963) did a pioneering study on delinquency in relation to
begging. In 1963 the Department of Rural Economics and Sociology, Utkal University,
Bhubaneshwar, conducted a study on the beggar problem in Cuttack and Madras School of
Social Work did a survey covering the years 1964-1966. The Madras survey revealed that
the proportion of children below 10 years who were found begging constituted 17 per cent
while those between 11-20 years comprised 10 per cent. Similarly Sushil Chandra did a
survey in 1967 in Lucknow and found that 5 per cent of the beggars were below 10 years of
age and 16.5 per cent were within the age group of 10-20 years as reported in his book
'Sociology of Deviation in India'. Rao and Bogaert, (1970) studied the socio-economic
background and condition of the beggars of Ranchi; Mishra, CID Crime Branch, carried
out a pilot study of the Beggars in 1972 with the objective of observing the community life

2
of beggars in different beggar colonies at Puri. A socio-psychological study was done by
Ramana and Rao, (1973) of the beggars moving from rural areas to the city; Jha, (1979)
studied the beggars and lepers of Puri town; Pandian et al., (1979) analysed the social
legislation on beggary; In 1979-80 R. Ramananda Rao, (College of Social Work,
Hyderabad) studied Socio-Economic Profile of 967 Beggars in Hyderabad city. Out of the
967 beggars, adult beggars were (739) and child beggars were (228). The sample was
selected from six circles of Hyderabad and Secunderabad Divisions. The study revealed
that most of the able bodied beggars were willing to work and give up begging but they

Introduction
lacked the skills needed for employment. Strangely they were opposed to getting admitted
to the Beggar homes or to undergo any vocational training. Reasons for this attitude have
not been stated in the study. The study found that majority of the child beggars stay with
their parents hence institutional option for such children could not be considered. Family
homes for such cases have been suggested where child beggars along with their parents
could stay and programme for their education, skill development and rehabilitation could
be worked out. In 1980 Directorate of Women and Child Welfare, Andhra Pradesh studied
beggar problem in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad; Das, (1983) evaluated the
beggar problem in Tirupati; Chaudhuri, (1987) described the social situation of the beggars
of Kalighat, a famous Hindu pilgrimage of Calcutta.
Many studies have established a connection between begging and street children.
Reddy, (1992) in a study done on street children in Bangalore found 2.29 per cent of the
street children were into begging whereas, Pandey, (1993) in his study on street children in
Kanpur found 1.5 % of street children were beggars, and in another study on street children
in Indore (Phillips, 1992) found 11 per cent of the street children were beggars. Thirumalai

3
 et al., (2004) sought to understand the causative factors responsible for persons getting into
begging. The authors elucidate the widespread begging process among the Tamils, trying
toplace this process within Tamil literary and religious traditions; Goyal, (2005) brings
forth the cultural patterns and nature of erosion of social norms among different groups of
beggars living at the margin of the urban society; Thakker et al., (2007) assessed the
psychiatric morbidity and distress among the inmates of 'Beggar Home' in Vadodara
(Gujarat); Tandon (2007) studied the situation of beggars in Delhi. Her study revealed that
out of the total of 5003 beggars interviewed 1477 (29.52 per cent) were below 18 years of
age. Of the 1477 child beggars 945 (63.98 per cent) were boys and 532 (36.02 per cent)
were girls; Research on Forced Child Begging in Albania, Senegal and Delhi (India) titled
“Begging for Change” was done in (2007) by Anti-Slavery International and Partners. The
Delhi study was done by HAQ and CHETNA which interviewed a total of 86 boys and 77
girls currently engaged in begging and found that parents were forcing their children into
begging; Mukherjee, (2008) analysed the historical development of the beggars;
Rafiuddin, (2008) opined that the social scenario in the country has been changing fast due
to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. In this process, certain categories of
population, due to their vulnerability, have failed to cope with these rapid changes. Thus,
beggary has become a social problem intricately interwoven with the socio-cultural and
economic milieu; Ramanathan (2008) has critically analysed ostensible poverty, beggary
and the law and rightly points out that “the law relating to begging and ostensible poverty is
insupportable as well as unconstitutional and must be either repealed, or struck down by a
court which possesses the power to test a legislation for its constitutionality”; Khan and
Shamshad (2009) did socio-economic analysis of the beggars in rural areas of Aligarh
district; Goel, (2010) in his article argues that criminalizing the poor prima facie intrudes
upon due process rights and is contrary to the rule of law; Joshi and Singh, (2010)
examined the condition of the Beggars Homes in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; Cheng and
Kumar (2012) examined the pattern of exploitation and organised crime among the
Homeless Beggars in Patna, Bihar; Khan et al. (2013) did Regional analysis of various
places of begging in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh.

1.2 Studies Exclusively Focused on Child Beggars

A National seminar on “Problems of Beggary: Realities, Challenges and
Interventions” was organised by the National Institute of Social Defence in February, 2009
at Calcutta in which apart from contributions by various authors on different aspects
relating to beggary there was a section on child beggars in which only one paper by Sultana
(2009) was based on empirical study done exclusively on problems of child beggars. She
undertook a rapid study interviewing 50 child beggars from the North district of NCT,
Delhi. Her study revealed that 82 per cent of the child beggars were in the age group 6-12
years, they were mostly found on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Seventy six of their siblings

4
were also into begging. Eighty six per cent of them belonged to nuclear family and that
their place of dwelling and place of begging were not the same. Save the Children (2011)
brought out the Regional Report on Prevalence, Prevention and Suppression of Child
Begging based on the study conducted in South East Europe; Kaushik (2014) interviewed
50 child beggars in Varanasi (during 2012-13) and found that the children who beg arrive
from nearby rural areas in small groups in the morning and leave in the evening. They have
family and peer acceptability, encouragement and inspiration for begging. They carry a
steel utensil in which they either keep some oil or photograph of a Hindu deity and ask for

Introduction
money on specific holy days and earn 20 to 100 rupees by begging. Girls beg along with
their siblings and cousins. Kaushik opines that children are not habituated to begging and
can be weaned away.
The Planning Commission Study Group (1965) on Beggary, Vagrancy, and
Juvenile Delinquency made some significant observations on this problem. “No Indian
child should be treated as a beggar or a destitute. Adequate accommodation should be
provided in institutions for taking care of all children below 16 years of age who are found
begging in circumstances of neglect and destitution and simultaneously the non-
institutional services, developed during the Third Plan, should be extended to as many
cities as possible so that parents with inadequate resources as well as wayward children
may be assisted towards proper development”. The Working Group on Social Defence for
the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-74) also endorsed the view that the problem of child
beggars should be tackled on a priority basis under the framework of the Children Acts.
The question of prevention of kidnapping of children for purposes of begging was
discussed in the Conference of the Inspectors-General of Police and a serious view was
taken since it threatened the welfare of innocent children. Several steps to tackle it were
recommended. One of these was the introduction of a new section 363-A in the Indian
Penal Code providing stringent punishment for kidnappers. A Committee was appointed
to ensure effective enforcement and to study all aspects relating to kidnapping in details.
Thus, in order to size up the problem in its proper dimension Jyotsna H. Shah, Director,
Central Bureau of Correctional Services, Delhi, investigated the actual incidences for four
years (1964-1967) and presented its findings in the book (1979) titled “Begging by
Children – How Many of them are Kidnapped?” The Committee decided to review the
available data on child begging because problem of kidnapping of children for the
purposes of begging was considered as an offshoot of the wider problem of begging and
child begging in particular. The findings revealed that one-fourth of the total beggars were
child beggars. It was, however, difficult to estimate how many of these children were
begging due to neglect or connivance of the parents/guardians and how many were forced
to beg under duress by persons exploiting them for ulterior motives. The study revealed
that similar conclusions have been reported by the Delhi Police also who undertook a
survey of the incidence of crime of kidnapping in the Union Territory of Delhi for three
5
 years i.e. 1964, 1965, and 1966. The Delhi Police prepared a questionnaire and gathered
information from the recorded facts maintained by the police stations in their case files.
Analysis of motives of the accused behind the crime did not clearly indicate if any case of
kidnapping of minor was motivated with the desire to use the child for the purposes of
begging.
It is evident that there have been ample studies on adult beggars but empirical
studies focusing on specific problems of child beggars are very scanty.

The reason why attention needs to be focused on children who are into begging is because
children who beg and live on the street are exposed to risk of becoming economically and
sexually exploited, enslaved or trafficked. These children spend their childhood on the
street, living under terrible conditions. This constitutes one of the gravest and most gross
violations of children's rights guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child – the social and health care rights, right to education, right to development, as
well as the right to be protected from all elements and persons infringing and jeopardising
those rights. Even though begging is one of the most prevalent forms of child exploitation
having fatal consequences for their development (even for their own lives), society as a
whole fails in putting pressure on institutions to deal with the issue more effectively for the
welfare of the children. Competent authorities rarely recognize it as being a high priority
6
for their actions, while civil society organizations addressing the issue are few (c/f.
Regional report on prevalence, prevention and suppression of Child Begging, Save the
Children, December 2011).

1.3 Notion of Child Begging

Generally beggars resort to (1) Aggressive Begging: When he or she begs in a
manner that hinders or obstructs the free passage of any person in a public place; or while
begging, intentionally causes or attempts to cause another person to fear imminent bodily

Introduction
harm or the commission of a criminal act upon their person, or upon property in their
immediate possession; or (2) Passive begging: Soliciting without threat or menace, often
without any words exchanged at all—just a cup or a hand held out.
As a sub-type of Begging Auxiliary begging is defined as offering token products or
services in exchange for a donation of money whereas Classic begging is defined as asking
for money either by evoking pity, or citing a particular circumstance (e.g. needing money
for a bus fare), without providing anything in return.
In 2004, International Labour Organisation adopted the definition of begging as “a
range of activities whereby an individual asks a stranger for money on the basis of being
poor or needing charitable donations for health or religious reasons. Beggars may also sell
small items, such as dusters or flowers, in return for money that may have little to do with
the value of the item for sale. We also need to include here the provision of token services,
such as windscreen washing, or performances, such as singing or playing a musical
instrument, as well as collection of scrap metal and other recyclable goods, etc.”
The views seem to vary when it comes to children selling material items, cleaning
wind shields on the road junctions, helping people park their cars, singing on the street,
selling flowers or other articles. This raises a question – where is the line between child
begging and child labour, because even collection (and subsequent selling) of secondary
raw materials are deemed as begging by some experts. As yet, no consensus has been
reached on this issue by the experts (Save the Children, 2011).
Child begging has sometimes been presented as a survival strategy, since children
engaged in begging come from impoverished families who do not have an alternative
income-generating activity. In some cases, it seems that classic begging (defined as asking
for money either by evoking pity, or citing a particular circumstance without providing
anything in return) is an activity that engages the entire family. Since small children are
more likely to evoke compassion, they may be used for classic begging (Claire Healy and
Madalina Rogoz, 2012). Sociologically, begging is a social deviance and social problem
which includes gaining material benefit by asking for money from other persons, with no
intent to reimburse the money or provide service in return.

7
 The definition of a beggar is very wide and all encompassing. The result is that
even the street performers and vendors tend to get classified as beggars. There have
been many cases when persons have been wrongly apprehended as beggars. Critical
evaluation of the definition is, therefore, needed.
Forced child begging involves forcing boys and girls to beg through violence, the
threat of violence or other forms of physical or psychological coercion. Thus, all children
who are forced to beg are subjected to forced labour, which is defined according to the
International Labour Organization's (ILO) Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour (1930) as:
“work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and
for which the said person has not offered himself/herself voluntarily.” Delap (2009) rightly
states that “this extreme form of abuse and exploitation and the current lack of action by
governments to tackle it sensitively and effectively are particularly troubling” (Begging for
Change, 2009).
Another argument derives from the Preamble of the UN-CRC in relation to a child's
well- being. The act of begging or other similar practices can be interpreted as deriving
from some groups' traditions and/or culture. In any case, the same Convention provides
the counter-argument, as it requires the States to take all effective and appropriate
measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of
children (Art. 24, para. 3), and even if begging is to be considered a cultural practice, it is
clear that it is prejudicial to the health of the children involved. Taking this into account,
Member States must in every case that relates to child begging, take the best interests of the
child as a primary consideration. The issue of parents exploiting their children through
begging is a particularly complex one. Delap (2009) suggested that particular care should
be taken in responding to these cases as “criminalising the parents would have a
detrimental effect on the child. Clearly, third parties
forcing children to beg for criminal profit must be
brought to justice and punished. However, the case for
responding to forced child begging by parents through
the criminal justice system is less clear. The widespread
nature of forced child begging by parents revealed by
this research suggests that such strategies would be hard
to enforce in practice. Criminalising parents, especially
if custodial sentences are imposed, may also have
harmful ramifications if the child's subsequent care and
protection is not carefully planned and closely
monitored. Such problems suggest that, in all but
extreme cases of abuse, it may be wiser to develop
holistic rehabilitation programmes for whole families

8
which include helping parents to find alternative sources of income that do not involve
exploiting children.” Therefore involvement of parents in child begging should be
examined with caution, on a case-by-case basis, in order to draw a clear line between
exploitation and basic survival, or lack of effective access to social security security,
childcare and education (Begging for Change, 2009).
Evidently, a number of criteria of worst form of child labour could be regarded as
pertinent to children who beg, particularly young children or, in certain circumstances,
girls, or children who beg at a place where they are exposed to other dangers. Article 32 of

Introduction
the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the child's right to be protected from
economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to
interfere with the child's education or to be harmful to the child's health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral or social development. This is highly relevant to school-age
children who are required to beg and thereby prevented from attending school regardless
of whether it is by their parents or someone else. However, it calls for a response to protect
the child concerned (from economic exploitation), rather than specifying what offence is
committed by an adult who obliges a child to perform work of this sort. The act of using a
child for the purpose of begging can be designated as worst form of child labour in several
possible ways as defined by ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour
(1999). For example, this can be slavery or a slavery-like practice, forced labour, the end
result of child trafficking and through the child's involvement in begging as an illicit
activity. Some countries may also list begging and forced begging as “hazardous work” and
so strictly prohibited for children. Although the necessary legislative framework is in place
on child labour, it has been reported that its impact on preventing the various forms of
hazardous child labour encountered on the streets is non-existent. This is because they do
not represent formal employment and lack employment contracts (Claire Healy and
Madalina Rogoz, 2012).
In India child beggars are dealt with under The Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (as
amended in 2006) which defines Begging as:
�
Soliciting or receiving alms in a public place or entering into any private
premises for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms, whether under any
pretence;

�
Exposing or exhibiting with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any
sore, wound, injury, deformity or disease, whether of himself / herself or of
any other person or of an animal. The Act rightly considers child beggars as
“children in need of care and protection''.
Children who beg remain deprived of their childhood because from an early age
they are forced to share responsibilities for their own existence and that of their loved ones.
Living and working on the street, begging under pressure or out of “need” is violation of

9
 their right to protection from abuse, neglect and negligent treatment (Save the Children,
2011). There is ample evidence to indicate that majority of the children living on the streets
belong to socially vulnerable families where parents do not work or do not have
permanent jobs or they are themselves engaged in begging. The phenomenon of child
begging has implications and consequences not only for the child but also to the society as
a whole. Children who beg often get involved in prostitution, drug abuse and commission
of criminal acts such as robbery. Special attention needs to be paid to the juvenile beggars
in view of their age, depravation and vulnerability to exploitation and criminal exposure.
1.4 Types of Beggars
Broadly beggars in India can be grouped into eight categories:
1. Juvenile beggars
2. Physically and mentally handicapped;
3. Diseased;
4. Religious mendicants;
5. Able bodied;
6. Aged and infirm;
7. Casual beggars who resort to begging only as a stop gap arrangement till they are
able to secure some casual employment or part time work again;
8. Professional/hereditary beggars: Certain communities consider begging as their
profession and indulge in begging as a traditional or customary activity. This type
of beggary is prevalent amongst the members of certain caste or tribal groups who
lead a nomadic way of existence and earn their living by entertaining people
through singing, dancing or performing acrobatic feats.
1.5 Causes
Begging today is both a symptom and a result of complex socio-economic
disorganisation and breakdown of the joint family system. Factors, such as, poverty,
destitution, desertion, unemployment, underemployment, famine, drought, displacement
and disasters whether man made or natural, leading to migration, homelessness, etc., are
pushing people into begging.
Economic Causes: Beggary is related to economic condition in two ways. First,
beggary might be the consequence of adverse economic condition or distress. Second,
under certain situations beggary might be motivated by economic gain, this is particularly
relevant in case of organized or exploitative beggary. Causal factor such as unemployment
or under-employment, landlessness, poverty, calamity, drought or famines and various
other conditions of destitution are all variants of economic causes.
Religious Causes: Religious mendicancy is not only tolerated by a large section of
Hindus, Muslims and Christian population, but even supported on religious grounds. A
sort of religious sanctity is attached to alms giving.
Social Causes: Social disorders like anomie, cultural conflict, industrialization,
community disorganization, faulty socialization, break-down of joint family institution on
10
account of large scale migration, weakening of the traditional family structure and the
emergence of individualistic considerations seems to have changed the situation
considerably forcing the persons in crises situations to a life of beggary, such as, the
orphans, infirm and aged, lepers, lunatics, widows and other socially, physically and
mentally handicapped categories. Social customs in certain communities consider
begging as their hereditary profession. Among these may be included: Nats, Bajigars,
Sains, Jugglers, Bhats and Kanjars. They do not attach any social stigma to this profession
and take to it from their very childhood.

