Caring for our elders

India’s population is not only growing but also ageing, with longer life expectancies and lower fertility rates. By the middle of this century, the elderly are projected to outnumber children. As of 2022, 149 million Indians were over the age of 60, constituting approximately 10% of the population. By 2050, the proportion of the elderly will double to more than 20%, with an absolute number of 347 million. By 2036, one in five people in India’s southern states will be elderly. The north-south divide, indicated by the growing size and share of the elderly population, is an important feature of India’s ageing.

In this backdrop, the India Ageing Report 2023 by the International Institute for Population Sciences and the United Nations Population Fund is timely and highlights the impact of India’s ageing population on the country’s health, economy, and society. In preparation for this increase in the number of older people, adequate policies and initiatives should be a national priority to ensure the well-being of the present and future older generations. A higher old-age dependency ratio implies a greater need for support from the next generation in terms of old-age care and meeting the social and financial needs of the elder population. Given our country’s diversity and plurality, meaningful viewpoints on the ageing process in India must go beyond demographic metrics and consider the intricate web of Indian social values, customs, and culture.

The high incidence of widowhood In India, the higher life expectancy of elderly women is an important characteristic of India’s demography. More than half of India’s women over the age of 60 are widowed, and the proportion rises substantially in higher-age cohorts. Women in India are more likely to be financially dependent on their spouses than men; hence, they experience greater adversity as a result of the loss of the spouse, exacerbating the risks of deterioration in the quality of life in their sunset years. Who older people live with has a significant impact on their well-being, especially when they have limited access to formal welfare institutions. The breakdown of joint families, the emergence of nuclear families, and the decline in informal family support systems have resulted in a growing number of older people living alone, rendering them more vulnerable than those who live with their families. The physical, economic, and social well-being of older widowed women is therefore a policy imperative. However, elderly care lacks adequate policy or programme focus.

Age-related decline in physical and mental capacities renders the elderly vulnerable to exploitation, with women at a greater disadvantage, though they outlive men. The recent Covid 19 pandemic altered the lives of senior citizens in several ways, aggravating the concerns they experience on a daily basis. Isolation and loneliness made them more vulnerable to worry, fear, anxiety, and other common mental health disorders, affecting their general health and well-being. From a psychological perspective, the loss of a sense of self-worth is perhaps the most important concern. This is often made worse by the growing and pervasive tendency towards violence against parents perpetrated by both sons and daughters and across classes. There are several reasons for such behaviour: some do it for property or financial gain, others because they do not want to take care of elderly parents. However, at the heart of the violence is the physical inability of the elderly to fight back. Domestic violence against the old happens behind closed doors, even among the affluent.

While there are numerous government schemes for the elderly and governments, at the Centre and in the states, remain committed to improving the quality of life of the elderly and protecting their rights, there are significant gaps in implementation that need addressing. Three factors that determine the effectiveness of various social security schemes specially meant for the needy elderly must be highlighted: awareness and knowledge, coverage and access, and actual utilisation of the schemes. There is a need to raise awareness and knowledge about the wide variety of social security schemes and how the elderly might utilise the benefits and concessions available to them. Even more important is to create widespread awareness about the law in place for the protection and welfare of the elderly.

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 was landmark legislation initiated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The primary objective of this law is to make the maintenance, protection, and welfare of elderly parents and senior citizens more effective. This Act makes it a legal obligation for adult children and heirs to provide for parents by way of a monthly allowance and provides an inexpensive and speedy procedure to claim redress if the children fail the parents. Under the Act, parents include biological, adoptive, or step-parents. There are also provisions to protect the lives and property of the elderly. The abandonment of a senior citizen in any place is a criminal offence under the Act.

Finally, it is important from a public policy perspective to make geriatric care responses more scientific. Credible data on the various issues related to the elderly in India is scarce, though it is improving over time. Existing data from the Census and the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) provide insights on the macro-situation of older persons in the country. Such aggregate data needs to be substantiated with micro-level studies detailing the underlying causes behind data characteristics and trends. Context- and
geography-specific studies are important to better understand the problems of the elderly in different contexts, design effective interventions, and document the best practices followed in the country.

The best way to honour our parents and the elderly in our community is to show them love and respect in their lifetime, not after they depart. Failing to care for our elders is unconscionable.

(The writer is Director of the School of Social Sciences, Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences)