As we let some die, do we ourselves remain alive?

Have you ever looked into the eyes of a destitute (beggar) who asks for alms and said ‘No’ without any anger? Well, you might say, 'Ah, I was busy with my friends...I was near the red light...blah blah blah. But was this the only reason why you just 'ignored'? Wait. Before I go in detail let me tell you how I thought of talking about it.                                                                                         Where do I go?

(Photo Credit: i.telegraph.co.uk)

                                    One week ago, a report was published in ‘mint’ that on an average ten homeless people are dying on the streets of Delhi every day mostly due to hunger. I am someone who always chooses to give a coin or two to at least a few beggars who come across. I became a bit more generous after reading the article. So, far away from the mad rush in Delhi where people do not have time to think about themselves, I was sitting at the railway station in Anand (Gujarat) yesterday. I had a rare occasion after a long time to observe for almost two hours a couple of beggars there as was waiting for my train.

    ‘De do kuch…khaane ke liye nahi hai’, asked an old women beggar to a man who looked quite well to do. The women persisted to ask the man for a penny and the man kept denying until she left. But for the time being she was there, the man never looked into her eyes to say a ‘No’ or say anything else with conviction. The man was uncomfortable in denying her anything as he kept asking her to go away!                                                                                                             

I always feel a similar discomfort whenever I have to deny alms. I know many of them are begging as a profession and not because they have nothing else to do. I know many of them do not beg because they don’t have food and cloth but because they want to go to a movie or smoke or wine or have drugs or just have some extra money. I also know that the contempt for beggars is not altogether unjustified. But before seeing the 'this' or 'that' perspective, the shades in between are too much important to be just ignored! And trust me those who die are not part of any beggar’s gang or ‘beg-to-enjoy’ beggars but those who really need food and shelter.
So, why do these people die? Is it simply because of population explosion? Is it simply because of high inflation? Even if these are the reasons, are we, the rest of us not to be blamed? There are many poor families who do not have any children. The fact that the class with the ‘voice’ is not getting affected does not make their misery an evil.
For all the big dreams that we all genuinely possess, the breakdown of social system and family values, the growing disdain for the old, the poor and the helpless and the increasing needs of our consumer driven lifestyle is where lies the roots of this artificial disaster.
We all have right to pursue our individual aims but the fact that more and more people dying even as the rest of us are getting rich and powerful surely should be enough for us to realize that not all is well with the way we are building modern societies.

My train was about to come and I was standing near that man. He smiled and asked, ‘Aapka reservation AC me hai?’ I smiled back to nod and see the guilt in his eyes still trying to escape. I remembered the famous couplet of Kabir:

Rahiman ve nar mar chuke jo kahin mangana jai!
Unte pehle ve mue jin mukh niksat nahi..........

(Those who go to beg anywhere die before begging, but those who deny alms die even before them.)