Introduction
Natural Calamities: The natural calamities such as earthquakes, flood, tsunami,
hurricane and drought compel people to leave homes, leaving everything behind them
and under circumstances of immediate need, the persons who are unable to find work feel
compelled to beg to save themselves from starvation and death (Myneni, 2009). It is,
therefore, important to protect the rights of one of the most vulnerable population who get
criminalized under the state beggary prevention laws.
1.6 Magnitude and Extent of Child Beggars
The beggars, although found year-round, however, get intensified during religious
festivals and tourist season. Even though child beggars are regularly seen on traffic
crossroads, religious places, in front of shops, under flyovers and in parks, these children
seem invisible for the system and the society. Little is known about their origin, life, family,
social status and the underlying causes of their being involved in begging activities. They
are usually not subject to research, nor are they being systematically dealt with. It is,
therefore, necessary that empirical studies are undertaken on the basis of data collected
through field surveys.
1.7 Child Beggars in India
Child beggars can be seen in every city and town in India. There are an estimated
300,000 child beggars in India, although some organizations claim them to be one
million. Every year, 44,000 children fall into the clutches of the gangs (cf. Kaushik, 2014).
The All India Citizen Alliance for Progress and Development (AICAPD) and Innovation
Mobile Schools, in partnership with the J.K. Business School, Gurgaon, conducted the
survey in Gurgaon on 6,000 roadside beggars in the age group of 6-14 years. The survey
was conducted between January 25 and February 5, 2014 in various places of the city,
including metro stations, malls, traffic signals, railway stations and bus stands, where
4,000 girls and 2,000 boys were found begging. The survey revealed that around 95 per
cent of the children had never been to any school, 80 per cent were residing under bridges
and near traffic signals and 20 per cent came from Khandsa village near Gurgaon. The
survey found that the average income of each child was nearly Rs.5000 a month. Many of
them earned over Rs.12,000 at times. Children too preferred begging over going to school.
No family held any identity proof, including ration card. Most of the beggars were from
Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Around 10 per cent of
the children were brought to Gurgaon by contractors from rural areas of Bihar and
Jharkhand and were pushed into begging (The Hindu, February 22, 2014).
Hyderabad Council for Human Welfare took up the survey of the beggars in

11
 Hyderabad in October 2008. The study put the number of beggars (adult and child) in
Hyderabad at 11,000. The survey also points out that a whopping 85 per cent of the
beggars have come into this profession on their own accord, while 12 per cent have been
forced to beg by their parents and most interestingly as many as 43 per cent of the beggars
are able-bodied persons. Around 21 per cent of the 10,466 beggars earn above Rs 2,000
per month, while 47 per cent make between Rs. 900 to Rs. 2,000 per month and the
remaining 30 per cent earn less than Rs 900 a month. About 60 per cent of the beggars are
homeless. A whopping 92 per cent of the average earnings of the beggars is said to be spent
on food, followed by shelter, drug habits and entertainment.
According to Delap, (2009) forced child begging occurs across the world and takes
on many forms which can be split into two broad categories:
1. Children who are forced to beg by their parents or guardians. Here,
children are usually forced into begging through techniques that go beyond
usual or acceptable means of family discipline, including the use of violence
or threats of violence and psychological coercion.
2. Children who are forced to beg by 'third parties.' This group includes boys
or girls who have been forced to beg by individuals other than their parents
or guardians. Such individuals may include members of criminal gangs or
networks, religious teachers, extended family members, family 'friends' or
the children's own 'friends.'
The biggest effect of beggary is that the future of a child is ruined by this profession,
a child whose age is 7 or 8 and his father is also a beggar then the child lives his whole life
being a beggar. Ninety per cent of child beggars are victims of exploitation and they are
forced or directed to beg, in most cases, by their families (cf. Save the Children, 2011).
These children spend their childhoods on the street, living under terrible conditions. This
constitutes one of the gravest and most gross violation of children rights given that such
living conditions prevent them from exercising their rights guaranteed by the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – such as the social and health care rights,
right to education, right to development, etc., as well as the right to be protected from all
elements and persons infringing and jeopardizing those rights. Although child beggars can
be regularly seen at traffic red lights, at crossroads, in front of shops, religious places and in
parks yet for the system and the society they seem to be invisible. They occupy a place at
the lowest echelons of society, come from poor backgrounds, are often badly dressed and
badly cared for and mostly treated as a nuisance by the authorities, rather than as a child
protection concern (Claire Healy and Madalina Rogoz, 2012; Save the Children 2011).
Question is how should we view child begging? Should it be treated as child
labour, working in hazardous conditions, and/or as a form of child abuse and neglect? The
essence of the problem is that a child is exposed to maltreatment and neglect, i.e.
unwanted and detrimental influences (harsh weather, staying on the street, lack of
education, risk of exposure to violence and risk of suffering injury, lack of supervision by
an adult, etc). Unfortunately, child begging is not recognized as a distinct category and
there is dearth of literature at the national as well as at the local level on the phenomenon
of child begging. There is need to examine some of the core questions in-depth (1) are all

12
child beggars being forced to do so, and if so, by whom? (2) Are all child beggars from
migrant background? (3) How can policies be implemented in accordance with the best
interests of the child?
In order to provide a comprehensive understanding through rigorous empirical
research on child begging, it is necessary to conduct research at the national, state and
local levels with a view to examine the reality of the phenomenon as it affects the children
themselves. With this end in view the present research study was undertaken. The study
enumerates the child beggars (up to the age of 18 years) through rapid head count from all

Introduction
the eleven administrative districts of Delhi. In-depth interviews of a total of 605 child
beggars were done from these eleven districts. The data was collected from Primary and
secondary sources. (1) Primary data comprised of interviews with the child beggars and (2)
Secondary data is based on census reports, case laws, PIL cases, government reports, legal
provisions, research studies conducted earlier in Delhi and in other states.

13
 Chapter-2

The Policy
The primary goal of child welfare is to protect children from harm and promote
their development while the secondary goal is to preserve existing family units (Pecora, et.
al. 2010). It is amply clear that the child's development will be optimised only if the
programmes address not only the child but also the child's overall context. Since children
who are into begging occupy a place at the lowest echelons of society, come from poor
backgrounds, are often badly dressed and badly cared for....they are treated as a nuisance
by the authorities, rather than as a child protection concern (Claire Healy and Madalina
Rogoz, 2012).Sound policy is founded on empirical evidence and is responsive to the
preferences, interests and values of key stakeholders and the broader community
(Productivity Commission Issues Paper (2004) p. 9.).
2.1 The Approach
The rights-based framework: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) provides a rights-based framework for intervention in the lives of children
based on two key principles. First is protection which includes immediate protection from
danger, abuse and exploitation, but also covers more long-term, proactive approaches
designed to promote the development of children's skills and knowledge, build support
structures for children, and lessen their vulnerability. The second principle is
participation, and it is a human right with particular significance for children living and
working in the street who care for themselves and are thus the key sources of information
on their situations and needs. It therefore makes it essential to listen to children and to
encourage their participation during intervention design, implementation and evaluation
of any services meant for them (Asian Development Bank, 2003; UNICEF, 2004).
There are also two basic approaches to working with children living and working
in the street within the CRC's rights-based approach.
1. The Human Development Approach: This approach takes a long-term perspective
and concentrates on equipping children with the skills and confidence required to
reintegrate into society, fulfilling their human rights to self-realisation and
 independence. Examples include non-formal education and vocational training
projects; programmes aimed at helping children return to their homes if they so
wish, and efforts to build communities' capacity to manage and maintain long­
term projects aimed at improving the lives of children, thus preventing them from
abandoning their families in favour of street life.
2. Service Provision Approach: Long-term programmes often need to be combined
with short-term service projects to fulfil the provision and protection of rights of
children; meeting their immediate needs and protecting them from danger, abuse

The Policy
and exploitation. This may include providing food, shelter, clothing, health
services, and short-term training opportunities and counselling services in drop-in
centres. Service provision should, however, be regarded as a short-term response
rather than a long-term solution. Otherwise it makes the street life more bearable,
which creates dependency in the children and is essentially unsustainable. It is
important to strike a balance between human development activities and service
provision when considering interventions for children. This is largely because,
while children living and working in the street are in an emergency situation and
therefore need immediate help, this will only be of the best use if it is planned as
part of a long-term development solution (Asian Development Bank, 2003).

2.2 The National Policy on Children 1974

The first ever national policy on children was notified in 1974 by the Department
of Social. Welfare, Govt. of India. This policy gave higher priority to provision rights i.e.
survival and development rights rather than to the protection rights of children of
marginalised groups. Moreover, only orphan and destitute children and physically
handicapped children were considered as the marginalised groups. The major omissions
in categorising marginalised children were: working children; children affected by natural
calamities; children facing cruelty and exploitation; girl children; children in conflict with
law; beggar children, etc. Another major omission in the policy was free and compulsory
education for all children up to the age of 14 years. The policy provided for a National
Children's Board (set up in 1974) to act as a forum to plan, review and coordinate various
services directed toward children. However, the Policy contained no commitment on
financial and other resources nor did it throw any light on the magnitude of resources
required. Further no time frame was suggested for the proposed programmes (Sujaya
2002).
The various national plans of action for children that India formulated were:
• 1992 National Plan of Action for Children
• 1992 National Plan of Action for the SAARC Decade for the Girl Child
(1991 –2000).
• 2005 National Plan of Action for Children
The National Plan of Action for Children (1992) identified quantifiable targets to
be achieved by 2000 in priority areas of health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and
15
 environment and related aspects of social support. In the same year Convention on the
Rights of the Child was ratified by Government of India on 12 November 1992. In 2002
India signed the SAARC Convention on Combating Trafficking and Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Women and Children and the SAARC Convention on Regional
Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia. It was signatory to the
SAARC Decade on the Rights of the Child 2001-2010 also.
At the World Summit for Children in 1990 India adopted the World Declaration
for Survival, Protection and Development of children. Additionally, India ratified the
Optional Protocols on the Use of Children in Armed Conflict and the Sale of Children,
Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography in 2005. It also reaffirmed its commitment to
children by adopting the Millennium Development Goals and a World Fit for Children.
Moving towards its commitments, the Government of India introduced the National
Charter for Children 2003, which underlined the intent to secure for every child its
inherent right to be a child and enjoy a healthy and happy childhood, to address the root
causes that negate the healthy growth and development of children, and to awaken the
conscience of the community in the wider societal context to protect children from all
forms of abuse, while strengthening the family, society and the Nation. This was followed
by a National Plan of Action for Children in 2005, which articulates the rights agenda for
the development of children and is the basis for planning for children in the Eleventh Plan
and ensures collective commitment and action towards the survival, development,
protection and participation of children by all sectors and levels of government and civil
society.
The Guiding Principles of the National Plan of Action for Children, 2005 are:
• To regard the child as an asset and a person with human rights
• To address issues of discrimination emanating from biases of gender, class, caste,
race, religion and legal status in order to ensure equality
• To accord utmost priority to the most disadvantaged, poorest of the poor and the
least served child in all policy and programme interventions
• To recognize the diverse stages and settings of childhood, and address the needs of
each, providing all children the entitlements that fulfil their rights and meet their
needs in each situation
Critical Strategies & Priorities in the National Plan of Action (2005) on Child Protection
include:
• Development of a system of identification, investigation, reporting, follow-up &
referral of children at risk within and outside homes/institutional care
• Maintaining disaggregated data-base for all categories of children in difficult
circumstances, including child labour, child marriage, disabled children etc.
through Census and programme specific MIS Special attention to certain

16
 categories of children requiring greater focus such as, child beggars, child labour,
street children, children in need of care and protection and children in conflict
with law as covered by the juvenile justice act, trafficked children, child victims of
sexual abuse and exploitation, children affected by natural and man-made
disasters, children of sex workers and prisoners, children affected by armed
conflict and civil disorders
• Convergence with related Ministries / Department at Central & State levels ·
Enlisting support from the private sector

The Policy
• Preventing destitution & exploitation of children through care, protection &
developmental programmes
• Achieving 100% registration of births, deaths and marriages by 2010
• Promoting community based care and rehabilitation for all children in difficult
circumstances
• Large-scale investment in capacity building of all caregivers and service providers
• Requisite counselling, awareness generation and support services for adolescents
to prevent them for becoming vulnerable and protect them from harm
• Public awareness, sensitization and mobilization of parents, caregivers,
community and other actors in civil society
• Supporting services of crèche/day care both in rural and urban areas · Sensitize
allied systems to the problems of children
• Child-line and other necessary support service, infrastructure, referral for children
in emergency situations
• Professional counselling services for children in psychological trauma and
establishment of accredited training courses/institutions for creating a cadre of
trained counsellors
• Promotion of quality institutional and alternative care · Up gradation of standards
of existing services
• Contingency planning and emergency preparedness
• Infrastructural support to NGOs for destitute, orphan children through in-country
adoption
• Combating trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substance to prevent the use
by children and creating Mechanisms for rehabilitation of child substance abusers
• Raen Basera, drop-in-shelters, temporary shelter and the night shelters for safety of
children
17
 • Implementation of juvenile justice law
• Creation of child-friendly judicial and administrative procedures for dealing with
children
• Free legal aid and advice for children in conflict with law
• Eradication of harmful, traditional and customary practices that put children at
risk, particularly of trafficking and sexual exploitation
• Assistance to child victims of abuse and exploitation for their full physical and
psychological recovery, development and social reintegration
• Prevention of cross-border trafficking and creation of nodal authorities and other
infrastructure to deal with all kinds of child trafficking
• Ensuring access to mainstream education for all child labourers by 2012 and
access to nutrition, clothing and protection from all forms of abuse and neglect
• Ensuring survival, development and protection of the girl child and restoring her
dignity by eliminating harmful, discriminatory and unethical traditional practices,
and providing legal, medical, social and psychological support services and
opportunities for development of their full potential
• Access to neighbourhood schools and inclusive education, accessible and disable
friendly infrastructure, early childhood care for the disabled child, inclusion of
children with mental illness in all existing schemes for children with disability,
vocational training, capacity building of care givers, access to services, support
and protection, implementation of the disability law
The National Children's Fund was created during the International Year of the
Child in 1979 under the Charitable Endowment Fund Act, 1890. The Fund provides
financial assistance to voluntary agencies for implementing programmes for the welfare of
children including rehabilitation of destitute children.
Thus to affirm the Government's commitment to the rights based approach in
addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the situation of children,
Government of India adopted the Resolution on the National Policy for Children, 2013.
The undeniable rights of every child are survival, health, nutrition, development,
education, protection and participation which are the key priorities of this Policy. The
Policy reaffirms that every child is unique and a supremely important national asset hence
special measures and affirmative action are required to diminish or eliminate conditions
that cause discrimination - all children have the right to grow in a family environment, in
an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding and families are to be supported by a
strong social safety net in caring for and nurturing their children (National Policy for
Children 2013, Govt. of India).
Despite such clear commitments to child protection enshrined in the Constitution

18
of India and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by India in 1992, and the
two Optional Protocols ratified in 2005 as well as various national and international
commitments made, children continue to remain vulnerable with the number of those
needing care and protection ever increasing. Five decades of planned development has
indeed failed to address the critical issue of 'Child Protection'. A lot has changed over the
years in the lives of people, particularly children that call for a re-examination of the
understanding of 'Child Protection' itself.
2.3 Five Year Plans

The Policy
Child development has been a priority subject in the country's developmental
planning right from the First Five Year Plan (1951-56). A comprehensive Social Welfare
Programme that was developed during the First Five Year Plan included welfare of
Women and Children, Family Welfare, Welfare of the Physically and Mentally Disabled.
In the initial years, the responsibility of child care services had primarily rested with
voluntary organizations under the charge of a national apex body, viz., the Central Social
Welfare Board which was set up in 1953 to promote voluntary action in the field of women
and child development and disabled welfare.
Subsequent reviews and assessments concluded that holistic development of the
child requires integration with other developmental sectors and their services.
Accordingly, during the Second to the Fourth Plan (1956-74), Child Welfare Services were
linked to different sectors of the Plan such as Health, Family Welfare, Nutrition, Education,
Rural and Urban Development. These Plans, besides according high priority to education
for children, also introduced measures to improve maternal and child health services,
supplementary feeding for children and expectant and nursing mothers. States were
involved in the sphere of statutory enactment and organization of basic services for
education and rehabilitation of the disabled and the extension of welfare services for
women and children in rural areas. The Central Bureau of Correctional Services (CBCS)
was set up in 1961 for collection and compilation of national statistics and preparation of
guide books and model schemes. Social Defence programmes under the Suppression of
Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, Probation of Offenders' Act and Children Acts
were organized. The Central Institute of Research and Training in Public Cooperation was
set up in 1966 for research and training on problems relating to popular participation.
In the Fourth Plan (1969-74), all attempts were made to consolidate the initiatives
taken in the previous plans. The activities of Central Social Welfare Board were further
strengthened.
The Fifth Plan (1974-79) proved to be the landmark in the field of child
development through the adoption of a National Policy for Children (1974), and
launching of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) with a shift in the
approach from welfare to development of children. The Central Bureau of Correctional

19
 Services (CBCS) was raised to the status of an Apex agency and given the title of “National
Institute of Social Defence (NISD)” to be a model organization at the national level with
specialized services for training, research and developing alternative models for
innovative experiments, field testing, etc.
The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) witnessed an effective consolidation and
expansion of programmes started in the earlier Plans. The National Policy on Health
adopted in 1983 set certain specific targets like bringing down the high rates of Infant and
Child Mortality by the year 2002. The National Policy on Education of 1986 emphasised
universal enrolment and retention of children in the schools especially the girl children.
Non-formal education programmes were also promoted intensively. Pre-school education
centres were supported in the educationally backward states by extending grants to
voluntary organizations. The Children's Acts were enacted and the social welfare
programmes received further momentum in the State Sector.
Seventh Five Year Plan (1985- 1990): This was the period preceding the
ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. During this period the Juvenile
Justice Act (JJA) was enacted in 1986, to deal effectively with the problem of neglected or
juvenile delinquents and to provide for a standardized framework for dealing with such
children. The National Policy on Child Labour was formulated and accordingly the Child
Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986 and in 1987 were enacted. Projects were
sanctioned to voluntary organizations for the welfare of working children to provide non-
formal education, supplementary nutrition, health care and skill training. For children in
need of care and protection, grants were given to voluntary organizations through the State
Governments.
A clear shift in the approach to children's issues is seen with effect from the Eighth
five year plan (1992 – 1997) which had separate section on child development in its
chapter on social welfare. Human Resources Development being the major focus policies
and programmes relating to 'child survival, protection and development' were accorded
high priority with emphasis on family and community based preventive services.
Following the ratification of the 'Convention on the Rights of the Child', in 1992 the
Government of India formulated two National Plans of Action (NPA), one for children and
the other exclusively for the Girl-Child. Both the Plans of Action adopted an inter-sectoral
approach in achieving goals laid down in the Action Plans in close uniformity with the
major goals of 'Health for All' and 'Education for All'. In the field of Social Defence, greater
thrust was laid on non-institutional care and rehabilitation of beggars. Efforts were made to
tackle the evil of prostitution and its diverse manifestations through strict enforcement of
law besides building strong public support, with police and community vigilance. For
prevention and control of drug abuse and alcoholism, apart from strict enforcement of the
legislation, the role of the media was enlarged through both electronic and print media.

