Editorial
HC rule on begging-related violence
A duty to protect the weakest
Following hair-raising media reports of children being brutalised, maimed and forced into begging, comes a welcome suo moto rule from the High Court on the government for its inaction regarding such incidents. The court has also directed it to take measures against the culprits.
Yet again, the courts have had to come to the rescue of basic human rights to life and security after a human rights organisation sought legal recourse in the matter. The ruling is certainly positive. However, it must be kept in mind that, though the onus may be on the government, the responsibility of preventing these horrific crimes lies with the law enforcement agencies. They do not require -- indeed, they should not have waited for -- a court order to induce them to do their duty. In an ironic twist of circumstances, the agencies that should have taken action against the crimes, will now have to prove why their inaction should not be considered illegal. True, RAB has busted a gang, but it can be safely stated that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The rackets that exploit and violate the poorest groups must be unearthed and dealt with a heavy hand.
Abduction and rape of young girls, forcing them into prostitution, and maiming of boys, resulting in a helplessness which can only be offset to an extent by begging, are extreme case scenarios. However, physical violence is not the only or even the prime factor that compels children to beg for a living -- abject poverty is. According to a survey carried out in 2005, Dhaka is home to some 27,000 beggars who earn 100 taka per day on average, while those in regional towns earn much less. Begging -- which is restricted in the capital by the Dhaka Metropolitan Ordinance 1986 but which remains unimplemented, as also pointed out by the court -- is the last resort in the struggle to survive. A parliamentary bill passed in early 2009 also outlawed begging, putting a one-month jail sentence on those caught in the act and the government has even pledged to eliminate begging within the five years of its tenure. In order to strike at the root of the problem, however, the most vulnerable groups in society must be lifted out of extreme poverty. Socio-economic programmes are necessary for their economic uplifting and social security. Until this happens, the concerned agencies and the government at large have the fundamental task of protecting the weakest members of society from even greater dangers than those already dealt them by fate.
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