Abandonment during Sunset Years – An Overview
By Bharat S. Kumar
A majority of people would well desire to live life this way, but it is sad to know that only a few fortunate ones do live and die in this manner. Old age is said to be a period full of gold and glory, provided the elderly are helped and not left alone to perish.
In a recent survey, it was stated that there are over 90 million old people in our country and this would well reach 100 million in a very short span of time[2]. Also that in 2005, the United States reported that 1.7% of their population i.e. about 5 Million people were well over the age of 85 years.[3] With such a massive number of people over an age of 60 years, only a few are stated to have adequate amenities even at this age. There are predictions that there would be around 1.2 billion people by 2025 and 2 billion people by the year 2050.[4]
Conventional norms and beliefs of our society lay stress on providing due care and attention to the elderly. There are incidents such as a lady being hacked to death in her home wherein the murder was solely committed for money. The treacherous murder conceivably occurred because of her living alone for her children had deserted her.[5] The altering face of relationships among the family members is creating uncertainty in the mind of the elderly for their care. Also, due to rapid liberation of people from the idea of a joint family system, a large number of elderly are not being looked after by their family, which was well considered a requisite for family members in the olden days. One of the plights of the senior citizens of today is that they have children who live far and away. The care of the elderly as a quintessential part of the social and cultural values is also thus losing its importance.
The only one, which was finally passed and was said to have included relevant laws for the maintenance of and the aged was in 2007, it being The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and senior Citizens Act. Although, before it the Constitution under Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 41[6] directs the state to make adequate laws, ways and means to thereby protect the elderly, still there was not adequate protection given. Though, laws present in The Criminal Procedure Code, The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, and The Himachal Pradesh Maintenance of Parents and Dependents Act do have specific mention for the maintenance and care of senior citizens, but still there was a need for a wholesome law to be present, which therefore, according to the researcher was almost achieved in the maintenance act so passed in 2007.
Abridged
SOURCE: Indlaw.com - New Delhi, India
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Please go to source for full-text. Worthwhile reading.
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