20
Services of counselling, de-addiction and after-care centres were also expanded. The
special feature in the field of Social Defence was launching in 1993 of a new programme of
Welfare and Rehabilitation Services for the Street Children which was an emerging
problem.
Ninth Five year plan (1997 – 2002) reaffirmed its priority for the development of
early childhood. The Plan aimed at:
• Placing the child at the top of the country's developmental agenda with special
emphasis on girl child.

The Policy
• Instituting the National Charter for Children
• Ensuring that no child remains illiterate, hungry or lacks medical care
• Ensuring “survival, protection and development” through implementation of the
two National Plans of Action – one for children and the other for the girl child
• Acknowledging the first six years as critical for the development of children
• Continuing to lay special thrust on three major areas of child development viz.
health, nutrition and education.
Tenth Five Year Plan (2002 – 2007) set certain targets which can be monitored.
These are:
• All children to be in school by 2003
• All children to complete 5 years of schooling by 2007
• Reduction in gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by at least 50 percent by 2007
• Reduction in the IMR to 45 per 1000 live births by 2007 and 28 by 2012 and
• Reduction of MMR to 2 per 1000 live births by 2007and to 1 per 1000 live birth by
2012.
Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007 – 2012) had a section on “Child Rights” for the first
time in the history of planned development in India. There has been a paradigm shift in the
approach towards children. The eleventh plan moved away from the language of welfare
to rights and strove to create a protective environment that will ensure every child's right to
survival, participation and development. It recognised the need for investing in preventive
aspects of protection i.e. strengthening families to ensure that the children do not fall out of
the social security and protective net. For the first time, it included a section on child
budgeting.
• The scheme of Prevention and Control of Juvenile Maladjustment provides full
coverage of services in all districts as contemplated under the Juvenile Justice Act,
1986 (JJ Act) as amended in 2000. Many states are not able to avail funds under this
centrally sponsored scheme because of their inability to contribute a matching
share of 50 per cent. The scheme was revised in 1998 and renamed Integrated
Programme for Juvenile Justice. A Juvenile Justice Fund has been set up to bring
about qualitative improvements in the infrastructure.
21
 • The scheme “Integrated Programme for Street Children” provides a wide range of
initiatives, which cover providing shelter, nutrition, health-care, sanitation and
hygiene, safe drinking water, education, recreational facilities and protection
against abuse and is to prevent destitution of children who are without homes and
family ties and facilitate their withdrawal from the streets. The main services under
the scheme include establishment of 24-hour drop-in-shelters, non-formal
education, vocational training, placement, capacity building and general
awareness.
• Child line service, which is a 24-hour toll-free telephone service (1098), can be
accessed by children in distress or by adults on behalf of these children to seek emergency
assistance and for referring the child to an appropriate organisation for long-term follow-
up care. The objective of the Child line is to attend to children in difficulties and facilitating
their rehabilitation through providing a platform for networking among government and
non-government agencies in the area of child welfare and sensitising those working in the
police, judiciary, hospitals, etc. on child protection issues.
As a policy document child budgeting was included in the National Plan of Action
2005 and the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Moreover, in 2008 – 2009 as an outcome of
advocacy by civil society organisations, the Finance Bill included a separate expenditure
statement on children (Statement No. 22). This has since become a regular feature in the
Finance Bill and is presented to and passed by the Parliament every fiscal year. The share of
children in the Union Budget has gone up by 4.3 percent in the twenty year period
between 1990 – 91 and 2011 – 12 (HAQ, 2011).
There are nine ministries catering to the needs of the children namely:
1. Ministry of Women and Child Development
2. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
3. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education 4.
Ministry of Labour and Employment
5. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment 6. Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports
7. Ministry of Tribal Affairs
8. Ministry of Minority Affairs
9. Ministry of Home Affairs
2.4 Millennium Development Goals and Child Protection
The Government of India accepted the Millennium Development Goals as part
of the national commitment to be achieved by 2015. Most Millennium Development
Goals relate to children and have strong link to child protection.
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Poverty and Child Protection: Children who live in extreme poverty are often those who
experience violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination. In the immediate term,
22
poverty lessens their chances of enjoying a protective environment and they easily
become marginalised and are frequently denied essential services like health and
education. In the long run, in a self-perpetuating cycle, their marginalization decreases the
likelihood that they will escape poverty for themselves and their families as they enter
adulthood.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Education and Child Protection: Universal primary education cannot be achieved
without efforts to eliminate the barriers that keep children out of school, such as, child

The Policy
labour, violence in schools, discrimination, and over use of institutional care. Reaching
the hard-to-reach-including children affected by HIV/AIDS, orphans, children with
disabilities, children from minorities and of migrant families, and those who are in
institutional care, are critical to achieving education for all. Ensuring that children attend
schools with qualified staff can also help prevent and address child protection abuses.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Gender Equality and Child Protection: Child marriage, sexual violence, child labour and
trafficking, lack of education and skills, are child rights violations and prevent girls from
enjoying gender equality and developing their potential to be self-sufficient and
productive citizens. These must be prevented and addressed as part of initiatives to
empower girls and women.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Child Mortality and Protection: Extreme exploitation, violence or abuse can lead to child
deaths, both under the age of five and throughout various phases of childhood.
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health: Abuses against adolescent girls endanger their physical
and psychological health, and should they become mothers, their reproductive health as
well.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
HIV/AIDS and Protection: The fight against HIV/AIDS must include efforts to prevent
child protection abuses which make children particularly vulnerable to the disease. For
children orphaned or otherwise made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, protection is a priority.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability: Environmental disasters increase household
vulnerability, which in turn increase the pressure for child labour, as well as sexual
exploitation, child marriage and trafficking of children. Overcrowding of neighbourhoods
and homes can put severe strains on environmental resources, which can lead to violence
or sexual abuse in the home.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Partnerships for Child Protection: Child Protection demands inter-sectoral cooperation at
the national and state and lower levels. Creating a protective environment for children
23
 means partnering with local government, civil society, the UN and NGO partners to put
protective systems in place by strengthening government commitment, promoting
adequate legislation to better protect children, strengthen systems and capacities,
providing services, addressing attitudes and customs, monitoring and reporting,
developing children's life skills and encouraging open discussion. Role of
private/corporate sector needs to be considered.
Over the years, the understanding of children in difficult circumstances has come
to include the following categories of children:
• Homeless children (pavement dwellers, displaced/evicted etc.)
• Refugee and migrant children
• Children deprived of parental care i.e. orphaned, abandoned and destitute
children
• Children whose parents cannot or, are not able to take care of them
• Street and working children
• Child beggars
• Victims of child marriage
• Trafficked children
• Child victims of commercial sexual exploitation
• Children of commercial sex workers
• Children of prisoners
• Children affected by conflict/civil strife
• Children affected by disasters, both natural and man made
• Children affected by substance abuse
• Children affected by HIV/AIDS and other terminal diseases
• Children in Institutional Care
• Disabled children
• The girl child
• Children belonging to ethnic and religious minorities and other marginalized
groups
• Children who are victims of crime
• Children in conflict with law
24
 The Government of India reiterates its commitment to safeguard, inform, include,
support and empower all children within its territory and jurisdiction, both in their
individual situation and as a national asset. The State is committed to take affirmative
measures –legislative, policy or otherwise –to promote and safeguard the right of all
children to live and grow with equity, dignity, security and freedom, especially those
marginalised or disadvantaged; to ensure that all children have equal opportunities; and
that no custom, tradition, cultural or religious practice is allowed to violate or restrict or
prevent children from enjoying their rights.

The Policy
The centrally sponsored Scheme - the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)
initiated in the XII plan since its launch in 2009, in partnership with the State
Governments/UT Administrations, has strengthened prevention of child rights violation;
enhanced infrastructure for protection services; provided financial support for
implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000;
increased access to a wider range and better quality of protection services; increased
investment in child protection and is continuously drawing focus on the right of all
children to be safe.
The ICPS will also provide preventive, statutory and care and rehabilitation
services to any other vulnerable child including, but not limited, to: children of potentially
vulnerable families and families at risk, children of socially excluded groups like migrant
families, families living in extreme poverty, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other
backward classes, families subjected to or affected by discrimination, minorities, children
infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, orphans, child drug abusers, children of substance
abusers, child beggars, trafficked or sexually exploited children, children of prisoners, and
street and working children.
Children who constitute 39 per cent of Indian population and are home to 20 per
cent of world's child population have never received more than 5 per cent of the total
Union Budget allocation in the last 15 years. In 2014-15 it was 4.52 per cent and is only
3.26 per cent for 2015-16 (Enakshi Ganguli Thukral, Bharti Ali and Farhana Yasmin,
2015).
2.5 Drawbacks
The most important aspect of Integrated Child Protection Services was that of
prevention. Clearly a role of various Ministries/Departments is necessary in order to
prevent families to fall out of the social security and protective net. Yet, convergence of
services and coordination between the Ministries/Departments remains a serious
challenge. Prevention related programmes often remain focused at awareness drives. As
the Ministry of Women and Child Development and its counterpart in the states lack the
convening power necessary to ensure coordination and convergence, most child
protection goals remain a delusion. Whilst a consensus exists among Member States that
child begging needs to be addressed, there has been little evidence thus far on what is the
best policy approach
25
 Chapter-3

State Response
2.1 International Regulations
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 in its Article 25 stated that,
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary
social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control”
(UN, 1948:5). Subsequent to this many commitments and conventions impacting
children have been passed at different points of time as stated below:
International Conventions/ Commitments
• Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of
Prostitutes and others, 1949 and 1951
• Minimum Age Convention, 1973
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women
(CEDAW), 1979
• UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing
Rules), 1985
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
• United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh
Guidelines), 1990
• World Conference on Education for All, 1990
• The Global Conference on Water and Sanitation, 1990
• World Fit for Children Declaration, 1990
• World Summit for Children, 1990
• UN Rules for the Protection of the Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990
• UN Hague Convention on Protection of Children & Cooperation in respect of

State Response
Inter-country Adoption, 1993
• Millennium Development Goals, 2000
• SAARC Convention on Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Women and
Children for Prostitution, 2002
• SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Protection and Welfare of
Children, 2002
• Optional Protocols on involvement of children in armed conflict, 2002
• Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography, 2005
• SAARC Decade on the Rights of the Child 2001-2010.
The child rights and welfare concerns have been addressed in a number of
International Conventions, Standards and Declarations, including the UN Standard
Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), 1985; the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989; the UN Rules for the Protection of
Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990; the Hague Convention on Inter-country
Adoption, 1993; Millennium Development Goals, 2000 and the World fit for Children,
2002. However, there are no international treaties expressly regulating to the issue of child
begging.
The rights guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child include, the
right to life (Article 6); protection from all forms of physical or mental violence: injury,
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual
abuse (Article 19); protection from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances (Article 33); and protection against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial to
any aspects of the child's welfare (Article 36), which may include exploitation through
begging. The underlying principle of the Convention is that “In all actions concerning
children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of
law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be
the primary consideration” (Article 3.1). The best interests of the child as a primary
consideration must be taken into account in all responses to child begging also (Report for
the Study on Typology and Policy Responses to Child Begging in the EU). It has been more

27
 than 20 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted
(1989) but situation of children does not seem to have improved significantly.
India was party to the Declaration adopted in the World Summit for Children held
in 1990 which specified goals for the Member Countries to be achieved by 2000. The UN
Special Session on Children held in May, 2002 set fresh quantitative and qualitative goals
for children for the present decade relating to survival, health and nutrition, early
childhood care and education and child protection. The SAARC Convention on Regional
Arrangements on the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia (2002) also recognised
survival, protection, development and participatory rights of the child as a vital pre­
requisite and promoted solidarity, cooperation and collective action between SAARC
countries in the area of child rights.
The Government of India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC) in 1992. This Convention rests on a foundation of four core principles: the right
to life, survival and development; non-discrimination; participation and devotion to the
best interests of the child. In consonance with these principles, the Government of India
passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.

2.2 Constitutional and Legal Provisions in India

The Constitution of India through various articles enshrined in the Fundamental
Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy, lays down that:
• The State shall endeavour to provide for free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of 14 years (Article 21A).
• Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour- Traffic in human beings
and begars and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any
contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with
law (Article 23).
No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or
mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment (Article 24).
• The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the health and
strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of children are not
abused and that they are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations
unsuited to their age and strength (Article 39-e).
• Children shall be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner
and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth shall be
protected against moral and material abandonment (Article 39-f).
• The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of 10 years from the day the
Constitution was adopted for free and compulsory education of children up to the
age of 14 years (Article 45). Unfortunately, we could not achieve this goal even
after 65 years of adoption of this provision.
The National Policy of Children 1974 (Programme no. 8) envisages that the

28
children who are socially handicapped, who have become delinquent or have been forced
to take to begging or are otherwise in distress shall be provided facilities for education,
training and rehabilitation and will be helped to become useful citizens. The Supreme
Court of India in its judgement in Gaurav Jain Versus U.O.I. and others (AIR 1997 Supreme
Court 3021) interpreted that in case a delinquent juvenile who commits an offence like
begging, being the neglected juvenile, is covered as neglected juvenile.

