Back in January 2007, I wrote about beggars on the streets of Lahore, Karachi and the growing indifference in our society towards these extremely poor and forgotten people. Hundreds of organized gangs are operating in almost every big city of Pakistan who amputate the organs of little kids, old and young people and then leave them on streets to make good money for them. But what about the unfortunate beggars themselves?
We see them every day at traffic signals and footpaths from our car windows and most of the times just throw a coin at them and try to ignore them as they don’t exist. This level of indifference in our society is sad. May be we were put on this side of the car window for a reason, to be able to help those on the other side.
Our courts are too busy solving the legal and constitutional issues, the law enforcement agencies are occupied keeping an eye on politicians or arresting and deporting them, and all of us are too busy debating all this … but, for whom? Maybe it is those who are debating the ‘big picture’ who are really missing the big picture that can only be seen in the small pictures.
The photograph above by Jawad Zakariya, once again reminded me of the miserable life of these unwanted people in our country. Society rejects them and police harshly beats them on daily basis, adding to their misery.
Jawad writes with this photograph on flickr and I can totally relate to him as many times I must have done the same:
As I was taking photos in and around Data Darbar. This old man asked me to come over.
“Will you print these photos in the newspaper?”, he asked. Before I could explain that I wasn’t affiliated with any paper, he continued. Tell them how the police brutally beat us up all the time….and he showed me the injuries on his arms and legs.
“Why do they do that?”, I asked.
“Because we sit here begging. This is Data Darbar ! where else can I go.”
… and he started crying … print this in the paper maybe then they’ll stop … then he thought for a moment …
maybe if you print it they’ll get more angry….
another pause …
print it, maybe some higher up will see it and make them stop.“They hit old crippled men”…..”shameless animals”….”Is this why we made this Pakistan”…..”Is this Why ???”………..he kept asking as he wept.
I had no answer … I got back into my Civic … turned on the AC … and started driving away.
“Is this why we made this Pakistan?” I have asked myself this questions many times and never found an answer. Can you think of an answer?
I am very much in agreement with Mr. Javad Zakaria.However I would like to add some comments to his statements thereby strenthening his points.
The beggar in question is a frustrated individual
due his extreme poverty and the social injustice done to him by police and possibly many others.
His statement “Is this why we made this Pakistan” really has nothing to do with the formation of Pakistan and what is done now cannot be undone..But perhaps this was the best way for him to express his agony(Marta kya na karta)
Beggary is a menace both for India as well as Pakistan and it should be reduced to a minimum(if not eradicated).Since our governments are busy in many other problems
it is not quite possible to deal with this menace by legislation.A lot can be done to minimize this menace by voluntary service which is being practiced in many cities of India with the help of the Mayors of the city concerned and the support from the district Collector(D.M.). I am very sure that in Pakistan as well similar methods are being practiced.The number of beggars are considerably reduced in India and it is not going up.Recently I visited India and in some parts of India I did not see beggers at all,for example in Haryana and Punjab.The DMs and the Mayors of the cities have lot to do with this success.In the city of Varanasi Beggary is only confined to temples and there sre religious organisations who feed beggars and do not encourage them to beg.I, think that with this type of pressurs from volantary organisations on the professional beggars the beggary will be eradicated in due course of time and the amputations of the limbs will become a foregone story.
J. N. Pandey
Insaaf or Inqilaab???
-or both of them, at the same time , (for the price of one ).
Is there any justice/Insaaf in the perspective that we as Pakistani
Dear sir ,
Is this not that why we made Pakistan. there is only a difference between the pakistan and this so we are to detect out that where is ignorance or where is reality and where is reason
According to you Is this why we made this Pakistan
Our sincere great leaders and also the some of them other helpers they made that Pakistan which was in their thoughts but there thougts were only dream that could not be fulfilled by any of us
According to the Public that we have given votes to only those are are unaware of politics only to those who are involved in many case only to those who are belonging to the those poeple who mixes politics in to islam or islam into the politics so due unaware ness of the politics and democracy our nation is being to destroyed day by day
According to me Pakistan is only a contract given by Quaid -e-Azam whose work was to fulfill by our governments but they could not fulfill that mission. Now the nation which can make a new pakistan that will be known with the Pakistan.
In the ideology of Allama Iqbal By Philosophy of Quaid-e-Azam in the sight of Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan in the words Of
Zulfikar bhutto. they all wanted to plant a new pakistan as the flower on the place of heaven but in that time like as many unsincere leaders they did not want that this garden should be always twittring and sceneing the sights of flowers so they made many plans to destroy still today these poeple are living here in our pakistan and also out of the Pakistan .
what ever I am seeing with the camera and eye of Politics and leadership and the bravery of courts and the power of the army that Pakistan is in the core of problems . our enemies are hatching consparicies against us whether what ever they are but Allah will save us due to that
I pray to Allah Almighty That Oh Allah our nation is in the depth of sleep Our leaders are in the depth of corruption our government is in the depth of to oppress on the poor and to fullfill its desires Our Politics is in the depth of grave and in the grave there is dead body of the politicians
Our institutions are in the depth of ignorance
But Allah will do better for us
All of above are the causes due to which we made this Pakistan .
this photo, the title, and the man’s words are absolutely touching. mr. zakariya put it best, that the title is appropriate because this man came from the generation that fought for pakistan and because of how he is disregarded in this society that his compatriots created.
may god forgive us when we ignore them.
In the so-called “dark age”/”black middle-age” of some European countries (this era took place several hundreds years ago) , it was a coutume to “expel” / read …..isolate specific groups amongst the population due to poverty , health-deficit