AGEING IN INDIA
Ageing
is a universal phenomenon and a natural biological process of life cycle. It is
a period when people move away from previous, more desirable periods or times
of ‘usefulness’. It is not a disease which can be cured. According to Hurlock
(1981), old age is the closing period in the life span. Age, sixty is
considered as the dividing line between middle age and old age. However, it is
recognized that chronological age is a poor criterion to use in the making of
the beginning of the old age because there are such marked differences among
individuals in the age at which ageing actually begins.
The
twenty-first century is often called the ‘age of ageing’. One of the world’s
greatest challenges of the present century is the enormous increase in the
absolute numbers and proportion of the older person in the world. According to
United Nations projections, by the year 2050 the number of older persons is
expected to increase more than threefold from 600 million to almost 2 billion.
The relative weight of older persons is projected to double from 10 to 21 %.
The Increase will be greater and most rapid in various countries in Asia and
Latin America.
Ageing
is intrinsic to demographic transition. Thus demographic transition leads to
ageing and ageing leads to transition in the mode of support of the elderly,
from the family to the individual and society. The status of the aged in
contemporary times has changed perceptively. Rising costs of living, problem of
housing, coupled with desire for and dominance of materialistic fantasies have
added to the problems of the families resulting in the neglect of the elderly.
1.1
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The elderly people face
various Social, Economic and Health problems.
1.1.1 ECONOMIC PROBLEM
Social
security is the crux of the old age security and social security presupposes a
sound Economic base. In this sense Kerala’s economic structure cannot be
considered as supportive of sound social security net. The problem of Economic
security is more acute among sustainable households in rural India. However, it
is more important to know the share of the older population in work
participation. Since the majority of the workers are in the unorganized sector
where there is no statutory retirement age, these persons could continue to
work even after attaining the age of sixty years and for as long as their
health would permit and the economic condition prescribed.
1.1.2 HEALTH ISSUES
Health
problems are supposed to be major concern of the elderly as older people are
more prone to suffer from ill health than the younger ones. It is generally
observed that the younger ones. It is generally observed that ageing is
accompanied with multiple illness and Physical disorders resulting in huge
health expenses. Besides physical illness, the aged and more likely be victims
of poor mental health. There are also certain psychological problems related to
retirement. The sick elderly lack proper familial case and at the same time
public health services are insufficient to meet the health needs of the
elderly.
1.1.3 SOCIAL PROBLEMS
The
elderly seems to have been deprived of certain needs in the wake of nucleation
of family structure and sudden retirement adversely affects the aged people.
The elderly in nuclear households have a feeling of helplessness. With the lack
of family support, they resort to stay in old age homes, which are serving as
alternative care givers to those who are unable to obtain familial care.
1.2
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Kerala’s
population is ageing more rapidly than in other Indian states. With about 10%
of the population already aged over 60 years, Kerala had an estimated 3 million
older people in 2001, whose number will get doubled by 2025. Kerala, very
approximately, fits the situation both of “ageing at the base” and “ageing at
the apex”. The former occurs when there is a steep fall in the birth rate,
decreasing the proportion of children in the population, and the latter takes
place when mortality at older ages declines, thus increasing the proportion of
the aged in the population. However, in the case of Kerala, while both the
process are in operation. It is much more the reduction in the birth rate than
the decline in mortality that has contributed to population ageing.
Though
ageing population is regarded a sign of economic prosperity, it possess certain
problems on the government and the society. The main reasons for this are being
the growth of dependent population and reduction in the number of work force.
The rehabilitation and care of senior citizens casts a heavy burden on the
government and society. With the growing number of elderly, their demands and
needs are on the increase. Apart from that, there are many socio-economic
problems associated with ageing like living arrangements, health issues, etc.
The disintegration of joint families has intensified the problems of the aged.
Institutions like old age homes and day care centers have emerged to ensure
family protection, economic well being and care for the elderly. For instance,
Kerala has 209 old age homes in India, the highest number in India.
With
this backdrop, the study attempts to explore the various socio-economic
problems faced by the aged people focusing on the areas of deprivation and
economic well being.
1.3 CONCEPTUAL FRAME
WORK
The
term “Age” has been set by the society. Several studies have tried to define
the concept of ageing and old age. Weismann A (1889) the German biologist and
theorist of the 19th century was the first person to evolve some
revolutionary arguments to explain ageing. He came up with a theory called
“Theory of Programmed Death”. Alexis Carrel and Ebeling (1913) have offered
some explanations in this regard. These are some of the biological theories
that are in existence to explain the process of ageing.