State Response
It was the judgement of Supreme Court in J.P. Unnikrishnan vs. State of Andhra
Pradesh (1993) pronouncing Right to education as a Fundamental Right derived from the
Right to Life that brought about the 86th Constitution Amendment Act in 2002 making
education a Fundamental Right by inserting Article 21A which stated that “The State shall
provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in
such manner as the State may, by law, determine”. Accordingly, the Right of Children to
Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 was enacted. Section 3 of this Act states that
“Every child of the age of six to fourteen years, including a child referred to in Section 2
clause (d) "child belonging to disadvantaged group" or clause (e) "child belonging to
weaker section" shall have the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood
school till the completion of his or her elementary education (The Act, 2009 [As on
01.05.2014]. The responsibility was placed on the parents and accordingly Article 51A
was also amended by adding the following clause namely:“(k) a parent or guardian to
provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the
age of six and fourteen years”. The amendment of Article 5lA of the Constitution envisaged
that it shall be the obligation of the parents to provide opportunities for education to their
children. Hence it presumed that the parents would have adequate financial resources for
educating their children. But unfortunately parents who are themselves into begging lack
such resource.
Legislative Provisions
Earlier attempts to check the practice of begging in public places were found in the
city police Acts of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay which declared begging in public places
as an offence, punishable with a month's imprisonment or fine. These Acts, however,
could not be enforced because of strong public sympathy towards the beggars. Some of the
states also passed their own anti beggary legislations. For example, Hyderabad (1911),
Bengal (1943), Mysore (1944), Madras (1945), Bihar (1952), Bombay (1959), Jammu and
Kashmir (1960) and Assam (1964). Some special Acts such as the Leprosy Act (III of 1898),
Lunacy Act (1912), the Indian Railways Act and the Indian Penal Code also deal with the
problem of beggars. There are so many legislations under which the beggars are dealt with
that there is no uniformity and this has created confusion in terms of the definition of a
beggar, the objective and the approach. Unfortunately the current beggary laws in India
have been modelled on the centuries old vagrancy laws of England which instead of
addressing the socio-economic issues makes the poor criminally responsible for their
position. The rationale for the enactment of these laws is no longer relevant. There is also
an urgent need to have a policy to tackle the problem of beggary.
29
 In 1959 the Indian Penal Code was amended to check the exploitation of children
for begging. According to this amendment if any person who, not being the lawful
guardian of the minor, employs or uses such minor for the purposes of begging was to be
severely punished. In 1964 the Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the Planning
Commission sanctioned a project for controlling and eradication of juvenile begging and
vagrancy. This project included institutional services i.e. establishment of homes for the
care of children 7 – 14 years of age in all cities and towns having a population of one lakh
and above and in important places where the incidence of begging is very high. However,
the project was not implemented in letter and spirit by any of the states.
There are several laws having provisions for dealing with beggars in general and
child beggars in particular as stated below:
A. Indian Penal Code (IPC)
1. Section 268: Public nuisance.
2. Section 363A: Kidnapping or maiming a minor for purposes of begging.
B. The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2000
1. Section 24: Employment of juvenile or child for begging –
C. Indian Railway Act, 1989
1. Section 144: Prohibition on hawking, etc. and begging –
D. State Anti – Beggary Acts that deal with adult beggars.
The Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 was extended to the Union Territory
of Delhi in 1960. The rationale behind the Act was to make uniform and better provisions
for the prevention of begging; for detention, training and employment of beggars and their
dependants in certified institutions; and for the custody, trial and punishment of beggar
offenders. At present, there are 3 Courts notified under the Act, i.e. One Court at the Sewa
Kutir, Kingsway Camp and Two Mobile Courts (functional since 2009). Further at the level
of Department of Social Welfare, 13 Anti begging squad teams have been made i.e. 10
squads under the District Social Welfare Officers, 2 squads attached with 2 Mobile Courts,
and one squad with RCC (Reception-cum-Classification Centre), Kingsway Camp. These
squads are supposed to conduct raids at various places in the NCT of Delhi and round up
the beggars who are found begging. However, these raids are not conducted regularly
mainly because of unavailability of the female police staff as mentioned by the staff of the
Department of Social Welfare. During the pendency of inquiry or trial, the beggars stay at
RCC where lodging and medical facilities are provided. Currently the Department is
running eleven certified custodial residential institutions for beggars in Delhi with a total
capacity of housing 2180 inmates.
When asked why police did not arrest the beggars, they replied that among all
other responsibilities it is a burden to catch hold of the never-ending number of

30
mendicants and take them through the legal procedure before they end up in the official
beggar homes. Besides, they find it ethically wrong to arrest someone if they are not
involved in any serious offence. According to them, it is the society and the policy-makers
who can make a difference.
In spite of these legal provisions the problem of beggary is persisting and is taking

State Response
alarming proportions. Especially the increase in the number of child beggars over the years
is a matter of grave concern because they are the future of our country and if they are not
weaned away from begging at the earliest then they would become the future adult
beggars which means cycle of begging will continue, and they would remain
unproductive as well as a drain on the economy in the country. In order to develop
sustainable intervention strategies to rehabilitate the child beggars it is necessary to assess
the extent and magnitude of the child beggar population in Delhi for which the present
empirical study is being conducted.
According to the National Charter for Children 2003 (10.a.): “The State shall take
strict measures to ensure that children are not used in the conduct of any illegal activity,
namely, trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, begging prostitution,
pornography or violence. The State in partnership with the community shall ensure that
such children are rescued and immediately placed under appropriate care and
protection”.
Child beggars are covered under two legislations. The Bombay Prevention of
Begging Act, 1959 as extended to Delhi and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act 2000 (as modified in 2006).
I. The Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 as applicable to Delhi states in
Section 5 (9) “Notwithstanding anything in this section, when the person found to
be a beggar is a child who is under the age of five years the court shall not make any
order under sub-section (5) but forward the child to a court constituted under the
Children Act for being dealt with under that Act. For the purpose of ascertaining
the age of the person the court may, if necessary, cause the beggar to be examined
by a medical officer”. Section 9 (2) states “Where the dependent person is a child,
the court shall forward him to a court constituted under the Children Act for being
dealt with there under. Provided that where the dependent person is the beggar's
own child, being a child who is under the age of five years, and the beggar is an
able bodied mother, not being a contagic; leper or lunatic, the child may be
ordered to be detained in a Certified Institution without being separated from the
Mother as regards the place of detention until it attains the age of five years and
thereafter to be kept in the prescribed manner until he can be brought before a
court”.
Section 11 prescribes Penalty for employing or causing persons to beg or using
them for purposes of begging. “Whoever employs or causes, any person to solicit
or receive alms, or whoever having the custody, charge or care of a child, connives
at or encourages the employment or causing a child to solicit or receive alms or
31
 whoever uses another person as an exhibit, shall be punished with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to three years but which shall not be less than one
year”.
II. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 (as modified in 2006):
Begging according to this Act means: (i) soliciting or receiving alms in a public
place or entering into any private premises for the purpose of soliciting or
receiving alms, whether under any pretence; and (ii) exposing or exhibiting with
the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound, injury, deformity or
disease, whether of himself or of any other person or of an animal.
Child beggars according to this Act are considered as Children in Need of Care and
Protection. The Act defines ''child in need of care and protection'' as a child-
i. Who is found without any home or settled place of abode and without any
ostensible means of subsistence;
ii. Who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such
person­
(a) has threatened to kill or injure the child and there is a reasonable
likelihood of the threat being carried out, or
(b) has killed, abused or neglected some other child or children and there is a
reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed, abused or
neglected by that person;
iii. who is mentally or physically challenged or ill child or children suffering from
terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one to support or look after,
iv. who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is unfit or incapacitated
to exercise control over the child,
v. who does not have parent and no one is willing to take care of or whose parents
have abandoned him or who is missing and run away child and whose parents
cannot be found after reasonable inquiry,
vi. who is being or is likely to be grossly abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose
of sexual abuse or illegal acts,
vii. who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking,
viii. who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains,
ix. who is victim of any armed conflict, civil commotion or natural calamity;
Section 23: Punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child:
Whoever, having the actual charge of or control over, a juvenile or the child,
assaults, abandons, exposes or willfully neglects the juvenile or causes or procures him to
be assaulted, abandoned, exposed or neglected in a manner likely to cause such juvenile
or the child unnecessary mental or physical suffering shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or fine, or with both.

32
Section 24: Employment of juvenile or child for begging:
1. Whoever, employs or uses any juvenile or the child for the purpose or
causes any juvenile to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
2. Whoever, having the actual charge of, or control over, a juvenile or the
child abets the commission of the offence punishable under sub-section

State Response
(1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend
one year and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 25: Penalty for giving intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug or psychotropic
substance to juvenile or child:
Whoever gives, or causes to be given, to any juvenile or the child any intoxicating
liquor in a public place or any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance except upon the
order of duly qualified medical practitioner or in case of sickness shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall be liable to fine.
According to the Act offences punishable under sections 23, 24, 25 and 26 shall be
cognizable (Section 27).
The above provisions clearly indicate that the Act has adequate provisions to deal
with the problem of child beggars. Yet we find large number of child beggars on the streets.
The question therefore arises, as to where the lacuna is? Since there is no single
department dealing with the problem of begging the result is that each department shifts
the responsibility on to the other. The magnitude and dimensions of the problem are so
large and varied that no single department can succeed in solving this problem. For
achieving the goals to combat with the menace of child beggars, functionaries of the
departments of police, health, the railways, the social welfare, the industrial houses, the
voluntary sector, and the civil society need to coordinate and cooperate with each other.
The modes and modalities for effective implementation of policies at different levels of
inter-departmental and inter-ministerial coordination need to be evolved.

33
 Chapter-4

Research Design
Begging is a complex and multifaceted problem that is most often caused by
multiple and interrelated individual and structural deprivations. There are clear causal and
consequential correlations between begging, homelessness, poverty, mental illness, drug
dependency, and inadequate access to housing, income and health support services. As a
complex and multifaceted problem, begging requires a holistic, coordinated, inter-agency
response that addresses both individual and structural issues (Catherine Kennedy and
Suzanne Fitzpatrick, 2015). In order to understand this complex and multifaceted problem
the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights sanctioned the research study on
“Situational Analysis of Child Beggars in Delhi”. The study has the following objectives:
1. To assess the magnitude of child beggars in Delhi
2. To understand the socio-economic profile of child beggars
3. To study involvement of mafia in promoting child begging
4. To suggest measures to prevent child begging
5. To suggest programmes for the rehabilitation of child beggars
4.1 Operational Definition
In India child beggars are dealt with under the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (as
amended in 2006) which defines Begging as:
�Soliciting or receiving alms in a public place or entering into any private premises
for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms, whether under any pretence;
�Exposing or exhibiting with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore,
wound, injury, deformity or disease, whether of himself / herself or of any other
person or of an animal;
International Labour Organisation (in 2004) adopted the definition of begging as
“a range of activities whereby an individual asks a stranger for money on the basis of being
poor or needing charitable donations for health or religious reasons. Beggars may also sell
small items, such as dusters or flowers, in return for money that may have little to do with
the value of the item for sale.” ILO adds, “We also need to include here the provision of
token services, such as windscreen washing, or performances, such as singing or playing a
musical instrument, as well as collection of scrap metal and other recyclable goods, etc.”
Since the ILO definition is more comprehensive it was considered more

Reserch Design
appropriate to follow the ILO definition for the purpose of the present study.

4.2 Research Methods

The research focused on two areas of inquiry: (1) Survey of Child Beggars and (2) In-depth
interviews from children who beg. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were
applied in the process of obtaining information and analysis.

District Map of Delhi

National Capital Territory of Delhi has been administratively divided into 11 districts and
33 sub divisions (see Table 1.) The study on different aspects of child beggars in the NCT of
Delhi was conducted in two phases from these 11 Districts and sub divisions.
35
Table 1: Administrative Districts in Delhi
No. District Headquarters Sub divisions
1 New Delhi Connaught Place Chanakyapuri Delhi Cantonment Vasant Vihar
2 North Delhi Narela Model Town Narela Alipur
3 North West Delhi Kanjhawala Rohini Kanjhawala Saraswati Vihar
4 West Delhi Rajouri Garden Patel Nagar Punjabi Bagh Rajouri Garden
5 South West Delhi Dwarka Dwarka Najafgarh Kapashera
6 South Delhi Saket Saket Hauz Khas Mehrauli
7 South East Delhi Defence Colony Lajpat Nagar Kalkaji Sarita Vihar
8 Central Delhi Daryaganj Karol Bagh Kotwali Civil Lines
9 North East Delhi Seelampur Seelampur Yamuna Vihar Karawal Nagar
10 Shahadra Shahdara Shahdara Seemapuri Vivek Vihar
11 East Delhi Preet Vihar Gandhi Nagar Preet Vihar Mayur Vihar

Data collection techniques included: (1) survey through head count and (2)
individual interviews. Information on child begging was gathered by means of structured
Interview Schedule having (open and close-ended questions). Primary source of
information for the purpose of the research were the children who were involved in
begging. The study has been done in two phases.
First Phase:
In the first phase enumeration of child beggars (up to the age of 18 years) through
rapid head count was done covering all the eleven administrative districts of Delhi divided
into 33 Sub-divisions.de was used. With a view to ensure uniformity in collecting
information an interview guide was prepared. The objective was to assess the magnitude
and dimensions of child beggars in Delhi and also to identify their pockets of
concentration.
Second Phase:
In the second phase primary data was collected by conducting in-depth interviews
of a total of 605 child beggars using structured Interview Schedule as the tool. The
questions related to the socio-economic and family profile of the child beggars; their
reasons for begging; problems faced; spending habits; health issues and exploitative
situations if any. Children only above 5 years of age formed part of the sample because
children below five years would not have been able to respond effectively to the
questions. Purposive stratified sampling procedure was followed for selecting the child
36 beggars.
Period of the Survey: Enumeration of child beggars (up to the age of 18 years) through
rapid head count was conducted during mid October – mid November 2014. A brief
questionnaire was used to collect basic information relating to child beggars. The survey
was done on different days and at different times, i.e. mornings, afternoons and evenings.
In-depth Interviews: A sample of 605 child beggars was selected through purposive
stratified sampling procedure so that all categories of child beggars get covered. The

Reserch Design
purpose of the study was explained to the children/parents and only those child beggars
who willingly agreed to give information were interviewed. The interviews were
conducted in the months of November, December 2014 and January 2015.
Supervision of Field Staff: One day orientation meeting was held with the field staff to
appraise them with the purpose of study, the process of data collection to be followed and
to discuss in detail the questions listed in the Interview Schedule so that there is uniformity
in gathering information. Another meeting was held with the field staff after the Interview
schedules were pre-tested by them. This was followed by close supervision and
monitoring at frequent intervals.
Data Processing and Analysis: Data was verified manually at various stages, tabulated and
analysed in the form of tables, bar diagrams, histograms, charts, etc.
Problems Encountered During the Study: Collecting empirical data is a difficult task for
various reasons. Getting good investigators for short term assignments is often a daunting
task. Interviewing the target population, which in this study were child beggars, was not
easy because they and their families were very apprehensive and often non-cooperative.
Although only those child beggars were interviewed who had given their concurrence yet
many of them evaded answering questions which were personal in nature. Many child
beggars were aware that begging is an offence hence they did not respond and also
inhibited other children from responding.
Since the data was collected during winter months the time taken for data
collection was more than the stipulated period and was delayed by one month due to
severe cold.

4.3 Limitations of the Study

(1) The study covered only 605 child beggars hence generalization cannot be made.
(2) Data collection was completed during winter months only, hence will not account
for seasonal or festive variations.
(3) Survey data collection was not continuous, rather done at three intervals
(Mornings, Afternoons and Evenings) and on different days. This can therefore at
best serve as a guiding estimate on numbers.
(4) Significant overlap exists between street vendors and performers at red lights, rag-
pickers and beggars, with several beggars occasionally indulging in one or the
other activity as well. The study accounts for all such children, but
classification/segregation has not been possible in this survey. 37
 Chapter-5

Magnitude of the problem of

Child Beggary in Delhi
The child beggars are considered as children in need of care and protection as per
the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000. With a view to know the
number of child beggars processed through the J. J. Act we tried to get Government figures
from the Child Welfare Committee but were told that among the many categories of
children that are considered as children in need of care and protection, a separate
classification of Child Beggars was not undertaken.
Research also indicates that relevant institutions do not register child begging
cases as separate categories. Therefore, it is impossible to establish with certainty the
extent of this phenomenon (Save the Children, 2011 p. 14). The lack of child begging
registers, inconsistency and unreliability of child begging data available with relevant
authorities, institutions and organizations, additionally complicates and hinders the
possibility to undertake organized, concerted and coordinated action to combat, prevent
and eradicate child begging, as one of the forms of child abuse and exploitation (The
Ombudsman of Republic of Serbia, 2011).
This study therefore, undertook a rapid head count assessment to obtain at least a
rough estimation of the magnitude and scale of the issue in Delhi.

Survey of the Magnitude (Phase I) Distribution of child Beggars

33%
During the first phase of the study the survey on
the magnitude of the problem of child beggars in Delhi
Boys
was done. A questionnaire was used to enumerate the 33%
Girls

child beggars (up to 18 years) through rapid head count Babies in

64% Arms
at different locations, during three interval periods in the
day (morning, afternoon, and evening). The survey data
revealed that a total of 5727 children were found begging. Of these 64% were boys, 33%
girls and 3% were babies in arms. District wise data showed that maximum numbers of
child beggars were found in North East District followed by Central and Shahadra Districts.
The minimum were found in South West District followed by East Delhi and New Delhi
Districts.

Magnitude of the problem of Child Beggary in Delhi

Location wise distribution of these children showed that maximum 1641 (28.65%)
were found at religious places followed by bus stops/trains/metro stations 1089 (19.02%).

District Wise location of Child Beggars

1200 Tourist Spot

Street
1000
Residential/Basti
800
Religious places
600
Red Light
400
Market
200
Flyover/Subway

0 Bus/Train/Metro
Central East New North North North South South West Shahdra South Station
Delhi Delhi Delhi East West Delhi East Delhi West

Figure 2: District location of Child Beggars

Other areas of concentration were traffic signals, residential areas, under flyovers and
subways and markets. Interestingly minimum concentration was in tourist spots i.e. less
than 2 per cent perhaps because the police are relatively more active in these areas and
shoo them away. It is also noteworthy that in some districts like Shahadra and North-East
there is a massive child beggar population involved in residential or door-to-door begging,
while in other districts like Central, North and New Delhi that is almost non-existent.
The number of handicapped children begging was only 64 (1.10%). During the
survey it was felt that some children were only using bandaged limbs etc. to gain
sympathy. It was difficult to establish as to how many were actually handicapped and who
were pretending, thus both were counted under one category during the survey. The
concentration of handicapped children was higher around temples (51%) and bus
stands/metro stations (20%), which is not surprising since these locations provide a safer
option to beg with mobility constraints.
The number of those begging with babies in arms (babies being carried both by
children as well as women) was 156 (2.72%). The survey shows that the number of child
39
 Table 2: District Wise Distribution of Child Beggars
District Normal Normal % Handicapped % Babies % Babies Total
Disabled in arms in arm
Central 965 96.79 16 1.60 16 1.60 997
East Delhi 210 98.59 3 1.41 0 0.00 213
New Delhi 229 97.03 1 0.42 6 2.54 236
North Delhi 497 93.42 10 1.88 25 4.70 532
North East 1097 98.03 15 1.34 7 0.63 1119
North West 372 92.77 5 1.25 24 5.99 401
Shahadra 873 97.43 5 0.56 18 2.01 896
South Delhi 564 93.38 3 0.50 37 6.13 604
South East 338 93.37 4 1.10 20 5.52 362
South West 118 99.16 1 0.84 0 0.00 119
West Delhi 244 98.39 1 0.40 3 1.21 248
Total 5507 96.16 64 1.12 156 2.72 5727

beggars found during morning hours was relatively lower in almost all the districts in
comparison to surveys done in the afternoons and evenings. Further the survey was
conducted during the winter months. The accounted numbers are thus considered
conservative. During favourable weather conditions the numbers could increase by an
estimated 15-20 per cent.

