Sunday, June 17, 2001		Article

SINCE Independence, the growth of a large number of old-age homes in the northern region is not a welcome sign as it indicates the gradual weakening of the social fabric of our society which has had a rich tradition of caring for all those in the twilight zone.

For over three decades, the city of Chandigarh was the only one to boast of having no such home. The Punjabis, in particular, and other communities, in general, living in the cities of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar were always eager to emulate this healthy trend.

Late Bhagat Puran Singh of the Amritsar Pingalwara once said, "the people of Chandigarh have been very liberal and generous in contributing towards the Pingalwara in both cash and kind, and I am glad to learn that the younger generation of the city is emotionally concerned about looking after its elders". Since such a rich tradition has now suffered a severe setback, resulting in the opening of homes for the aged, the neglected and the destitutes in some city areas, it is the need of the hour to check this attitude towards the aged.

Ageing is a universal fact and no one can escape it. During the past 10 years, increasing concern has been expressed, worldwide, regarding the health of the high-risk groups — mothers, children and elderly. The aged are one of the most vulnerable and high-risk groups in terms of health, development and socio-economic status in society. The traditional norms and values of Indian society laid stress on respect and care for the aged. The aged members of the family itself and those who had no family were looked after by the community or caste organisations through institutions like sadavarta, dharamshala, math and the village council or the panchayat. The attitude of youngsters today is more individualistic, and the unquestioned regard for authority, and respect to the elders is much less in evidence.

Unfortunately, old people are regarded as sick, isolated, feeble, and senile individuals exhibiting characteristics like dismay, shock, resignation, bitterness, helplessness, fury, resentment, memory lapses, confusion, frustration, indignity, stubbornness, rigidity, dependence and weakness.

This is the age of ageing. Unique demographic shift is taking place as more people now live beyond their sixties, which may result in a sort of ‘future shock’. The elderly, especially those over 75, make heavier demands on health and social services, and with advancing age, physical deterioration and a decrease in vitality, they exhibit greater vulnerability towards diseases.

They have a tendency to think that they are not important to the society. Added to this is the attitude of the younger generation, which makes them feel isolated.

We can reserve ground floor flats for them, and provide easy gradients and ramps wherever stairs can be avoided. We can provide community centres, where old people can meet and mix with others. Research should be undertaken on long-term perspectives. Untapped residual talents should be utilised. Relatives and dependents who once relied on their earnings should not neglect the aged and shun them with advancing age.

The migration of children in search of employment aggravates the problem as the aged are left behind without protection and supervision.

With a view to overcoming such a serious problem we can take steps like — preparation of health profiles of the elderly at the village, tehsil, and district levels with regard to their medical, social and economic development and environment; development of programmes to improve the status of the elderly, such as creating adequate opportunities for gainful employment for able-bodied elders; assessment of the physical, mental, social and economic aspects of the well-being of the elderly; revise the medical education curriculum to incorporate gerentology and geriatrics; and develop the cadre of health professionals, para-professionals and the social physicians who are committed to working with the elderly, and who live and work in both the rural and urban areas.

All human societies have some concept of life-cycles, through which people pass as a function of biological maturation. Although they are based on biological changes, the stages of the life cycle correspond to changes in social status. While initiating measures to ameliorate the lot of the aged, this biological phenomena requires to be taken into consideration by the social physicians.