Out of 136.50 Crore Population of India, almost 13 Crore or approximately 10 % are Elders & Senior Citizen above 60 years of Age. Economically, only 1 % of the Indian Population ( 1.5 Cr ) are Seriously Rich Class & another 4 % ( 5.2 Cr ) are Well Off Class. Rest 60 % is Middle Class & 35 % is Lower Class including People below Poverty Line. 65 – 70 lac Senior Citizen from Rich Class & Well Off Class have less Problems in Life because they have a fleet of Servants & Care Takers at Home. 95 % of Seriously Rich & Affluent Class as well as Well Off Class People are from Industry and Businesses & Elders of this Lot never complain because they know that the Empire they established has to be looked after by their Children and at the same time they also hold some key position in their Business or Industry till they are physically movable . 5 % of this Class have enough of Inherited Property or they are in Politics . These Elders suffer sometimes only at the time of the Property Division among their Children but they have enough in the Store for themselves too. Thus, here we will talk about the Senior Citizen of Middle & Lower Class.
The Elders from Lower Class & Class below Poverty Line are invariably found in Shelters , small homes or Slums at towns and cities / Huts in their Villages . Their needs are very limited & mostly Physical i.e. Food, Clothes & Shelter . If Children don’t fulfil these needs, they look towards others. For livelihood, many of them are seen on the Streets or begging at Temples & other public places. Throughout, they lived the same way of deprived & distressed life.
But, the needs of Elders from Middle Class are both – Physical & Psychological. They face multi dimensional problems ranging from feeling of Neglect to Dejections and Rejections . The plight of Elders from Middle Class always revolves around their struggles & achievements in life vis a vis their Expectations. Middle Class Elders forget that 20 – 30 years back during their hay days Life was not so complicated as seen today. They used to stick to One job & welfare of their families & Children was top Priority. Most of them used to feel that they were working for the well being of their families. Thus, sense of sacrifice was pasted on their hearts & minds. There were not many spending Options and Life was not so demanding . Children education was Cheap & the Standard of Govt schools was good. Schools never used to ask for hefty Deposits & Donations. Even taking a House on Rent was easy & Landlords never asked for any Deposits. Daughter’s Marriage was also not so expensive . So, they had surpluses . Home Loans & Vehicle Loans were not so popular & there was no Tension of EMIs. In Nutshell , things were cheap & they somehow managed to survive within their Income not withstanding their sacrifices.
Today, things have changed. World has become materialistic. Home , Clothes & Children Education has become un- affordable . Youth has to go out of town towards big cities for a Job . Life has become more demanding & the vicious circle of Getting and Spending has engulfed the Youth. Consumerisation & over supply of the Luxury items in Cities has enhanced the needs & Youth today puts more & more endeavour to earn more & more. Many of them even leave the country in search of greener pastures. Naturally, the Priorities have changed & the first Article left behind in this Race of Life are the aging Parents back at home. Joint families have cracked & Intransform.ind.individualism & self centric approach expects other brothers to look after the aging parents. As a result, the people who need most attention are the most neglected.
In this changed social scenario, still things are not BAD at all. Out of 8 Crores Middle class Seniors, 80 % still live with their children. Even if, they stay back at Home, they keep visiting their Children at other cities or foreign countries. Children also come frequently to meet the parents. The thread of life is firm. Only 20 % ( 1 – 1.5 crore ) are the unfortunate highly neglected Parents deserted by their children, who need care & attention by the Society & Government. There Elders are Psychologically wrenched and Physically incapable of supporting themselves. Some of them may be Retired from Service & may be getting Pension or may have other financial supports but for them also Psychological Support in the form of company to fight loneliness, Medical treatment support , getting cooked food and personal care is required.
Role of Government :- Govts in India feel that by giving a few hundred rupees as Social Security Old Age Pension, their responsibility towards Senior Citizen is Over. Concession in train & flight tickets are also like a drop in ocean. Only One commendable step has been taken by Modi Government so far is launching the scheme for Health Insurance – Ayushman Bharat Scheme. There is an urgent need for opening at least ONE Old Age Home in Every District Town of the Country & TEN such homes in every Capital towns & metro cities. Higher Budgetary Allocation to this sector is urgently needed. Large number of corporate houses are either not spending their CSR corpus or spending on Projects of their benefits. Govt must take a proper account of these CSR spends & channelise these funds towards Maintenance of these Old age Homes.
At Present there are hardly 50 – 60 well managed Old Age Homes in India but their charges are Exorbitant . Some of them are Charging as high as Rs.50 lacs + Recurring expenses from One Elder Couple. Many of the Seniors even in Upper Middle Class who spent a lot towards Construction of Good house or Expensive Children Education or for lavish Daughter’s Marriage can not afford this cost at this stage of life.
TIME BANK SCHEME of Certain European Countries :- In Switzerland & UK , Time Bank Scheme is practiced. People in their spare time, go to the Elders and help them in their day to day needs & give them company. The time they spend with the Seniors is entered into their Time Bank Account. They are also provided with Volunteers & Helpers when they grow old as per their Time Bank credits. The motto is – you help today & get help when you need. National Human rights Commission has suggested this Scheme for implementation by the Govt of India. Since 5 days
week has been implemented in most of the Schools & Offices in India, thus ,
WEAKEND IS THE BEST FOR SOCIAL SERVICE
by Capt Deepak Prasoon