How can the plight of the elderly be removed in the last phase of life
Indian society is known for the service and respect of its elders. Of the three debts that have been said to not be released without repayment, one of the debts is also of the parents. That is, the service of the parents who raised them in old age is considered the highest value. But it seems, these prices are going to materialize. Complaints about parents, disrespect to their elders, not taking proper care of their maintenance, harassment etc., are heard a few times in the society, but the evidence of this is also available from a recent survey. Help-Age India survey shows that forty-seven percent of the elderly are financially dependent on their families.
This survey has been studied by dividing it into several parts, in which the serious aspect is that the elderly are dependent on their family members due to lack of pension and deposit capital. They neither get proper medical treatment nor other health related things. Being financially weak, many elderly people get humiliated and neglected by their own children. From human point of view, this condition cannot be said to be a sign of a healthy society.
It is strange that the parents who spend their whole life in raising, educating, nurturing their future, in old age the same children start considering them as a burden. The truth of our own society is also that many elderly people live in old age homes in big cities. Many elders look to their children for food, water, treatment and suffer their scolding every day. How much has been written against this trend, how many films have been made, many voluntary organizations are trying to overcome this problem, but the reality is that the problems of the elderly are increasing.
Those whose children have left them and moved to other cities, their economic and emotional problems are different, those who are part of their children’s family also do not get respect. Depend on the kids for pie-pie. Many elders have spent all their earning money on building houses for children, their education, other amenities etc. and are empty handed after retirement. Even if there is some pension or deposit, it is not worth living with respect.
However, keeping in mind the problem of the elderly, the governments make arrangements for medical etc. Some governments have also made arrangements for pension etc., but all that is so insufficient that their troubles do not go away. This has once again underlined the question of social security of the people. Now there is no pension facility even in government jobs, what about private institutions.
Many people have already spent out of the money of provident fund etc. while in the job, what is left is not useful for life. Those working in the unorganized sector do not have any support for that either. Many times there was a demand to mobilize measures for the social security of the people, but no government took any practical step on this. In the coming times also, the face of social security from the governments is not visible. How can the plight of the elderly be removed in the last phase of life.
