The story of Ramesh Kumar, a sixty-four-year-old retired clerk, features the difficulty of Old age in India, as Kumar fondly remembers the days when every morning he ran through his clock for his office, and barely ever complained about it. He was always busy, with millions of responsibilities.
Kumar was a clerk at the local civic body in the Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, and the father of two sons, who got married when he was fifty-eight and currently living in Mumbai and Delhi.
He retired at the age of sixty and lost his wife when he was sixty-two.
He lives alone now.
Ramesh Kumar was once the chief of a big and happy family, but now he lives alone in the same house where he cared, loved, and fought for his dear ones.
Ramesh Kumar was left with nothing as he gave his everything, and that is one story among the billions showing the need for planning for old age in India.
India is home to 1.4 billion Indians with 48.67% people between the age of 15 to 40 years, that says India is a young nation, with the highest working population which will gradually decrease with time, as the population touches its peak and lowers down below 1 billion in coming 50 years.
What will happen to this 48.67% of people then?
They will be old, and India will be among the old nations of the world.
Currently, in India, nearly 15% of the population falls above the age of 55, and the condition of many is horrible when seen through the glasses of humanity.
Depression, Anxiety, Domestic Abuse, Killings, and Old age Home registration data shows how much India cares for the elderly population who once served to build India and made it stand tall where it stands today.
The current structure in India fails to safeguard its elder from Elder Abuse, and if the status is not changed, what will happen in the next 50 years when the elderly population will make up the majority in India?
In India, when asked about the Abuse that the elderly face, the data according to a study by the Indian Express article shows the reality.
Several people reported abuse from children and among them, 37% complained about misbehaving and bad treatment, 20% said that their social life has been restricted and 13% said that there are incidents of mental torture from their children.
13% of elderly people are denied basic needs including medicines, and food.
9% complained about physical abuse.
Many complained about the money they get, as they rely on their children for money, which is often denied for various reasons, and the elderly, who is completely dependent on money from their children are left in the capitalist world without any money.
Fortunately, our Ramesh Kumar of Mahoba, has a pension, but that pension facility has been stopped for the newer generation by the government, god knows what will happen then, after 50 years.
There are many legal and constitutional provisions in India to protect the right of Older Persons, from Article 41 (DPSP-Part 4) of the Indian Constitution to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007, there are various platforms talking about the need of care of the elderly population, but the reality lies in the homes and within the wrinkles of old.
India is developing and generating money like it never did in history, government’s aims are to provide comfort to everyone, but now is the high time to work on building a structure for future India, and respecting the future elders who are now busy in making India great.
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