40
 Chapter-6

Socio-Economic profile of
Child Beggars
In the second phase primary data was collected by conducting in-depth interviews
of a total of 605 child beggars (ages of 6-18 years) using structured Interview Schedule (See
Appendix 3). The questions related to the socio-economic and family profile of the child
beggars; their reasons for begging; problems faced; spending habits; health issues and
exploitative situations if any. The results of the interviews conducted on 605 children are
as follows:
6.1 Gender and Age Profile
The sample distribution by gender and age shows that the maximum numbers of
child beggars, about 71.6% are between 10-15 years of age. Nearly 15% are between 6-9
years of age, and another 13.7% are above 16 years. Gender distribution of child beggars
in Delhi shows that 388 (64.1%) were boys and 217 (35.9%) were girls. This shows that
begging is more prevalent among boys than girls, and more among less than 15 year olds,
than older children.

Table 3: Gender and Age Distribution of sample

Gender and Age distribution of sample
Age 6-9 Age 10-12 Age 13-15 Age 16-18
Gender No. % No. % No. % No. % Total %
Male 49 54.2 151 65.9 142 70.2 46 55.6 388 64.4
Female 40 45.7 80 34.0 60 29.8 37 44.3 217 35.5

However the age at which the children started begging shows that 147 (24.3%)
child beggars were initiated into begging by their parents or relatives ever since they were
born and 80 (13.2%) children started begging when they were 1-5 years. Maximum
number i.e. 336 (55.5%) child beggars started begging between the ages of 6-12 years.
Between the ages of 13-15 years only 26 children were initiated into begging and between
16-18 years only one child started to beg. Fifteen children who did not remember the age at
which they started to beg shows that they had been begging for quite some time and thus
started begging at a very early age.

Socio-Economic profile of Child Beggars

It is therefore evident that most of the children are initiated into begging in their
childhood itself. Initiation into begging at higher age is lesser.

Started begging since..

160
140
120
100
80 Male
60 Female
40
20
0
Since Birth 1-5 yrs 6-9 yrs 10-12 yrs 13-15 yrs 16-18 Don't
Remember

Figure 3 Age when children started Begging

It is also noteworthy that more girls Table 4: Native Place

were initiated into begging as infants or
toddlers compared to boys, with 53.4% girls State Number (% )
initiated into begging at less than 5 years of UP 225 37.19
age, compared to 28.6% boys who started
Bihar 112 18.51
that early.
Rajasthan 62 10.25
6.2 Family type and Native
Delhi 52 8.60
place
W. Bengal 41 6.78
A large majority of the respondents Punjab 34 5.62
534 (88.3%) belonged to nuclear families;
62 (10.2%) were from joint families and 9 Haryana 24 3.97
were orphan. The study revealed that of the MP 19 3.14
605 child beggars interviewed only 52 Other states 33 5.45
(8.60%) belonged to Delhi, while a large
Don't Know 3 0.50
number 553 (91.04%) were migrants from
other states. Amongst the migrant Total 605 100.0
population Uttar Pradesh and Bihar form the 42
 major part i.e. 55.7 per cent followed by Rajasthan (10.25%) and West Bengal (6.78%)
whereas (17.18%) account for Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and other states.
There were many factors which led to the migration of these children. A majority
328 (54.2%) migrated with parents/families in search of a better life or due to starving in the
village; 127 (21.0%) migrated alone due to financial reasons/to earn; 50 (8.3%) left home
or ran away due to abuse/violence at home; while 23 (3.8%) migrated due to death of
either mother/father or both parents; 9 (1.5%) stated to be uncomfortable staying at home.
In case of 2 respondents parents disowned them; 4 ran away after stealing; one each stated
natural calamity, marriage, and lure of city life. A very few did not remember why they
migrated.

Reasons for leaving home

Migrated with Family

1%
4% 10%
2% Financial/ To earn
Abuse/violence at home
8%
Did not Like Home
54% Parents Death

21% Parents Disowned

Floods/Calamity

Got Married
Lure of City Life

Ran Away after Stealing

Figure 4 Reasons for leaving home

6.3 Identity Proof

Among the sample, 75 (12.2%) children had at least one ID proof, either Aadhar
card, Ration card or Birth Certificate, while 2 children had school ID card. 11 children had
two ID proofs and four children had all three ID documents. A staggering 508 (84%) of
Child beggars, however, did not have any identity proof what so ever.

6.4 Stay arrangements in Delhi Staying in Delhi with

Majority of the child beggars 406 16% Parent(s)
1%
(67.1%) were living with parents; 27 (4.5%) Relatives
with relatives; 68 (11.2%) with friends; 8 11%
Friends
with their spouses and 96 (15.8%) were 67% Spouse
staying alone. A large majority 551 (91.1%) 5%
Alone
were staying on their own or in dwelling
43
place arranged by their family in JJ slums, Figure 5 Who the Child Beggars stay with
pucca houses or tents on footpath; 33 (5.4%) were living in religious places; 20 (3.3%) in
government arranged night shelters and one in an NGO run night shelter. A majority of
those living in government run night shelters were living their parents, only 8 children in
these shelters were without a family (5 alone; 3 with friends).
Those who used night shelters stated that these shelters being overcrowded
sleeping became problematic, theft and child lifting in Night Shelters was also reported

Socio-Economic profile of Child Beggars

because of which some preferred to live on the road.
A slightly more detailed study of the stay arrangements for those staying on their
own or with family revealed that 69 (11.4%) respondents were living in constructed
houses; 235 (38.8%) in J.J. colonies. 43 (7.1%) put up tent on footpath; 89 (14.7%) were
staying on footpath in the open; 21 (3.5%) at the bus stop/railway/metro station; 32 (5.3%)
under bridge/flyover/ subway and 62 (10.2%) in parks. Among the 140 most destitute child
beggars who stay alone, without family support, only 8 were in Night Shelters, while 14
stayed in a religious place, and 9 managed to stay in a JJ cluster/home. Some child beggars
stated that night shelters insisted on ID proof, which they did not have, therefore they were
unable to benefit from this facility. A majority about 79% of these children were on the
streets on their own, which is indicative of the minimal existing intervention in this sphere
by government programs or voluntary organisations for this group.

Assessment regarding Dwelling Place

facilities available at their dwelling
place indicated that 327 (54%) child Park
beggars had no basic facility at their Under Bridge e/ Flyover/…
dwelling place. 221 (36.5%) had Bus/ Rly/Mettro Station
facility of drinking water; 195
Footpath
(32.2%) had toilet facility and 23
Tent on n Footpath
(3.8%) were getting facility of food
Religeeous Place
also. A relatively smaller number
Nigght Shelter
(16.1%) among them used public
Jhuggi
facilities at bus, railway station or
religious places. However, for a Construccted Home
large number (76.1%) paid for these 0 50 100 1550 200 250
facilities, or stay in rented
accommodations with access to Figure 6 Dwelling Place at Night
these facilities, while others were at
Night Shelters/NGO's. The study
bought out the fact that people in the slums have to pay for drinking water, electricity and
toilet facility in addition to the rental for a small katcha/pucca habitat in a slum or in any
other location.

6.5 Why and how they beg?

Reasons for begging varied from family profession/survival/ poverty to funding
healthcare and earning something extra for personal and family use. Most children were
begging on their own will. Only 20.7 per cent mentioned that they were forced to beg of
which 80.8 per cent were forced to beg by their own parents while remaining were forced 44
 Do you like Begging? Forced to Beg
500
400
23.7%
No
35% 300
Yes 15.2% Yes
200 76.3%
65%
No
100 84.8%
0
Male Female

Figure 8 Are children forced to beg?

Figure 7: Do children like begging?
by other family members/friends or circumstances. The prevalence of coercion was found
in the study as well. Among the 125 (20.7%) children who mentioned that they were
forced to beg, a majority acknowledged being physically beaten and verbally abused by
their parents. A very few 16 children (12.8% of those forced) mentioned being forced or
coerced by “friends”, which seemed more in the realm of peer pressure. In no case
however, did the study find any indications of any organized begging.

Delap (2009)
mentions that children who Table 5: Consequences of not begging
are forced to beg by parents What happens if they don't beg?
often face physical abuse
and violation of their rights. Consequence Male Female Total
“Research revealed that Starve 349 201 550
parents and 'friends' forcing Family/Parents Beat 14 2 16
children to beg commonly
Can't help Family 20 5 25
use violent or coercive
methods to make sure Forced to leave Study 0 2 2
children bring back Nothing 4 7 11
expected amounts of money
Not Replied 1 0 1
each day, causing these
children physical and Total 388 217 605
psychological harm”.

Children introduced to begging by parents may also experience more positive

feelings of belonging; usefulness and power by providing additional income needed for
the family. A few such cases of contribution to family were found in the study, where 25
children (4.1%) mentioned their desire and need to “Help Family”. Depending on how
each individual child responds to events in their lives, they may experience both positive
or negative feelings towards their family and parents for putting them into begging.
A large majority (65%) of the children mentioned that they did not like begging but
had no option or alternate source of earning. Only 209 (34.5%) acknowledged that they
like to beg. Amongst those who liked begging 147(24.3%) felt this was the easiest way to
45
earn money. The other reasons stated were lack of job or guidance; lack of interest in
studies or work; money for good food and family profession.
The fact that 531 children i.e. (87.7%) mentioned that one or more of their family
members were into begging of which 52.8 per cent had 2-4 other family members into
begging and 21.6% stated more than 6 family members begging indicates it to be their
family profession. Children were mostly found begging in groups either with their family

Socio-Economic profile of Child Beggars

members or friends or alone. Those begging in groups comprised of 332 children of which
282 (151 boys and 131 girls) were begging along with their friends and 50 (25 boys and 25
girls) were begging with their family members while 273 (212 boys and 61 girls) were
begging alone.
Time spent by children on begging ranged from 1-12 hours. Those who spent 3-4
hours were 277 (176 boys and 101 girls) while 179 (127 boys and 52 girls) spent 7-9 hours.
However 131 children (73 boys and 58 girls) spent only 1-3 hours. Whereas, 12 child
beggars (9 boys and 3 girls) had spent 10-12 hours; 6 children did not disclose the time they
spent in begging. The study revealed that 131 children who spent only 1-3 hours in
begging were the ones who were studying or working and begging was their part time
activity.
There were 200 children who used some object while begging. Eighty five
children stated they used God idol; 57 said they used utensil/bowl/katora; 14 used baby or
a younger child as object for begging; 12 bandaged themselves and pretended they were
injured/handicapped; 10 used musical instruments/dhol; 5 used monkey; and the
remaining did acrobats or used mazaar chadar/medical prescription/weighing machine,
etc. Only two children were actually handicapped.

6.6 Involvement in
Otheer Activities
activities other thanb 2%
egging 10% 7%
34% 3%
%
There were 56.9 per cent
2%
%
child beggars who were 9%
involved in other activities in
addition to begging. Rag picking 31%
was the most popular
occupation among child beggars
as 31.2 per cent (133 boys and
56 girls) were involved in rag Acrobats/Enterrtainment Sell balloon
ns/flowers etc
picking. They felt that this was Study Household Chores/ Care of siiblings
Boot Polish Car Cleaninng
one of the easiest jobs to get. For Casual odd jobs Drug Abuse e
46 boys and 16 girls (10.2%) Play Rag Pickingg
street vending was the second Stealing Loitering/NNothing
most popular occupation
especially selling flowers, Figure 9: Other activities in addition to begging
newspapers, balloons, pens and 46
 other items at the traffic lights. As many as 39 girls and 4 boys were involved in House hold
chores and care of siblings. There were 19 (13 boys and 6 girls) who were involved in
casual jobs like working at tea stalls, boot polish, car cleaning, etc. Acrobats and
entertainment through singing dancing, etc. was mentioned by 5 boys and one girl. While
(43.1%) 261(167 boys and 94 girls) stated loitering playing or doing nothing apart from
begging. It is also important to note that this study came across some children who were
involved in criminal activities such as pick-pocketing and stealing.

6.7 E a r n i n g and
Spending Patterns Child Beggars Eaarning
The earnings varied from
> 25
50

Rupees
less than Rs. 30 to over Rs. 250
per day. Majority of the children 200 - 25
50
194 (32%) were earning between 150 - 20
00
Rs. 100-150; 164 between Rs.
80-100; 168 (27.7%) were 100 - 15
50
earning less than Rs. 80. 80 - 100
However, 64 were earning
50 - 80
between Rs. 150- 250. Only 15
child beggars were earning over 30 - 50
Rs. 250 per day. Most of the 0 - 30
expenditure was done on food.
Not many spent significantly on 0 100 200 300
clothing and for stay perhaps Number of Child
d Beggars
because a large majority were
staying with family; 285 (47.1%) Figure 10 Earning of Child Beggars
mentioned that they gave money
to their family/parents and 127
(20.9%) managed to save money Gender wise spending pattern
ranging from Rs. 20-100. Only 4
out of the entire sample set had a 100%
bank account. Majority 491 90%
80%
(81.2%) kept money with
70%
themselves; while 12.7 per cent Any Other
60%
kept their savings with Entertainment
50%
shopkeepers. Others kept their
40% Stay
savings with family/relatives or
40% Clothing
friends.
30%
Food
Loan: Only 12 children 20%
(9 boys and 3 girls) stated that 10%
they had loans varying from 0%
1000-5000. Of these only one Female Male
girl stated to have taken loan from
a money lender; five boys took Figure 11: Gender Wise Spending Pattern
47
loan from shop keepers and six (4 boys and 2 girls) from relatives and friends. Four of these
(2 boys and 2 girls) took loan for medical treatment; 2 took for constructing jhuggi and 6 (all
boys) took loan on account of meeting their daily survival expenses because they had no
job. Interestingly 11 out of 12 managed interest free loan. Unfortunately only one child has
been able to repay his loan. Amount of loan outstanding on 11 children, ranged from Rs.
300-5000.

Socio-Economic profile of Child Beggars

48
 Chapter-7

Health and Nutrition

Nutritional status of
the child beggars was very Estimated Calorie consumption per day
dismal. Out of the 605 child
beggars interviewed 314 250
Number of child Beggars

(51.9%) stated that they were

having 3 meals in a day i.e. 200
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
While the others mentioned 100
that they had only two meals a
day. 142 (23.5%) stated they 50
had breakfast and dinner while
lunch was uncertain; 95 0
0-300 cal 300-600 cal 600-800 cal 800-1500 cal
mentioned uncertainty
regarding dinner whereas 33 Male Female
were uncertain about both
meals and ate whatever they Figure 12 Calorie Consumption per day
could manage while begging.
Based on a detailed description of each meal consumed by children on an average
day, we converted their meal types to estimated calories consumed per day on the basis of
Apollo's Calorie Sheet for nutrition conversion of Indian food items. (Reference) This data
shows that 554 children were getting less than 800 calories per day. Only 51 (8.43%) were
managing between 800-1500 calories per day. Further the nutritional status of boys was
more alarming in comparison to girls. This compares very dismally to the recommended
calorie intake of 1200-2800 calories for boys and 1200-2400 for girls depending on age
and activities. Since most of these children spend large amount of timeoutdoors they
would normally fall into the 'very active' category.
Assessment of their health status showed that 564 (93.2%) child beggars did not
mention of any serious illness. However 41 (6.8%) were suffering from one or the other
kind of serious ailment. Seven reported to be suffering from TB; 4 from measles; 3 each
 Where do you go for treatment when sick? from accidental injury, asthma
and jaundice; 2 each from ear
problem, epilepsy,
Govt. Dispensary pneumonia, polio and tumor;
2% Govt. Hospital one each was suffering from
15% Chemist Shop diabetes, eye problem,

Health and Nutrition

5% 37% Private Doctor gynaecological problem,
Home Remedy heart disease, lung cancer,
Mobile Van malaria, paralysis, swollen
39%
NGO
legs and typhoid. One each
None
also reported of mental
instability and physical
Not Replied
handicap. A significant
Figure 13: Source for Medical Treatment majority 599 (99.0%) of the
respondents stated that they
visited the hospital/dispensary/ doctor when sick. Two girls visited the doctor every 15
days and one every two months. They did not specify the reason for their regular visit to the
doctor. As regards treatment facility 461(76.2%) children went to government
hospital/dispensary; 90 availed the services of a private doctor and 30 took medicines from
the chemist shop; while 14 children had the facility of medical mobile van and 4 availed of
NGO facility. Assessment of money spent on treatment showed that 198 (32.7%) children
did not spend any money on their treatment; 225 (37.2%) spent less than Rs. 50 on an
average in each instance of illness, while 100 (16.5%) children spent between Rs. 51-100;
16 (2.6%) children spent any amount between Rs. 151-500, while 65 (10.7%) children
were not aware because the money was spent by their parents. One of them stated to have
spent Rs. 3000 on treatment. Although 479 children were availing health facilities at
government/charitable dispensaries yet only 198 children were able to avail the facility for
free while 281 children were paying for their treatment. The amount varied between Rs. 5
to Rs. 250.

