Elderly rights jurisprudence: tokenism vs life with dignity

From ancient to modern times, the concept of life cycle that recognised the various “ages of man”, counted old age as one of the stages of life. 

This concept of old age carried with it a relatively coherent set of expectations and experiences,  including social and cultural signals. 

However, attitudes towards the elderly have been affected by large societal changes. Industrialisation and modernisation have contributed greatly to lowering the power, influence and respect the elderly once enjoyed. 

The sway of western civilisation and the concept of nuclear family have affected this customary cycle, resulting in an imbalance. 

Parents, once regarded as Gods, lost their standing when the old Indian traditions were crushed under the new systems.

This is precisely why a legal regime has come to restore the earlier value-based principles to protect the interest of old-age persons.

The recent Supreme Court verdict in Dr Ashwini Kumar vs. Union of India is a welcome move in this direction. 

Old age population is on the rise. According to UNESCO estimates, the number of people above 60, who were approximately 590 million in 2005, will double by 2025. By then, the world will have more old than young people and this figure is expected to cross the 2 billion mark by 2050. 

There is a steady rise in the population of senior citizens in India. The numbers of elderly has increased from 1.98 crore in 1951 to 7.6 crore in 2001 and 10.38 crore in 2011. It is projected that it would go up to 14.3 crore in 2021 and 17.3 crore in 2026. 

The rights of the elderly population was not entirely foreseen by the framers of our Constitution. While there is a reference in Article 39 to the health and strength of workers, men and women, the tender age of children and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, there is no specific reference to the health and shelter of the elderly. 

Drafters may have overlooked these concerns, but the Constitution, which they handed over to us was nevertheless organic and equipped with a progressive judiciary. 

This combination affected a paradigm shift in recognising the dignity, value and importance of each person, not just as an ethical norm and moral imperative, but also as a legal principle and a societal goal.  

The National Policy for Older Persons (NPOP) 1999, declared that the concerns of older persons are national concerns and they shall not live unprotected, ignored or marginalised. 

Ensuring their well-being, strengthening their legitimate place in society and helping old persons live the last phase of their life with purpose, dignity and peace, was its main policy aim. 

However, governmental policy fell short of expectations and the Social Justice Bench of the Supreme Court in 2015, expressed its discontent. It stressed the need to revisit the 1999 Policy in the wake of Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (MWPSC).

Justice Madan B Lokur led the bench once again in Dr Ashwini Kumar vs. Union of India and reprimanded governments for their inability to ensure the well being of the elderly.  

The petitioner brought to the notice of Bench that the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), which provides Central assistance of Rs 200 per month to persons above 60 years and Rs 500 per month for senior citizens of 80 years and above, belonging to a household below the poverty line, is “pittance and wholly inadequate”. This pension should be more than just a token to ensure subsistence, consistent with the quality and dignity of life of the aged. 

The bench issued important directives for enforcement of the rights of elderly persons under Article 21 of the Constitution.

It included the status of old age homes, medical and geriatric care facilities available to senior citizens in each district and plan of action to advertise provisions of the (MWPSC) Act.

It also stressed upon the importance of making senior citizens aware of the provisions of the Act and made it mandatory for the Union government to ensure that state governments comply with the provision of this Act.   

However, this cannot be confined to the legal realm. It is a social problem too. Social gerontology is a specialised field that examines the sociological aspects of aging. 

Author is Associate Professor, NLU Odisha