Elder Care and Elder Abuse in India

The problem of old age in India

There are 81million older people in India-11 lakh in Delhi itself. According to an estimate nearly 40% of senior citizens living with their families are reportedly facing abuse of one kind or another, but only 1 in 6 cases actually comes to light. Although the President has given her assent to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act which punishes children who abandon parents with a prison term of three months or a fine, situation is grim for elderly people in India.

Many of them suffer in silence as they fear humiliation or are too scared to speak up. According to them a phenomenon called 'grand dumping' is becoming common in urban areas these days as children are being increasingly intolerant of their parents' health problems.

Rights of the Elderly

• Parents cannot be evicted from a house without due process of law if they have been staying there from before.There is three enactments that can be applied.
• Under section 125 of the CrPC,a magistrate can order a child to maintain his old parents under the Maintenance of Parents Act.
• The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act say an aged parent can demand maintenance from children in the same way that a wife can demand it from her husband.
• The Domestic Violence Act too provides parents with the right to seek relief from any kind of abuse.

Abridged

SOURCE: Azad India Foundation

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