‘Ageing’
in simple terms refer to the relative increase in the number of aged persons
and a relative decrease in the number of aged persons and a relative decrease
in the number of young person’s as a result of demographic transition. In
India, the aged population is defined as those who have completed 60 years of
age rather than 65 because the retirement age falls between 55 and 60 years
(Irudaya Rajan, 1999)
Ageing has been viewed
differently by different people.
According
to Peter Medawam (1946), ageing is the byproduct of natural selection.
According to him, is non-adoptive trait because natural selection is negligent
of events that occur in a few long-lived animals that provide little additional
contribution of offspring numbers.
The
United Nations has defined ‘Aged’ population on the basis of proportion of
persons over 65 years and those population with more than 7% over 65 years are
‘aged’.(Kuroda, 1983).
Bassili
and Reil (1981) found that young adults stereotype old people mainly in terms
of age. The ‘old age’ stereotype that emerged consisted mainly of the following
attitudes. They are Conservative, traditional, present-oriented and moral.
Whether a person’s thinks of himself as young, middle-aged or old will depend
upon many things - not merely his calendar age, but also his physical health
and outward appearance, the ways he is treated by other people and the
prevailing social norms and attitudes regarding age difference.
In
Indian literature, the aged are generally termed the ‘vridha’ (Advanced). Four
types of vridha are found described in ancient Indian literature:
v Tapo Vridha = Advanced in penance
v Kala Vridha = Advanced in age
v Jnana Vridha = Advanced in knowledge
v Dhana Vridha = Advanced in wealth
Old
age has been defined variously in different societies and also cross-
culturally. It is relative concept and different meanings have been attributed
in different contexts. A complex of combinations of demographic, economic and
social factors affects differentiation in this sphere. On the basis of these
contextual variations, the term ‘old age’ can be defined broadly under three
different heads.
1.3.1 PHYSICAL AGEING
Physical
ageing is defined on the anatomical and physiological changes that take place
in the life of an individual with the passage of time.
American
Gerontologist, Lassing (1972), defined old age as “a process of unfavorable
progressive changes correlated with the passage of time, becoming apparent
after maturity and terminating invariably in death of the individual”.
Charles
Becker (1959), views ageing “as those changes occurring in an individual as a
result of the passage of the time”.
The
above definitions imply that there is a gradual degeneration of tissue and
cellular atrophy resulting in progressive degradation of physiological process.
Such changes are though generally related to the chronological age, they are
more often “conditional by the nutrition and health as well as housing and
employment facilities in a country or a social group within a country”. (Fernandes,
1982)
1.3.2 SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL AGEING
Social
and cultural ageing are inter-related concepts, but they differ from one
another on the basis of their emphasis. (Sneha latha Tandon, 2001)
Social
ageing emphasizes the changes in the behavioural patterns and the role and
status of the individuals in the family. In the Indian context, for example,
the marriage of the eldest and the arrival of daughter-in-law in the household
could bring about significant changes in the role and status of the mother-in-law
who may start considering themselves as old.
The
cultural approach, on the other hand, gives importance to the role of the
individual during his life span. Ageing is regarded as the cultural progression
of an individual through different stages of life. According to the Hindu
tradition, the ‘Vanaprastha Ashramam’ is considered to be the onset of old age.
After completion of their adult roles of making a living, setting up of the
household and the rearing of children, it enjoined up on people to withdraw
from active life of the society,. The view of ageing is very similar to the
“Disengagement Theory” of ageing propounded by Cumming and Henry (1961), which
advocates for the gradual withdrawal from the roles and duties of the society.
In
the modern times, retirement from service heralds the onset of old age in the
case of the employees of the unorganized sector. To a larger extent, this
concept continues to influence the collective view of the old age.
1.3.3 PSYCHOLOGICAL
AGEING
Psychological
ageing is related to the state of mind of an individual. It assumes that ageing
process can be accelerated because of the stress and strains of life. According
to this perspective, a positive state of mind and continued interest in life
and things around oneself greatly helps in reducing the ageing process. On the
other hand an unfavorable and negative attitude towards the changed physical
and social conditions proves not only to be a hurdle in better adjustment in
old age but also brings about psychological more quickly.
The
health consciousness in the 90’s in the metropolitan cities is an example that
has brought about significant changes in the mental attitude of the elderly
population towards ageing. More and more people are motivated towards
maintaining a younger and healthier appearance, which helps them not only in
concealing their chronological age but also add to their longevity.
1.4 CAUSES OF AGEING
Indirect
proof that expression of genes may be involved in the ageing process was
obtained from studies on iso-enzymes of certain enzymes in the 1960’s when
methods had not been developed to study changes in eukaryotic gene expression.
