I've always known that beggars are the ones who are the happiest people in the country. Years ago, there used to be a Memon beggar from my ancestral home town (Bhawnagar, India), who had become rich. Not knowing that he was wealthy, some of our home town residents decided to help him out, offering him a monthly stipend (which, in today's money, would amount to Rs. 5,000 a month). He had laughed and offered to contribute twice that amount to us.
I also wrote a blog on begging. I had estimated that the number of beggars in Karachi were about two to three million. Now I've come across another report according to which there are thirty eight million beggars (out of a total population of 230 million) in Pakistan. this translates to every sixth Pakistani being a beggar. Beggars make a whopping Rs. 117 trillion (US $ 42 billion every year). This makes beggars the richest class in the country.
Of course, it would be stupid to tell people not to give money to beggars. Even the government can't do anything, because the beggars must be giving a good amount of what they earn to the policemen.
Post a Comment