Do Indians know India?

This happened during the winter of 2001 ...

I had just completed my engineering studies. Had landed a cushy software job last year itself. But the dot com bust spoiled the what had seemed to be a fairytale. Although I had never wanted to work for a Govt. organisation, my friends had made me apply for certain companies. And fortunately I did get through all the written tests. Was going to Delhi, with one of my friends, to appear for one of the interviews. We were travelling by the Rajdhani Express, the best set of railway trains in India.

After a day long journey, the train had stopped in Asansol, a place in West Bengal. It was a long halt. Passengers had got down to get some fresh air. It was dark and cold. The coach attendant threw the dinner trash in the nearby dust-bin. The moment he walked away from dust-bin, a bunch of children came running and foraged through the trash. They were hungry, poor, unclean, uneducated and perhaps orphans.

Looking at the scene a young (10 years old) asked her dad, "What are these children doing?". The dad replied, "Daughter, there are beggars in Bihar, Orissa & Bangal. They are very poor. They do not have enough to eat. So they are finding food in the trash." This family was a resident of New Delhi, the capital of India. I wondered if there are no beggars in Delhi. I wondered if there are no poor people in Delhi. Why did the dad responded the way he did?