Silent Cry

The problem of homelessness is not the problem of any single state or nation, similar to air pollution. There are no clear demarcations so as to confine the homeless to particular regions, the problem being exacerbated by the lack of legal identifying papers. Such problems affect not only the homeless but the entire society as a whole by way of hygiene and sanitation problems, safety and security, in terms of the strain on the resources available among others. Thus, homelessness should be a concern of everyone. Our quest for knowledge on the homeless took us on several field trips which helped us gain a practical experience of the situation and be empathetic. Currently, in India, there are a host of policies but there is no implementation in many cases. An example of one such policy is the "Indira Baksha" program-rural homeless are given a one-time government grant to build brick-and-mortar houses. However, one of the subject of our case study, Biswanath from the Eastern state of Odisha, revealed that he was yet to receive the promised money long after having started the construction process.The question remains- are we the people going to be change-makers or silent by-standers?