Bangalore human rights activists hold a candlelight vigil to mourn the dead ‘beggars’

Human Rights activists have woken to the stripping of the rights of those lodged in rehabilitation facilities in the state. A silent candle light vigil was held in front of the Town Hall on Thursday to mourn the deaths of 20 inmates of the Beggars’ Colony off Magadi Road.

“Conditions in the colony are inhumane,” said Shubha Chako, interim director of Sangama, an NGO that works with marginalised groups. “The Constitution says beggars should be confined and moved out of sight of a civilised society. Is that not against human rights?” she asks.

The candlelight vigil was supported by other NGOs like Samara, Aneka, Sadhane, Karnataka Sex Workers’ Union, Lesbit, People’s Union of Civic Liberties (PUCL) and St Joseph’s Boys High School. Boys of St Joseph’s have formed a fact-finding team. They visited the Isolation Hospital and the rehabilitation centre on Magadi Road to find the truth behind the deaths.

“Not all inmates are beggars; some of them have been forcibly put in the centre,” said Chandru, a student of the school. “Some of them have been robbed. We want to dig into this to make it public; let the world know how Bangalore treats people who look shabby or seek alms,” he said. Among the inmates are also sex workers.

“Why are sex workers locked up with beggars in Beggars’ Colony?” asked Tejaswini, a member of the sex workers’ union. “One of them was even HIV positive and we appealed to the doctor at the Isolation Hospital to hand her over to us, but he refused,” she said.

“During the FIFA World Cup, beggars in the cities where matches were played in South Africa were moved out of sight. In Delhi, beggars are being hidden away ahead of the Commonwealth Games,”  said Uma Chandru, member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

“As of now, we are planning to begin dialogues with the social welfare board.We want to give alms seekers a shelter, not just lock them up. We also want to dig into the beggars’ law, which is inhuman. We might file a PIL,” said Shubha Chako.

St Joseph’s School, which has sent out a team to find facts about the disaster, is actively involved with the activists. “We held meeting in the morning. We want to create greater public awareness of the state of the poor in our society,” said principal Ambrose Pinto.