Petition: Stop the Mutilation and Exploitation of Children for Begging in India

Many years ago, I watched a movie that depicted the horrific reality of children in India being kidnapped, mutilated, and forced to beg on the streets. These children were deliberately blinded or had their limbs cut off to make them more effective beggars. I hoped it was just fiction. 

Sadly, this nightmare is real.

According to a Reuters report from 2016, over 300,000 children are forced into begging (source: https://reut.rs/3YygpQV Other sources confirm that organized groups manipulate, abduct, and coerce vulnerable children into begging, generating large profits for their captors (source: Global Protection Cluster(https://bit.ly/3BNSwvw "Children are forced, beaten, burned, maimed, exploited, drugged and trafficked to collect alms" (source: https://bit.ly/3YtmXQH

Imagine the horror of a child being drugged, mutilated, and waking up in agony—no longer able to see, walk, or use their limbs. These children are beaten, starved, and forced into an endless cycle of abuse. How can we, as human beings, allow this to continue? 

It’s our moral and spiritual duty to demand action. Imagine if this were your own child, sibling, or loved one—the horror would be unimaginable. We cannot turn away any longer. We must call on Prime Minister Modi to take immediate, meaningful action to stop this evil.

Here’s what we’re demanding:

1. **Immediate Intervention for Child Beggars:** When a child is seen begging on the streets, authorities must act. Police or social services should intervene and ensure the child is taken to a safe, secure facility where they can receive proper care and rehabilitation. Organizations like UNICEF and Save the Children should monitor these efforts to ensure children’s safety.

2. **Public Responsibility:** Citizens must be empowered to report any child beggars they encounter, ensuring these children don’t return to the crime rings exploiting them. A dedicated, easily accessible reporting system should be established.

3. **Eradicate Begging Mafias:** The criminal networks that kidnap, torture, and exploit these children must be dismantled. Government officials must prioritize taking down these syndicates and rescuing these innocent children.

4. Quarterly Updates and Transparency - Human rights organization must report on the progress. Government needs to continue to be held accountable until the work is done.

India has implemented initiatives like "Bhiksha-Vritti Mukt Bharat" and "SMILE" to address the issue of begging, but the progress is unclear, and begging remains rampant. We need transparency and accountability from the government to ensure these initiatives are not just promises but actions that protect the most vulnerable.

Children are innocent, defenseless, and deserve our protection. We must demand that this horrific practice be eradicated and that every child in India is safe from such cruelty. Let’s hold the government accountable and ensure that India’s future is free of child exploitation and abuse.

We call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate action to stop this brutal exploitation of children.

Please sign and share this petition. Together, we can make a difference.

More sources:

• Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/hc-hundreds-of-child-beggars-on-city-streets/articleshow/99474558.cms  - "Everyone knows that the begging mafia is actively behind this menace of begging by children. They, in fact, kidnap, train, force and torture innocent children for begging". "Authorities have so far failed to take any remedial steps."
• https://newint.org/blog/2017/02/24/the-child-trafficking-and-child-beggars-conundrum
• https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd47829.pdf - How an act of survival is now shaped into satanic act by few. Children are forced, beaten, burned, maimed, exploited, drugged and trafficked to collect alms.
• https://borgenproject.org/risks-of-child-begging-in-india/