World Elder’s Day

Give care & respect to our elders

Even as better access to health, quality of life and subsequent increase in life-span of average Indian have added to enthusiastic rise in number of elderly people in the country over the years, disintegration of joint  family system  has cut a sorry figure on state of elderly people in India. According to 2011 census, almost 15 million elderly Indians live all alone and close to three-fourths of them are women.

In some states like Tamil Nadu the proportion of such 'single elders' is even higher with one in eleven of those aged above 60 living alone. One in every seven elderly persons in India lives in a household where there is nobody below the age of 60. In almost 70% of households there is nobody above the age of 60.

According to the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), currently, India has the second largest elderly population in the world. The size of elderly population in the country has risen from 12.1 million in 1901 to 77 million to over 1.2 billion currently. By 2021, India could have 140 million elderly, while by 2050 India will have 316 million elderly persons.

Notwithstanding rise in aging population in our country, there is a substantial decline in ability  or willingness to take care for them. As a result of this, the number of elderly people living alone in the country has grown tremendously. The Indian society is progressively abandoning the traditional “extended family” – where the adult children cared for all the elders of the house. The fact is that in this jet-set age and fast prolifating nuclear families, elderly often find themselves alone, with no one to care for them.

India is also placed precariously in the world as far as well-being of elderly is concerned. According to UN-backed study, India stands a dismal 73rd in the list of 91 countries on the well-being of the elderly in a rapidly ageing world.

Though subsequent governments both at the centre as well as in the states on its part  have been doing the needful to improve their quality of life, we as individuals and families have bigger role as far as caring for our elders is concerned. We must not treat our elders as liability when they grow old as what we are today is because of our elders and we can gain a lot for their experiences and inspirations. On World Elder’s Day today, let us we all take pledge not to abandon our elders or for that matter keep them isolated. We must give them all kinds of respect and care they deserve.