Experiments in rats revealed that the levels of iso-enzymes of lactate
dehydrogenize (LDH), which is involved in energy production in cells in
anaerobic condition, decrease in various organs as the rats’ age. It was
proposed that since LDH is made up of two types of subumits (Protein chains) M
and H, which are coded by separate genes, the changes in the iso-enzyme pattern
of LDH in different organs after adulthood were due to the differential
expression of the genes for M and H subumits.
If
the expression of genes decreases in old age, can it be induced and brought
back to adult level? The levels of two essential enzymes for neurotransmission,
acetyl choline esterase (ACHE) and choline acetyltransferase (CAT), are lower
in cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum of old rats. This mainly contributes to
decreasing brain function. Administration of 17-B estradiol to old rats raises
the levels of both the enzymes to the adult level in the cerebral hemispheres
and cerebellum.
1.5 OLD AGE HOMES: CARE
FOR THE AGED
Old
age homes have no doubt contributed in providing shelter and home like
environment to aged persons, but researches have amply proved that these
institutions are no substitute to family care (Prasad, 1981). The concept of
old age homes was developed in many countries. The first old age home in India
is supposed to have been started in the early 18th century, but
information is available only from 1782 (Irudaya Rajan, 1999).
The
concept of old age was initiated in the states only 2 decades back. According
to the report published by the Department of Economic and Statistics (2005),
Kerala at present is having 209 old age homes, 21 run by government and
remaining 188 run by non-government organization. The highest number of old age
homes is found in Ernakulum followed by Kottayam and Thrissur (Report on survey
of aged 2002-03).
1.6
FOCUS OF THE STUDY
An
attempt has been made in this study to focus on the last phase of demographic
transition marked by an increase in the number of elderly persons in the
population. The study focused on the socio-Economic problems faced by people
who are above 60 years of age. According to Ryder (1965), the cut-off age
should be decided at the age after which there is an average of 15 years of
life.
1.7 OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of
this study are stated below.
1)
To study the various socio-economic
problems faced by the aged.
2)
To determine the factors affecting the
economic well-being of the aged.
3)
To examine the trends in the age
structure of Kerala over the last y 40 years.
4)
To suggest various policy measures.
1.8 METHODOLOGY
Methodology
of the study depends on the nature of the problem and the area of the study.
Both primary and secondary data are relied upon for study. Primary data have
been collected on the basis of a sample survey conducted in the study groups,
while secondary data were gathered from Census of India reports, government
publications, journals of reputed institutions, Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram, Government Departments etc. The present study is confined
to the Thiruvananthapuram district, and further only to the Uzhamalakkal
Panchayat. The survey has been done on the basis of a well-structured
questionnaire.
In
the present study, persons who have completed 60 years of age and above have
been regarded as aged. In this study 50, aged respondents selected at random
from Uzhamalakkal panchayat, have been interviewed using the questionnaire.
1.9
LIMITATION
The
present study is limited to Uzhamalakkal panchayat only due to time and
financial constraints it was not possible to conduct a comprehensive study. As
a matter of convenience, the study is confined to 50 old age respondents of
Uzhamalakkal panchayat. A total 50 respondents above 60 years of age were
interviewed. Interviewing the elderly was not an easy task. However with the
available resources, maximum possible efforts have been devoted for study.
1.10 CHAPTERISATION
The
study has been structured into Six chapters. Chapter 1, is an introductory
chapter dealing with the nature, meaning and scope of the study. Chapter 2,
provides a brief review of literature. Chapter 3, presents an overview of
ageing. An empirical analysis on the trends in the age structure of population
is attempted in the Chapter 4. Chapter 5, is the analysis chapter which
provides a socio-economic analysis of ageing. Chapter 6, is the concluding
chapter which includes the major findings of the study and some policy
suggestions.
REFERENCES
·
United Nations, 2002, world population
projections 2000 revised, Vol .3.
·
Ashish Bose (2000), demographic
transition.
·
Sharma.M.L and T.M. Dark (1987), Ageing
in India: Challenges for society.
·
Singh.A.K, T.M.Dark and M.L.Sharma (1987).
‘Work and leisure among aged Males’.
·
Punia.P.K, R.S.Malik and Deep Punia
(1987), Ageing problems.
·
Dandekar, 1996, The elderly in India.
·
Department of Economics and Statistics.
·
Alexis Carrel and Ebeling, A.H, The
permanent life of connective tissues outside of the organism.
·
Irudaya Rajan, India’s elderly, Burden
or Challenge.
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