Substance Abuse
Studies indicate that substance abuse among street children, abandoned children,
rag-pickers and child beggars is alarmingly high. Assessing the situation of substance abuse
among child beggars in Delhi the study revealed that out of the 605 child beggars
interviewed, 307 i.e. (50.7%) were addicted to one or more intoxicants. Of these 141
(45.9%) were addicted to more than one substances. Ten boys were involved in
consuming 4 or more substances simultaneously. Those who were consuming ganja and
smack were 29 and 15 respectively. The youngest consumer of ganja was a 7 year old girl.
Age wise distribution shows that amongst the 6-9 year old children bidi, solution
and gutka were most popular whereas 10 year onwards there is an increasing trend of
alcohol and cigarette consumption while bidi, solution and gutka continues. Eighty four
per cent of child beggars living alone are involved in some or the other intoxicants of
which nearly 75 per cent were involved in substances like smack, ganja, solution and
alcohol. Atotal of 265 child beggars used Tobacco in some form or the other either singly
50
 Susbtance Abuse by Age
90 Alcohol
80 Bidi
70 Cigarette
60 Ganja
50 Gutka
40 Paan
30 Smack
20 Solution
10 Khenny
0 Zarda
Age 6-9 yrs Age 10-12 Age 13-15 Age 16-18

Figure 14 : Susbtance Abuse by Age

or in combination. Amongst them 206 were boys and 59 were girls. The rate of abuse
among children staying with parents was much lower at 38.4 per cent.
225 (72.8%) bought the substances from shop; 19.7 per cent either begged or got it
from friends while 3.5 per cent got it from family; 3.9 per cent got it from
unknown/undisclosed persons. These could be the people involved in drug peddling.

120
Substance Abuse by Stay arrangement
100

80

60 Alone
Relatives
40
Parents
20 Friend

0 Spouse
Gutka, Pan, Solution Solution, Smack & Ganja with Smack with
Zarda, Khenny Alchohol, Alchohol & others others
Cigratte Cigarette
& Ganja

Figure 15: Substance Abuse by Stay arrangement

51
 It was noticed that 250 (89.9%) children of the 298 children who were not using
any substance were staying with their parents. Stay arrangement of those children who
were using some substance was also analysed to assess whether those staying alone or with
family had any impact on their substance abuse. The study revealed that of the 123
children who were consuming gutka/zarda/khanny (mainly minor substances) 102
(82.9%) were staying with parents and 21 were staying alone or with others. Of the 31

Health and Nutrition

using solution 8 (25.8%) were staying with parents; 10 (32.25%) alone and 9 (29%) with
friends. Those (116) consuming solution, alcohol and cigarette, 34 (29.3%) were staying
with parents; 49 (42.2%) were staying alone and 27 (23.3%) were staying with friends. Of
the 5 children consuming smack, alcohol, cigarette and ganja majority i.e. (60%) were
staying alone. Those consuming ganja with other substances showed that (71.7%) were
staying either alone or with friends; 6 however (27.3%) were staying with parents. The
trend clearly shows that children who are staying with parents either do not consume any
substance or are consuming minor substances such as gutka/zarda/kahnny. The problem
of consumption of hard substances like solution, alcohol, smack and ganja is more
prevalent amongst children staying alone or with friends.
Sources from where the children managed to procure their requirement of
substances showed that at least 28 begged for it; 225 got these from shops; 33 from friends;
11 from family members or siblings; 12 however, stated that one person supplies them the
drugs. This was stated by different children from different locations.
Hours of sleep: Majority of the child beggars 425 (272 boys and 153 girls) were
able to sleep for 7-9 hours; 103 (65 boys and 38 girls) got 10-12 hours of sleep while 76 (50
boys and 26 girls) were able to sleep only for 5-6 hours and one boy did not respond.

52
 Chapter-8

Education and Aspirations

of Child Beggars
Assessment of the Age wise Education levels
educational status of child
beggars was found to be 180
very dismal. The study 160
revealed that (66.45%) was 140
majority 402 illiterate never Basic Literacy
120
having gone to school. Only 100 1st-5th Std
203 (33.6%) had 80 6th-8th Std
received some education 60
but that too was mostly NGO School
40
primary education less than 20 Nil
5th standard. Only 5 (0.8%) 0
had studied up to middle Age 6-9 Age 10- Age 13- Age 16­
school i.e. between 6-8th Std. 12 15 18
The youngest and oldest
children in the sample set Figure 17: Age Wise Education Level
fare the worst in terms of
illiteracy with 80% of 16-18 year olds and 83% of 6-9 year olds completely illiterate. This,
despite a majority 348 (57.5%) of the children expressing their willingness to go to school,
of which only 51 were already going either to regular schools or schools run by NGO's.
The data also reveals that the education of girl child is pathetic. Out of 203 children who
received some education only 45 were girls against 158 boys. An interesting aspect,
however is that out of 51 children currently going to school there is an relatively even
gender distribution with 27 boys and 24 girls. Further out of a total of six children receiving
education from NGO's 5 of them were girls. This indicates that the girls are interested in
studies but are lagging behind only because of deprivation. If given a chance they would
 excel in any field. These
Willingness to go to School children also stated that
after school hours they
51 begged for money for their
206 families and a little for their
own needs which they said

Education and Aspirations of Child Beggars

No were mainly for
348 eatables/snacks and
Yes entertainment. It may be
noted that children
between the ages of 6-14
were 469 who would come
Figure 16: Willingness to go to School under the purview of the
Right to Education Act. This
indicates the scale at which education intervention is required to mainstream children
who are into begging (see Table).
Reasons for not studying were varied, with a large number mentioning that their
parents did not send them to school or inhibited them (37.0%) followed by financial
reasons for 21.0 %. Only 13.1% children stated that they did not like/fear studies. Those
who did not get admission in the school for want of identity proof were negligible only 6
(1.0%). Health problems /illness were also stated by only 1.0% of the children. It was all
boys who were beaten by their parents and as a consequence they ran away from home
(beaten 4.0% and ran away 1.7%). Many had dropped out mainly because their parents
had migrated. However, in a few cases, the attitude of the school authorities or lack of
facilities also seemed to be a contributing factor. Teachers were reported to be
unsympathetic to the children's inability to buy books and other study material and
appeared to pay little attention to them in class. Some children (3.8%) could not study
because of absence of school in their village or because teachers did not teach.

Skills: Need for

acquiring skills was Willing to take skill training
expressed by only 278
(46.0%) children. Of these 350
70 (60 girls and 10 boys) 300
want to take up tailoring 250
and embroidery. 41 (38 200
boys and 3 girls) want to Female
150
become drivers; 28 (27 Male
boys and one girl) car or 100
bike mechanic; 4 boys and 50
3 girls want to learn 0
computers; 7 boys want to Yes No Can't Say
learn mobile repair; 5
boys want to work as Figure 18: Willingness to take skill training
electrician, 3 boys as
54
 cobbler; 3as carpenter 4 girls as cooks and 3 girls as beauticians. Eight boys and two girls
want to become safai karamcharies. Those who were ok with any skill which could get
them a job were 74 (48 boys and 26 girls). When asked what will happen if they do not beg
550 (90.9%) said they would starve. 16 (2.6%) stated that their parents beat if they do not
beg. While 25 (4.01%) were begging to help the family. However, 11 replied that it made
no difference even if they did not beg. Two girls were forced to leave their studies.

55
 Chapter-9

Problems of Child Beggars

Problems during Begging:
Problems during begging
238 either did not face any
problem while begging or did not Others
mention any. 183 children stated
that people either ignored or Don't get enough
would beat them. 86 children
stated that police beat, shoo away Sexual Harassment
or ask for money; 47 stated that
older children beat and snatch Dogs create trouble
money while 27 gave various Older children Female
reasons, such as, drug abusers Beat/Snatch Money Male
harass and fear of accident, etc.; Police beat/shoo
20 were afraid of street dogs. Four away/ask for money
girls reported of sexual
harassment. None/Not Replied
When asked who helps People Ignore, Beat and
them when in problem, 391 Harass
(64.63%) stated they were helped
by parents, relatives and friends. 0 50 100 150
44 children (7.3%) acknowledged Figure 19: Problems during begging
that they were helped by police
when in trouble. Others received help from NGO's, community and older beggars.
The children were also asked whether theyexpected any help from the
government, 225 (37.2%) wanted home as their first priority others expected government
to help them in providing education, skill development, jobs, food and medical help, etc.
Those children who were unconcerned comprised of 102 (16.9%) and 32 (5.3%) did not
expect any help from any governmental agencies. (for details see table and bar diagram).
 Table 6: Who helps them when in trouble The children stated that
family, friends, older children, other
When in problem who helps them? beggars, neighbours, community
Parents 188 people and police abused them in
Friends 144
some form or the other. Family and
friends followed by police were

Problems of Child Beggars

Relatives 54
stated to be the major abusers (see bar
Police 44 diagram). The nature of abuse varied
NGO 23 from beating, abusive language, food
Community 11 deprivation, snatch money, etc. Four
Spouse 5 girls however, reported of sexual
abuse/harassment.
Older
Beggars 9 With regard to association of
None 127 child beggars with some
organization, only 31 were
Total 605
associated with an organization. Of
these 9 children did not know the
name of the organizations while 4 each were associated with SPYM and Chetna; two with
blind organization and one each with Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan, Prayas, Salam Balak Trust,
Seva Bharti and an angawadi.

Help needed from the Government

250

200

150

100

50

0
Home Jobs EducationSkill Devt. Food & Care/ Financial Sewing Identity General/ None Don't
Shelter Medical Help Machine Proof All Know

Figure 20: Help needed from the Govt

57
 Chapter-10

Discussion, Conclusions
and Recommendations
The present study undertook a rapid head count survey to assess the number of
child beggars in Delhi and also conducted in depth interviews of 605 child beggars. The
study reveals that most of the children were initiated into begging in their childhood itself,
mostly by their own parents or occasionally by relatives. Gender distribution of child
beggars shows that begging is more prevalent among boys than girls. Further, a large
majority of them are migrants from other states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc,
with large numbers (54.2%) who migrated with their family due to poverty or deprivation
in their village. Other reasons for children migrating by themselves included
abuse/violence at home; death of either or both parents; parents disowned them; ran away
after stealing; natural calamity, marriage, and lure of city life.
A majority of the child beggars 406 (67.1%) stay with parents. 140 (23.1%) were
staying alone or with friends, which would arguably account for the most vulnerable and
in need of care and protection in absence of any family support. The rest were staying with
relatives or their spouses. Most of them 401 (66.28%) had sheltered accommodation in the
form of constructed houses, Jhuggi, and night shelter. One third i.e. 204 (33.72%) were
living in open spaces and were deprived of the basic facility of bathing, toilet and drinking
water. However, a majority of those who had access to basic facilities had to pay extra
money to avail them. Thus their financial requirement was not only for food security, but
also to maintain basic personal hygiene.
In majority of the cases children were introduced to begging by their parents or
guardians, with a majority of children continuing to beg willingly, while others forced by
parents or relatives through physical beating or deprivation of food.
Reasons for begging varied from family profession/survival/poverty to funding healthcare
and earning something extra for personal and family use. Children were mostly found
begging in groups either with their family members or friends or alone. Time spent by
children on begging ranged from 1-12 hours. Though most children stated that they were
begging of their own will, and only 20.7 percent stated that they were forced into begging.
Most of them (80.8 percent) were however forced to beg by their own parents and the
remaining by other family members/friends or circumstances. The reality therefore seems
otherwise, i.e. most of them were driven by their caregivers into begging. Instead of
promoting them into studies they are forced into this form of child labour. This

Discussion, Conclusions
issubstantiated by the fact that 65 percent of the children did not like begging but stated

and Recommendations
that they had no option for alternate source of earning.
Nutritional status of the child beggars was quite dismal despite a vast majority
living with their family. Many of them could not have even three meals a day, and relied on
begging for food and ate whatever they got. Estimated Average Daily Calorie intake among
554 children was less than 800 calories per day as compared to the recommended calorie
intake of 1200-2800 for boys and 1200-2400 for girls depending on age and level of
activities. This definitely has implications for their proper growth and development.
] Though 564 (93.2%) child beggars did not mention of having any serious illness,
majority of the respondents stated that they did visit the hospital/dispensary/doctor when
sometimes they fell ill. The money spent by them for treatment varied between Rs. 50 to
Rs. 500. One of them however stated to have spent Rs. 3000 on treatment. Many child
beggars mentioned that even in government hospitals/dispensaries they normally do not
get the medicines prescribed by the doctor hence they have to buy medicines from open
market.
A large number of the children talked of being chased or beaten by police,
shopkeepers or watchmen who did not want them to beg in the area. Fights and abusive
comments among fellow beggars were reported by both boys and girls. Many of them
stated they had to face harassment from the general public as well.
Since most of them are migrants from others states and do not have any valid
residence, they did not have any identity proof either. This compounded their hardship
and prevented them from availing benefits of night shelters, government schemes,
subsidized food and in some cases even school admissions.
The method used for begging varied in forms. There were 200 children who used
some kind of object or the other while begging like God idol, utensil/bowl etc. 14 used
baby or a younger child to gain sympathy, while a few others bandaged themselves and
pretended they were injured/handicapped.
It is a significant observation that 56.9 percent child beggars who in addition to
begging were also involved in other activities for earning. They would spend only 3-4
hours begging and spend their remaining time in other activities. Rag picking was the most
popular occupation followed by street vending. In this study we also came across some
children who admitted that they were also involved in petty criminal activities like pick­
pocketing and stealing.
The earnings of these children varied from less than Rs. 30 to over Rs. 250 per day.
Most of them tend to give either all or most of their earnings to parents/caregivers, keeping
only Rs.5-20 for snacks or transport for themselves. Quite a few managed to save money
59
 ranging from Rs. 20-100. Only 4 out of the entire sample however had a bank account.
Most of them (491 or 81.2%) kept the savings themselves; some, i.e. 12.7 percent kept
their savings with shopkeepers in their area and others preferred to keep their savings with
family members, relatives or friends.
The educational status of child beggars was found to be very dismal. Majority, i.e.
402 (66.45%) were illiterate never having gone to school. Only 203 (33.6%) did receive
some education mostly primary. This study also reveals that the education of girl child is
pathetic. Many children also stated that after school hours they begged for money for their
families and a little for their own needs which they said were mainly for eatables/snacks
and entertainment. Need for acquiring skills was expressed by only 278 (46.0%) children.
The type of skills which interested these children were tailoring and embroidery; vehicle
drivers; car or bike mechanic; computers; mobile repair; electrician, cobbler; carpenter;
cooks and beautician course. Eight boys and two girls stated that they wanted to become
safai karamcharies. Some of them were ok with any skill which could get them a job. Over
90 percent children (550) said that they would starve and 16 (2.6%) also said that their
parents beat if they do not beg and bring money.
Substance abuse among child beggars in Delhi revealed that 307 (50.7%) out of
605 were addicted to one or more intoxicants. Eighty four percent of child beggars living
alone were involved in some or the other intoxicants of which nearly 75 percent were
involved in substances like smack, ganja, solution and alcohol. The rate of abuse among
children staying with parents was much lower at 38.4 percent. The trend clearly shows that
children who are staying with parents either do not consume any substance or are
consuming minor substances such as gutka/zarda/khenny. The problem of consumption of
hard substances like solution, alcohol, smack and ganja is more prevalent amongst
children staying either alone or with friends.
The study clearly establishes that child beggars are subject to physical, educational
and emotional neglect. Physical neglect includes inadequate provision of food, housing
and clothing, denial of medical care and inadequate hygiene. Educational neglect is the
failure to enrol a child in school and emotional neglect is the lack of emotional support
such as the failure to provide psychological care and allowing a child to participate in
drugs and alcohol abuse. Though, right to primary education has been included as a
fundamental right in our Constitution but rights of destitute and child beggars to proper
educational and vocational training are not considered as fundamental rights so far. Even
though Article 32 (1) of the Convention: “recognize the right of the child to be protected
from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or
to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral or social development”. Specific mention of child beggars in the
policy documents is missing. The study also indicates that there are few NGO's who are
working for the welfare of beggar children that to mainly providing survival needs. Skill
training seems to be lacking. Since majority of the children expressed interest in skill
training the NGO's should come forward in providing skill development.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India implemented
many welfare programmes for children in difficult circumstances, such as, Child line
60
services in major cities to protect children facing abuse, exploitation and neglect; or the
Integrated Programme for Street Children with the aim of preventing destitution and
facilitating their withdrawal from life on the streets by providing for shelter, nutrition,
health care, education, recreation facilities and protection against abuse and exploitation.
In spite of these welfare programmes Child beggars were never included in any of these
schemes. The target groups of these programmes include only children without homes and

Discussion, Conclusions
families such as street children, children of sex workers and children of pavement dwellers

and Recommendations
(excluding child beggars).
Similarly the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) was started as a pilot project
with a motto to eradicate child labour. The children enrolled in this program were
provided with formal and informal education, vocational training, and also a monthly
stipend along with supplementary nutrition and health care. Why have child beggars been
deprived from this scheme? In fact, the working conditions of child beggars can be
regarded nearly as hazardous and challenging as that of child workers, and thus it is fair to
merit equal attention and policy focus to Child Beggars, perhaps also consider inclusion
within child labour.
Child protection is integrally linked to every other right of the child. The failure to
ensure children's right to protection adversely affects all other rights of the child and the
development of full potential of the child.

