Our vulnerable Senior Citizens
Crimes against the elderly have escalated in Tamil Nadu, with NCRB data showing 152 were murdered in 2018 alone, the highest in the country. The startling statistics also talk of 229 theft cases, proving how easy a target the elderly have become in the state. The most vivid image that comes to mind is of an elderly couple in TN’s Tirunelveli district using sticks, slippers and a lot of bravery to chase away armed robbers from their front porch. A son was reported to have killed his elderly mother over something as trivial as denial of alcohol in a village in Theni. The struggle of senior citizens to safeguard their life and property shows the neglect they are subject to.
Why is it that governments are unable to take care of their ageing population? The TN government passed the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act in 2007. This Act aims to ensure that parents/legal guardians get maintenance allowance from legal heirs. If a parent is unable to maintain himself/herself from own earnings, he/she can apply for maintenance from legal heirs. The law ensures that the application has to be looked into within 90 days. It also entails a fine of `5,000 or imprisonment for three months or both if children abandon their parents. A GO has also been passed in 2016 for a nutritional meal programme to be maintained by old-age homes run by NGOs. Though there are safety valves in place, there seems to be a distinct lack of sincerity in implementation. It is chilling to realise that senior citizens are being thought of as disposable.
With the increase in the number of nuclear families, and children increasingly living away from their parents and even settling abroad, the latter are deprived of their support system, especially when they grow older. Nearly one-fifth of India’s population is likely to be over the age of 60 by 2050. The aged are among the most vulnerable sections of the population. It is the responsibility of their children and the society—in that order— to take care of them. Children should remember they not only have rights, but also duties towards their aged parents.