Neglected and Desperate Elderly Generation

Importance of elders in Indian culture
In foreign countries, the condition of the elderly is even worse. But in the context of India, this situation is more worrying because in Indian society, importance has always been given to the joint family, where the place of the elderly has been paramount. In today’s changing era, in the desire of small and nuclear family, the concept of joint family is getting destroyed, due to which people are getting away from their elders, while children also love grandparents, maternal grandparents. deprived of are happening.
A nationwide survey was conducted by ‘Help Age India’ to understand the massive changes in the income, health, safety, lifestyle of the elderly after Corona, which revealed that the elderly in India are largely neglected and desperate. According to the survey, about seventy one percent of the elderly in the country are not doing any kind of work and sixty one percent of the elderly felt that adequate and accessible employment opportunities are not available for them in the country. Loneliness or social isolation among the elderly in the bad times of the corona epidemic.
Due to this, the symptoms of fear and despair have increased, but the cases of suicide have also increased. The ‘Global Age Watch Index’ of ninety-six countries was released after a survey by the ‘Help Age International Network of Charities’, according to which about forty-four percent of the elderly believed that they were abused in public places, while About fifty-three percent of the elderly said that society discriminates against them. According to this report, Switzerland ranks in the world ranking of the best places in the world for the elderly.
The name is recorded as the best place, while the name of India comes under the category of worst place. India was ranked seventy-one in the Global Age Watch Index of ninety-six countries, which reflects the neglect of the elderly in India. Another survey revealed that due to the misbehavior of their own family, more than seventy-five percent of the elderly are victims of loneliness despite living in the family. More than eighty percent of the elderly live with their families, but most of them share with their daughter-in-law and son. They feel victimized. Cases of neglect of the elderly, however, are not limited to India alone.
In foreign countries, the condition of the elderly is even worse. But in the context of India, this situation is more worrisome because in Indian society, importance has always been given to the joint family, where the elderly have a paramount position. In today’s changing times, in the desire of small and nuclear family, the concept of joint family is getting destroyed, due to which people are getting away from their elders, while children also go to grandparents, maternal grandparents being deprived of love.
Due to living alone, crimes against the elderly have started increasing, while children in small families do not get the company of elders of the family, their working style is also affected negatively. The elderly population in India was 10.4 crore in the year 2011 and about 116 crore in 2016 and it is estimated that it will increase to 179 million in 2026. Another estimate is that by 2050, there will be a billion people around the age of sixty-five in the world, most of whom the elderly will be in developing countries like India, because the population here is very high. Women will also be outnumbered among older people, as they often live longer than men.
The ‘World Population Prospects 2019’ stated that while one in every eleven people in the world in 2019 was over the age of sixty-five, by the year 2050, one out of every six people in the world would be over the age of sixty-five. Will be In such a situation, being serious about the various problems of the elderly and this age. In the last step, there is a dire need to take concrete steps to give them financial support. Being isolated, at risk, anxious and alone in the Corona era, the health hazards for the elderly have also increased greatly.
Some time ago, a study on more than five thousand elderly people in a month was conducted by a non-governmental organization ‘Age well Foundation’ regarding the problems of the elderly battling the Corona crisis. Health concerns, insomnia, fear, frustration, irritability, stress, nightmares were common among the elderly, the researchers said. Problems such as feelings of emptiness, fear of viral infection, loss of appetite and anxiety related to an uncertain future have increased. IIT Madras also conducted a survey on the health of the elderly, the report of which was published in the journal ‘Globalization and Health’. According to this survey report, diabetes, blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases were found to be more common in the elderly. The shocking fact also came to the fore that only 18.9 percent of the elderly had access to health insurance and were spending more on health did not have the capacity.
In the era of corona epidemic, loneliness among the elderly has increased, which is proving to be very harmful for their health. Long-term isolation from society can cause many health problems in the elderly, such as depression and anxiety, excessive drinking or impaired brain function, dementia, etc., which can damage their immune system as well as their cardiovascular system. . Experts worry about the fact that people die early due to loneliness. of the elderly According to a report by IIT Madras on the situation, 27.5 percent of the population in India aged eighty years and above is sedentary and about seventy percent of the elderly are partially or completely financially dependent on others.
Although the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme was started to some extent to overcome the financial problems of the elderly in the country and the Central Government would give two hundred rupees to every elderly person above the age of sixty years and the elderly above the age of ninety nine. five hundred rupees to Monthly pension provision was made. Surprisingly, there has been no major change in the pension amount despite the continuous skyrocketing inflation. Although it was increased slightly by some states by adding some funds on their behalf in this central scheme, but in a report of the Pension Council, it has been told that even today about 5.8 crore people are not getting pension.
However, the society needs to be serious about the various problems of the elderly and help them to live a better life by becoming their support in adversity. There is a need to provide a positive environment. Even if the elderly become physically weak in old age, it is the duty of the family members to take care of them with full respect. Apart from various diseases in old age, it is normal for physical condition to change including problems like knee and joint pain and twisting of the spine. For the elderly to get relief from such problems, it is very important for them to get proper nutrition.