Recommendations
Beggary is primarily an outcome of abject poverty and not choice in most cases, as
the study demonstrates. Mostly parents and relatives or acquaintances of the children are
pushing them into begging. Children who come from families where situations of extreme
poverty and lack of access to employment prevails such children beg for their families'
survival. The study has clearly brought out the vulnerability of the children engaged in
begging.
To effectively deal with the problem of child beggars following suggestions are
made:
•The conditions in which child beggars work are certainly hazardous as per the ILO
definition which states “Hazardous work by children is defined as any activity or
occupation that, by its nature or type, has or leads to adverse effects on the child's
safety, health and moral development”. (ILO; 2013:p.16). Hence child beggars
should be covered under various child labour schemes of the Ministry of Labour.
•Training of law enforcement officers should cover issues like homelessness, begging
and need for empathetic engagement as well as understanding of the need for early
intervention, early diversion, referral and cautionary strategies as preventive
measures.
•As part of Advocacy members of the society should be sensitized regarding the issue
of urban poverty and destitution and how they can contribute to poverty alleviation.
Also why one time charity is harmful.
61
 •There is an overlap between child beggars, child labour and street children because
child beggars engage themselves in rag picking and vending also hence they should
form part of all the programmes relating to child labour and street children.
•Child beggars are being abused by adults be it their own parents, relatives or
acquaintances. Such adults should be dealt with as per the provisions of Section 24 of
the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 which provides punishment for employing a juvenile or
a child for begging.
•As most of the children are not in school, though as per this study good number of
child beggars have expressed their willingness to study and acquire skill training,
there is an urgent need to provide appropriate education, both formal schooling and
skill training, suiting to their requirements.
•Access to basic necessities, such as, safe shelters, food, clothing, safe drinking water,
sanitation and education should be provided to all as a matter of right and should
ensure that the benefits reach the end beneficiaries.
•Awareness about government and NGO schemes/programmes should reach the
children so that they could benefit from those.
•Most child beggars belong to the poorest of the poor who have migrated with their
parents to urban centres as a survival strategy. Children should be facilitated in getting
identity proof, which the government accepts as an entitlement document. This will
facilitate opening of their bank accounts, get admission in schools, etc.
•It is essential to increase the number of family shelters, drop-in-shelters ren- baseras
where children along with their parents can stay. Night classes and other services can
also be cantered around such places.
•The government should ensure that appropriate services of doctors, counsellors, and
social workers are provided to these children.
•Localized target oriented community based programmes should be planned and
administered at the points where the child beggars congregate mainly with their
families. Parents need to be counselled to spare their children for education and skill
development since majority of children stay with their families.
•Multi pronged intervention strategies are needed in rural areas to reduce migration
from rural to urban areas. Employment possibilities for adults should be increased
dramatically in those rural areas from where large-scale out-migration is taking place.
•To bring down the incidence of child beggars interventions are needed to strengthen
their families by providing jobs, better housing and increased number of schools for
poor children in both rural and urban areas. Compensation should be given to the
parents/children in the form of stipend on the basis of school attendance.
•Schools should have sympathetic teachers, child friendly environment and should
ban corporal punishment.
62
•Suitable institutional/alternate family care, with a view to achieve ultimate
rehabilitation, should be provided to the homeless, destitute and orphan children
who have turned to begging.
•To effectively address the problems of children involved in begging, functionaries of
the departments of police, social welfare, health, the railways, the municipal

Discussion, Conclusions
corporation, the industrial houses, the voluntary sector, and the civil society need to

and Recommendations
coordinate and cooperate with each other. The modes and modalities for effective
coordination and implementation of policies at different inter-departmental and inter-
ministerial levels need to be evolved.
•There is need to evaluate the functions and facilities of the night shelters so that the
large number of children who are staying in the open could use the facility.
•Self Help groups of beggars should be encouraged so that they could handle their
problems effectively.
•Sensitization programmes especially in the area of nutrition and preventive health
education should be imparted so that their health status is improved.

63
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86. Prasad, L. (1960). Beggar problem in an Indian provincial town. The Indian Journal
of Social Work, 21(2), 147-153.
87. Ramana,
88. Saeed, S. (2011). Beggars of Lahore. Birmingham University.
89. Thakker, Y. Gandhi, Z., Sheth, H., Vankar, G. K. & Shroff, S. (2007). Psychiatry
morbidity among inmates of the beggar home. International Journal of
Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 11(2), 31-36.
90. Turner, R. C. J. (1887). A history of vagrants and vagrancy, and beggars and
begging (1972). NJ: Montclair. Vikas Bhawan Office, Aligarh.
91. Begging in Mumbai an organised racket: survey, Yahoo! India News, July 2004
http://in.news.yahoo.com/040703/43/2er57.html
92. World: South Asia Drive Against Bombay Beggars, BBC News, August, 1998
downloaded from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/160774.stm

69
 Appendix-1

Data Tables
and additional Charts
Table 7: District Wise Cumulative Age & Gender Profile
Table 9: District wise age distribution of Child Beggars

District wise Age of Child Beggars

Age 6-9 Age 10-12 Age 13-15 Age 16-18

Data Tables and additional Charts

Districts No. % No. % No. % No. % Total %

Central Delhi 10 12.1 40 17.3 51 25.3 15 18.2 116 20.0

East Delhi 15 16.5 36 15.6 20 9.7 14 16.6 85 13.7

New Delhi 0 0.0 1 0.4 4 2.0 7 8.7 12 2.5

North Delhi 0 0.0 13 5.8 19 9.5 1 1.1 33 5.7

North East 7 8.8 30 12.8 22 10.9 14 16.7 73 12.5

North West 2 2.2 6 2.6 21 10.4 1 1.2 30 5.2

Shahadra 1 1.0 11 4.7 8 4.0 7 8.4 27 4.8

South Delhi 25 25.9 20 8.6 16 7.7 0 0.0 61 8.2

South East 6 6.5 37 16.4 22 10.7 3 3.5 68 10.9

South West 10 10.9 10 3.9 2 0.9 1 1.2 23 2.9

West Delhi 13 15.8 27 11.3 17 8.3 20 23.9 77 13.0

Total 89 100 231 100 202 100 83 100 605 100

Table 10: Age when started begging

Age when started begging
Gender Since 1-5 yrs 6-9 yrs 10-12 yrs 13-15 yrs 16-18 Don't Total
Birth Recall

Male 66 45 109 143 17 1 7 388

Female 81 35 57 27 9 0 8 217

Total 147 80 166 170 26 1 15 605

71
 Table 11: District Wise Gender Profile Table 12: Identity Proof
District Wise Gender Profile
Documents

District Male Female Total Identity Proof

Central Delhi 83 33 116 Aadhar Card 46
East Delhi 66 19 85 Ration Card 24
New Delhi 8 4 12 Birth Certificate 5
North Delhi 28 5 33 School ID 2
North East 36 37 73 Aadhar Card & Ration Card 6
North West 21 9 30 Aadhar Card & Birth Certificate 2
Shahadra 16 11 27 Ration Card & Birth Certificate 3
South Delhi 35 26 61 Aadhar, Ration Card & Birth
South East 52 16 68 Certificate 4
South West 11 12 23 Don't Know 5
West Delhi 32 45 77 None 508
Total 388 217 605 Total 605

Native Place
250

200

150

100

50

0
UP Bihar Rajasthan Delhi W. Bengal Punjab Haryana MP Other Don't
States Know

Figure 21 : Native Place

72
Table: 13 Reason for Leaving Home

Reason for leaving home

Age 6-9 Age 10-12 Age 13-15 Age 16-18 Total

Reason No. % No. % No. % No. % Total %

Data Tables and additional Charts

Migrated
with Family 48 53.9 141 61.0 86 42.6 53 63.9 328 54.2
Financial/
To earn 27 30.3 40 17.3 50 24.8 10 12.0 127 21.0
Abuse/
violence at
home 3 3.4 13 5.6 29 14.4 5 6.0 50 8.3
Did not Like
Home 0 0.0 1 0.4 6 3.0 2 2.4 9 1.5
Parent (s)
Death 1 1.1 5 2.2 11 5.4 6 7.2 23 3.8
Parents
Disowned 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 1.0 0 0.0 2 0.3
Floods/
Calamity 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.5 0 0.0 1 0.2
Got Married 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 1.2 1 0.2
Lure of City
Life 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.5 0 0.0 1 0.2
Ran Away
after Stealing 0 0.0 3 1.3 1 0.5 0 0.0 4 0.7
Don't Know 10 11.2 28 12.1 15 7.4 6 7.2 59 9.8
Total 89 100 231 100 202 100 83 100 605 100

Table 14: Types of Family - Gender Wise

Type of Family – Gender wise

Gender Joint Nuclear Orphan Total
Female 29 184 4 217
Male 33 350 5 388
Total 62 534 9 605
73
 Table 15: Family type and staying with in Delhi

Staying in Delhi with

Staying with Joint Nuclear Orphan Total
Parent(s) 44 362 0 406
Relatives 6 21 0 27
Friends 6 59 3 68
Spouse 1 7 0 8
Alone 5 85 6 96
Total 62 534 9 605

Table 16: Consequence if they don't beg

What happens if they don't beg?

Consequence Male Female Total
Starve 349 201 550
Family/Parents Beat 14 2 16
Can't help Family 20 5 25
Forced to leave Study 0 2 2
Nothing 4 7 11
Not Replied 1 0 1
Total 388 217 605

Table 17: Dwelling Provider for Child Beggars

Dwelling Provider by Age

Row Labels Govt. NGO Religious Self Total
Age 6-9 4 0 0 85 89
Age 10-12 9 0 13 209 231
Age 13-15 6 1 15 180 202
Age 16-18 1 0 5 77 83

Total 20 1 33 551 605

74
Table 18: Stay Arrangements of Child Beggars

Staying Arrangements
Male Female Total
Stay at No. % No. % No. %

Data Tables and additional Charts

Constructed Home 40 10.3 29 13.4 69 11.4
Jhuggi 146 37.6 89 41.0 235 38.8
Night Shelter 10 2.6 11 5.1 21 3.5
Religeous Place 25 6.4 8 3.7 33 5.5
Tent on Footpath 21 5.4 22 10.1 43 7.1
Footpath 56 14.4 33 15.2 89 14.7
Bus/Railway
Station 17 4.4 1 0.5 18 3.0
Under Bridge/
Flyover/Subway 23 5.9 9 4.1 32 5.3
Park 47 12.1 15 6.9 62 10.2
Metro Station 3 0.8 0.0 3 0.5
Total 388 100 217 100 605 100

Table 19: Other Activities in addition to Begging

Other activities in addition to Begging

Male Female
Row Labels No. Percent No. Percent Total Total (%)
Acrobats/Entertainment 5 1.3 1 0.5 6 1.0
Sell balloons/flowers/
pens etc 46 11.9 16 7.4 62 10.2
Study 5 1.3 5 2.3 10 1.7
Household Chores/
care of siblings 4 1.0 39 18.0 43 7.1
Boot Polish 2 0.5 0 0.0 2 0.3
Car Cleaning 1 0.3 0 0.0 1 0.2
Drug Abuse 13 3.4 0 0.0 13 2.1
Play 33 8.5 22 10.1 55 9.1
Rag Picking 133 34.3 56 25.8 189 31.2
Stealing 2 0.5 0 0.0 2 0.3
Loitering/Nothing 134 34.5 72 33.2 206 34.0
Total 388 100 217 100 605 100 75
 Table 20: Interested in acquiring skills

Interested in acquiring Skills

Skills Male Female Total

Driver 38 3 41
Tailoring & Embroidery 10 60 70
Car/Bike Mechanic 27 1 28
Safai Karamchari 8 2 10
Mobile Repair 7 0 7
Computer 4 3 7
Painter 6 0 6
Dance/Music 4 2 6
Electrician 5 0 5
Cooking 0 4 4
Beautician 0 3 3
Cobbler 3 0 3
Carpenter 3 0 3
Labour 3 1 4
Others 13 6 19
After Studies 3 4 7
Anything is ok 35 20 55
None 219 108 327
Total 388 217 605

Table 21: Age Wise Standard of Education

Age wise standard of education

Age 6-9 Age 10-12 Age 13-15 Age 16-18 Total

Education No. % No. % No. % No. % Total %
Basic Literacy 1 1.12 2 0.87 0 0.00 1 1.20 4 0.66
1st-5th Std. 13 14.61 71 30.74 90 44.55 14 16.87 188 31.07
6th-8th Std. 0 0.00 0 0.00 4 1.98 1 1.20 5 0.83
NGO School 1 1.12 3 1.30 2 0.99 0 0.00 6 0.99
Nil 74 83.15 155 67.10 106 52.48 67 80.72 402 66.45
Total 89 100 231 100 202 100 83 100 605 100

76
 Table 22: Gender Wise Education distribution

Gender wise Education

Male Female
Education Number Percent Number Percent Total Total (%)

Data Tables and additional Charts

Basic Literacy 3 0.77 1 0.46 4 0.66
1st- 5th Std. 151 38.9 37 17.05 188 31.07
6th-8th Std. 3 0.77 2 0.92 5 0.83
NGO School 1 0.26 5 2.30 6 0.99
Nil 230 59.28 172 79.26 402 66.45
Total 388 100.0 217 100.0 605 100.0

Table 23: Willingness to go to school

Willingness to go to

SchooL Male Female

Row Labels Number Percent Number Percent Total Total (%)
Already going* 27 6.96 24 11.06 51 8.43
No 226 58.25 122 56.22 348 57.52
Yes 135 34.79 71 32.72 206 34.05
Grand Total 388 100.0 217 100.0 605 100.0
*includes NGO run schools and anganwadi

Table 24: Education profile of 6-14 year children

Education profile of 6-14 s age group

Year Male Female

Education Number Percent Number Percent Total Total (%)
Basic Literacy 2 0.7 1 0.6 3 0.6
1st- 5th Std. 128 42.1 34 20.6 162 34.5
6th-8th Std. 0 0.0 2 1.2 2 0.4
NGO School 1 0.3 5 3.0 6 1.3
Nil 173 56.9 123 74.5 296 63.1
Total 304 100 165 100 469 100
77
 Table 25: Interest in Studying

Interest in Studying

Male Female
Currently Number Percent Number Percent Total Total (%)
attending/Interest Number Present

Aanganwadi 0.00 2 0.92 2 0.33

Not interested 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00

Yes interested 0 0.00 2 0.92 2 0.33

NGO School 7 1.80 12 5.53 19 3.14

Not interested 0.00 2 0.92 2 0.33

Yes interested 7 1.80 10 4.6 17 2.81

Not attending any

school 361 93.04 193 88.94 554 91.57

Not interested 222 57.22 123 56.68 345 57.02

Yes interested 139 35.82 70 32.26 209 34.55

Attending regular
school 20 5.15 10 4.61 30 4.96

Not interested 1 0.26 2 0.92 3 0.50

Yes interested 19 4.90 8 3.69 27 4.46

Grand Total 388 100.0 217 100.0 605 100.0

Table 26: Reasons for not going to school

Reasons for not going/leaving school

Male Female
Row Labels Number Percent Number Percent Total Total (%)
Bad Company 8 2.1 1 0.5 9 1.5
Beaten 26 6.7 0 0.0 26 4.3

Contd...
78
Ran Away from Home 10 2.6 0 0.0 10 1.7
Migrated to Delhi
with family 4 1.0 2 0.9 6 1.0
Family Inhibited
from Studying 131 33.8 93 42.9 224 37.0

Data Tables and additional Charts

Parent(s) Died 10 2.6 3 1.4 13 2.1
Parents Disowned 1 0.3 0 0.0 1 0.2
Financial/Want
to earn 70 18.0 57 26.3 127 21.0
Health Problems
/Illness 3 0.8 3 1.4 6 1.0
Marriage 0 0.0 2 0.9 2 0.3
Don't Like/Fear
Studies 61 15.7 18 8.3 79 13.1
Don't Get Admission 4 1.0 2 0.9 6 1.0
No Facility/Teachers 16 4.1 7 3.2 23 3.8
Removed from School 1 0.3 0 0.0 1 0.2
Why Study 2 0.5 3 1.4 5 0.8
Don't Know 21 5.4 16 7.4 37 6.1
Did Not leave school* 20 5.2 10 4.6 30 5.0
Grand Total 388 100.0 217 100.0 605 100.0

Forced to beg by whom?

