report based on old age home visit
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Today I am alarmed to see the growth of Old Age Homes across India. Why Old Age Homes? We, once lived, unitedly as a Joint Family under one roof with different blood relatives – father, mother, grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunty, grandchildren and many more, now living a pathetic life of loneliness.
For generations, India had a prevailing tradition of the Joint Hindu Family or undivided family. The system is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same home, all bound by the common relationship.
The family is headed by a senior person called a ‘Karta’, usually the oldest male or female, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch’s wife generally exerts control over the household and minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters.
Men in such households, slowly start listening to their women folk, and in due course will be slowly drifting away leaving their parents, sisters, brothers and other joint family members to lead an independent life or life of their own choice with their young kids. Then once everyone in that family gets married and start moving away to lead their independent life, finally on one fine day aged parents will be left alone to take care of themselves.
I witnessed many aged parents who either have been ditched by their own children, or those who have no children to take care of them, and to make a living slowly started begging on the streets, in front of temples, railway platforms or goes out looking for shelter homes.
Another incident. I once visited an elderly home in a remote village in Tamil Nadu run by one philanthropic minded individual. There were about 100 aged and deserted men and women. Some are brought by the volunteers of the home from road side platforms. But many have been deserted by their own children and took shelter.
As soon as I entered the home, all the eyes started looking at me expecting something, and some even came to me and start holding my hand and some hugged me. I enquired the caretaker, are they expecting something from me, like cash or food? He immediately said, No. Then continued they are expecting the lost love from those who visit them. He told me that these elder ones still hoping that one day their children will visit the home and take them along. Hope that happens soon. This was another emotional incident in my life.
Now the importance and the necessity for such Old Age Home arises.
Many philanthropic minded individuals or organizations who after seeing the pitiable conditions of those aged person who would be begging on the streets, take them and admit them in such old age homes, which was once scarce, and now been spread over everywhere.
This problem of ignoring elders and throwing them out of the house was very much prevalent once in China. The question of how to deal with ageing parents is a mounting problem in China.
According to Chinese government statistics, more than 178 million people in China were 60 years or older in 2010. By 2030, that figure will double.
As China’s population goes grey, the Chinese media fills with stories of neglected old people. After coming to know the elders problems, the Chinese government came with a law to protect them. China’s new “Elderly Rights Law” deals with the growing problem of lonely elderly people. Either they have to keep their parents and also take care, if not if they are admitted in any Old Age Homes, they must visit them often, failing which they might face jail term.
Nowadays they are forced to live alone and are exposed to various kinds of problems such as lack of physical, social, emotional and financial support. To overcome such difficulties and to face new challenges, the Government of India has enacted Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 is a legislation enacted in 2007, initiated by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India., to provide more effective provision for maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens. This Act make it a legal obligation for children and heirs to provide maintenance to senior citizens and parents, by monthly allowance.
A senior citizen including a parent who is unable to maintain himself from his own earning or out of the property owned by him, is entitled to get relief under this Act.
How to overcome this issue? Simple. Youngsters, who are so brilliant in academics, need to spend some time daily to learn moral values of life, the practice of ethical living, the value of parents and relatives along with their academic studies. If they do so, on one day all the Old Age Homes will vanish and once again the joint family way of living blossom.
Unless the laws are enforced strictly, soon we might come across many Old Age Homes in India than normal homes.