80
70
60
50
40 Male
30
Female
20
10
0
Parents Other Family Friends Circumstances Neighbours Unknown
Member Person

Figure 22: Forced to beg by whom, if so? 79

 Number of other Family Members Begging

1
None 16%
26%
2
17%

NA
5-7 4
9%
12% 8%
8-12 3
2% 10%

Figure 23: Number of other Family Members Begging

Table 27: Earning and Expenses of child beggars

Money (Rs.) Earning Food Clothing Stay Entertainment

NIL 0 36 289 429 227
0 - 30 11 183 24 7 155
30 - 50 50 157 15 0 37
50 - 80 107 53 0 0 4
80 - 100 164 24 2 0 0
100 - 150 194 0 0 0 2
150 - 200 51 0 3 0 0
200 - 250 13 0 1 0 0
> 250 15 0 0 0 0
Not Available/
Don't Know 0 152 271 169 180

Table 28: Savings of Child Beggars

Do you Save money, and how much
Rupees Male Female Total
20-50 91 18 109
60-100 11 6 17
100-200 1 0 1
None 56 8 64
Not Available 229 185 414
Total 388 217 605
80
Table 29: Use of remaining money, if any

Any other Expenses? What they do with remaining money after spending
on food, shelter, clothing?
Row Labels Male Female Total
Give to family/parents 156 129 285

Data Tables and additional Charts

Spend on addiction 15 1 16
Gamble 1 0 1
Travel 0 2 2
Save 3 2 5
Spend on Study 0 1 1
Others 150 57 207
Nothing left after other expenses 15 6 21
Not Available 48 19 67
Total 388 217 605

Table 30: Gender Wise Bank Account of Child Beggars

Do you have a bank account

Male Female Total
No 387 214 601
Yes 1 3 4
Total 388 217 605

Table 31: Where they keep savings if any

Where do you keep your money

Male Female Total
Bank 1 3 4
Self 292 195 491
Home/Parents 8 5 13
Friend 9 2 11
Friend's Mother 1 0 1
Relatives 4 5 9
Shop Keeper 70 7 77
Other 3 0 3
Grand Total 388 217 605
81
 Table 32: Hours Spent in Begging
Hours spent in Begging
Hours Male Female Total
1-3 hrs 73 58 131
3-4 hrs 176 101 277
7-9 hrs 127 52 179
10-12 hrs 9 3 12
NA 3 3 6
Total 388 217 605

Table 33: Loans taken if any

Have you taken a loan, if yes how much?

Loan Amount (Rupees) Male Female Total
1000 3 1 4
2000 3 0 3
3000 1 0 1
4000 0 1 1
5000 2 1 3
Never taken a loan 379 214 593
Total 388 217 605

Table 34: Loans taken from

Who did you take the loan from?

Male Female Total
Shop keeper 5 0 5
Relative 1 1 2
Friend 1 1 2
In Village 2 0 2
Money Lender 0 1 1
NA 379 214 593
Total 388 217 605
82
 Table 35: Purpose of the loans, if taken

What purpose was the loan taken for?

Male Female Total

Illness 2 2 4

Data Tables and additional Charts

Making Jhuggi 1 1 2
No work/Poverty/Daily expenses 6 0 6
NA 379 214 593
Total 388 217 605

Table 36: Interest on Loan

Interest on loan
Interest Male Female Total
No 9 2 11
Yes 0 1 1
Total 9 3 12

Table 37: Repayment Status of loan

Loan repaid?
Loan repaid? Male Female Total
No 8 3 11
Yes 1 0 1
Total 9 3 12

Table 38: Average hours of sleep

Hours of sleep
Sleep Male Female Total
5-6 Hrs 50 26 76
7-9 Hrs 272 153 425
10-12 hrs 65 38 103
NA 1 0 1
Total 388 217 605 83
 Table 39: Who the child beggars beg with

Who do you beg with?

Male Female Total

Alone 212 61 273
With Family members 25 25 50
In a Group/friends 151 131 282
Total 388 217 605

Table 40: Objects used for Begging

Objects used for begging
Objects Male Female Total
God Idol 58 27 85
Utensil/Bowl/Katora 40 17 57
Handicapped/Bandage/injury 14 0 14
Musical instrument/Dhol 10 0 10
Acrobats 0 2 2
Blind 1 0 1
Cleaning Cloth 2 0 2
Baby/younger child 5 9 14
Flowers 0 1 1
Mazaar Chadar 3 0 3
Medical prescription 1 0 1
Monkey 4 1 5
Sell Balloon 1 1 2
Sell Flowers 1 1 2
Weighing Machine 0 1 1
None 248 157 405
Total 388 217 605

84
Table 41: Problems faced during begging

Problems faced during Begging

Male Female Total
People Ignore, Beat and Harass 126 57 183
None/Not Replied 124 114 238

Data Tables and additional Charts

Police beat/Shoo away/
Ask for money 65 21 86
Older children Beat/Snatch Money 36 11 47
Dogs create trouble 16 4 20
Dogs create trouble 16 4 20
Sexual Harassment 1 3 4
Don't get enough 8 2 10
Druggists Harass 1 1
Others 11 5 16a

Table 42: Frequency of visit to a doctor

How Often do you visit a doctor

Male Female Total

15 days 0 2 2
Every 2 Month 0 1 1
When Sick 385 214 599
No Response/NA 3 0 3
Total 388 217 605

Table 43: Kind of Medical Treatment

Where do you go for treatment when sick?

Medical Male Female Total
Govt. Dispensary 126 99 225
Govt. Hospital 170 66 236
Chemist Shop 14 16 30
Private Doctor 62 28 90
Home Remedy 1 1 2
Mobile Van 8 6 14
NGO 4 0 4
None 2 1 3
Not Replied 1 0 1
Total 388 217 605
85
 Table 44: Money Spent on Medical treatment by Gender

Money spent on Medical treatment

Money (Rs.) Male Female Total

Free 129 67 196
0-50 126 99 225
60-100 84 16 100
100-150 5 0 5
150-200 1 0 1
200-250 1 2 3
300-500 5 2 7
3000 0 1 1
Doctor visits 2 0 2
Don't know/NA 35 30 65
Total 388 217 605

Table 45: Money Spent on Medical Treatment by category

Money spent on medical when ill
Rs. Rs. 60­ Rs. 100­ Rs. > Don't
Where Free 0-50 100 150 150 Know/NA Total
Govt. Dispensary 95 87 8 0 2 33 225
Govt Hospital 2 68 57 5 2 22 236
Chemist Shop 0 26 4 0 0 0 30
Private Doctor 0 42 30 0 8 10 90
Home Remedy 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
Mobile Van 14 0 0 0 0 0 14
NGO 2 1 1 0 0 0 4
None 2 0 0 0 0 1 3
Not Replied 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total 196 225 100 5 12 67 605

86
Table 46: Gender and Age Wise Daily Calorie Inkate

Age and gender wise - Daily calorie intake estimated

Male(Age) Female (Age)

Calories Male Female

Data Tables and additional Charts

Per day 6-9 10-12 13-15 16-18 Total 6-9 10-12 13-15 16-18 Total Total
0-300 8 14 12 0 34 7 8 8 2 25 59
300-600 10 31 35 13 89 12 23 16 8 59 148
600-800l 25 90 87 29 231 17 44 29 26 116 347
800-1500 6 16 8 4 34 4 5 7 1 17 51
Total 49 151 142 46 388 40 80 60 37 217 605

Table 47: Substance Abuse by Gender

Substance Abuse
Male Female
Substances No. % No. % Total Total (%)
None 153 39.4 145 66.8 298 49.3
Gutka 76 19.6 44 20.3 120 19.8
Solution, Cigarette & Gutka 72 18.6 8 3.7 80 13.2
Solution 20 5.2 11 5.1 31 5.1
Solution with others 17 4.4 1 0.5 18 3.0
Solution & Bidi 8 2.1 2 0.9 10 1.7
Ganja with others 9 2.3 2 0.9 11 1.8
Cigarette 8 2.1 0 0.0 8 1.3
Alcohol & Gutka 7 1.8 0 0.0 7 1.2
Alcohol & Cigarette 4 1.0 0 0.0 4 0.7
Gutka & Zarda & Khenny 0 0.0 1 0.5 1 0.2
Paan & Gutka 0 0.0 2 0.9 2 0.3
Smack with Others 9 2.3 1 0.5 10 1.7
Smack & Alcohol &
Cigarette & Ganja 5 1.3 0 0.0 5 0.8
Total 217 100 388 100 605 100
87
 Table 48: Substance Abuse by Age

Age Alcohol Bidi Cigarette Ganja Gutka Paan/ Smack Solution None Total
Khenny/ group
Zarda

6-9 0 3 0 1 14 0 0 14 66 98
10-12 1 4 17 5 79 0 5 35 131 277
13-15 13 3 51 15 74 0 5 70 73 304
16-18 12 0 13 8 48 4 5 9 28 127
Total 26 10 81 29 215 4 15 128 298 806
Note: Many children are involved in more than one kind of substance abuse. This table counts
number of substances abused, hence those consuming two substances are counted twice and so on.
Thus total is higher than overall sample.

Table 49: Substance Abuse vs. Family Type

Substance Abuse and Staying arrangements

Substances Alone Relatives Parents Friend Spouse Total
None 15 12 250 19 2 298
Gutka, Pan, Zarda, Khenny 9 3 102 4 5 123
Solution 10 4 8 9 0 31
Solution, Alcohol, Cigarette 49 5 34 27 1 116
Smack & Alcohol & Cigarette & Ganja 3 1 1 0 0 5
Ganja with others 7 0 6 9 0 22
Smack with others 3 2 5 0 0 10
Total 96 27 406 68 8 605

Table 50: Rate of Substance Abuse- Number of substances used per person

Rate of substance abuse

No. of Substances Male Female Total
used per person No % No. % Total Total (%)
1 109 28.1 57 26.3 166 27.4
2 79 20.4 12 5.5 91 15.0
3 37 9.5 3 1.4 40 6.6
4 10 2.6 0 0.0 10 1.7
None (0) 153 39.4 145 66.8 298 49.3
88 Total 388 100 217 100 605 100
Table 51: How Substances are Procured for Abuse by Children
How substances are procured for abuse by children
Beg 28
Shop 225

Data Tables and additional Charts

Friends 33
Family/Home 9
One Person 12
Sibling 2
NA 296
Total 605

Table 52: Facilities at Dwelling Place

Facilities at Dwelling Place Count of

children

Toilet 37
Drinking Water 78
Toilet, Drinking Water 78
Toilet, Bath & Drinking Water 41
Toilet, Food & Drinking Water 13
Bed, Toilet, Bath, Drinking Water 9
Food & Toilet 9
Toilet & Bath 4
Bed & Toilet 1
Toilet, Bed & Food 1
All of the above with TV 2
No Facility 327
Not Responded 5
Total 605
89
 Table 53: Source of help when the children are in trouble

When in problem who helps them?

Parents 188
Friends 144
Relatives 54
Police 44
NGO 23
Community 11
Spouse 5
Older Beggars 9
None 127
Total 605

Table 54: Who abuses Child Beggars

Who abuses child beggars?

Family 100
Friends 71
Friends & Family 22
Older Children/ Other Beggars 23
Neighbours & Community 24
Police & Family/ Friends 22
Police & Other people 5
Police 76
No Response 11
NA 251
Total 605

90
Table 55: Nature of Abuse
Nature of abuse
Abusive Language 39
Physical Beating 141
Beat and Abusive Language 97
Deprive Food and Beat 3

Data Tables and additional Charts

Drink and Abuse/Beat 18
Beat & Snatch Money/Food 23
Sexual Harassment/Abuse 4
Beat and arrest 1
Turned out of the house 4
Others 12
Not Specified 12
NA 251
Total 605

Table 56: Help desired from the Government

What help do they need from the Govt.
Home 167
Jobs 53
Education 44
Skill Development 10
Food & Shelter 17
Care/Medical support 6
Home & Education 3
Home & Job 21
Food & Financial Help 62
Home & Financial Help 17
Education & Financial Help 2
Sewing Machine 17
Identity Proof 4
Job & Food 11
General Help/All 37
None 32
Don't Know 102
Total 605

Table 57: Any Organisations children are associated with

Which organization are you associated with, if any?
Aanganwadi 1
Organization for the Blind 2
NGO 21
Night Shelter 7
None 574
Total 605 91
Appendix-2 Schedule A– Survey of Child Beggars

SURVEY OF CHILD BEGGARS

Name of the District:____________________________________________________

Area/ Colony/ Basti: _____________________________________________________

Place where child beggars were found:

Religious places: Bus terminals: Railway station:

Tourist places: Subways: Red lights:

Any other: Specify:______________________________________

Type of child beggars: Handicapped (Nos.) :__________________________

Normal (Nos.) :__________________________

Babies in Arms (Nos.):__________________________

Sex wise distribution: No. of Boys:___________ No. of Girls:___________

Time of Survey:

Morning: Afternoon: Evening:

Signature of surveyor

Name:

Date:
Appendix-3 Schedule B- Interview Performa

Interview Schedule
Name of the District:__________________________Sub Division:___________________
Name of the Investigator:_____________________________________________________
1. Social Profile of the Child Beggar:
a. Name:______________________________________________________________
b. Sex of the child: Male: Female:
c. Educational status: ____________________________________________________
d. Did you go to school? Yes: No:
e. If yes, why did you leave school?________________________________________
f. If not studying, why?___________________________________________________
g. Present Age of the child in Years:________________________________________
h. Do you have birth certificate? Yes: No:
i. Age at which the child started begging:___________________________________
j. Native place:_________________________________________________________
k. Present place of dwelling in Delhi:_______________________________________
l. Dwelling provided by: Government: NGO

Religious Place Self

m. Why did you leave your home?__________________________________________
n. Mention your other activities besides begging?_____________________________
o. Do you have any identity proof?
Ration Card: Aadhar Card:
Any other: Specify:____________________________________
2. Details of Family:

a. Type of Family: Joint: Nuclear:

b. Do you have parents (alive)? Yes: No:

c. Staying with whom? Staying alone: with parents: relative:

Any other, Specify_________________________________________
Specify your stay arrangement:
Open space: Footpath: Park:

Any Other: Specify_________________________________________

Sheltered: In home: Night Shelter:

Dharamshala: Temple/Mosque/Gurudwara/etc: Others:

Specify?_______________________________________________________________

Facilities at the place of living: Toilet: Bath: Bedding:

Drinking water: Food: Others: Specify_______________

d. Where are your parents staying? In Delhi in Village

e. If staying alone do you visit your parents? Yes: No:

If no, why Specify:___________________________________________________

f. Age and Occupation of the Father:_____________________________________
g. Age and Occupation of the Mother:____________________________________
h. No. of other family members:_________________________________________
Relationship Age Occupation

3. Begging Related Information:

a. How many members of your family are begging?_______________
b. Reasons for begging:______________________________________
c. Has anyone asked/forced you to beg: Yes: No:
If yes, Specify who:_____________________________________
d. Area where child was found begging:_________________________
e. Do you have to pay for the place where you beg? Yes: No:
f. If yes whether in cash or kind?______________________________
g. How much do you earn per day?_______________________________________

h. How much money you spend on:

Food Clothing Stay Entertain-ment Any other

Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

i. Are you able to save some money? Yes: No:

If yes, how much specify amount: ______________________________________

Do you have any Bank Account: Yes: No:

If No, where do you save the money: Shopkeeper: Friend:

Any Other: Specify:__________________________________________________

j. Have you ever taken loan: Yes: No:

If Yes: how much:________________ From whom:________________________

Purpose for which loan taken:_________________________________________

Interest if any ? Yes: No:

If Yes, How much interest due/paid ? ___________________________________

Have you paid back the loan? Yes: No:

If No, How much loan is outstanding?__________________________________

k. Number of hours you are able to sleep:_________________________________

l. What time you wake up?______________________________________________

m. Time at which you start begging:________________________________________

n. How many hours do you spend on begging?_____________________________

o. What is your daily schedule:___________________________________________

p. Do you beg alone or in group?_________________________________________

q. What do you do when not begging?____________________________________

r. Objects used for begging:_____________________________________________

s. Whether any child used as object for begging:____________________________

t. Methods used to approach people for begging:________________________

u. Problems faced during begging:____________________________________
4. Aspirations of the Beggars:

a. Do you like begging? Yes: No:

If Yes, Why?._____________________________________________________________

b. Do you want to leave begging? Yes: No:

If no, state reasons:________________________________________________________

c. Are you interested in studies? Yes: No:

d. Do you go to school? Yes: No:

If No, do you want to go to school: Yes: No:

If No then Why?__________________________________________________________

e. Are you willing to take some skill training: Yes: No:

If yes, what type of skill? __________________________________________________

If No, Why? _____________________________________________________________

f. What will happen if you don't beg?__________________________________________

g. Are your areas specified? Yes: No:

h. If Yes. Who specifies the area? _____________________________________________

5. Nutrition and Health Status of the Child:

a. What do you eat:

i. In Breakfast:_________________________________________________________

ii. In Lunch:____________________________________________________________

iii. In Dinner?___________________________________________________________

b. When sick where do you go for treatment? Govt. Hospital:

Dispensary: Pvt. Doctor: NGO:

Any Other: Specify:__________________________________________

c. How frequently do you visit a Doctor? _______________________________________

d. How much money you spend for treatment?__________________________________

e. Have you had any serious illness? Yes: No:

If yes, specify:____________________________________________________________
f. Who takes care of you when ill?_____________________________________________

g. What kind of substance do you take?

Smack Solution Liquor Ganja

Cigarette Gutka

Any other, Specify: ________________________________________________

h. Who introduced you to drugs? ______________________________________________

i. How do you manage to get these drugs?_______________________________________

6. General Information:

a. In case you face any problem who helps you?

Police: Friends: Family: NGO: None:

b. What do you want to do in your life_________________________________________

c. What help you expect from government?_____________________________________

d. Who is your role model and why?___________________________________________

e. Are you associated with any organization?Yes: No:

f. If yes specify the organization and your involvement:__________________________

g. Are you abused by anyone?

If yes, specify who abuses? Yes: No:

Police: Friends:
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