15 million elderly Indians live all alone: Census

[vgane]

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With nuclear families the order of the day elderly are left to languish alone..

Most of them do not have a choice too ..

Daily management becomes a big issue for them if they are alone..

Also safety and security becomes a much bigger issue

Tamil Nadu has 25% of the elderly living alone with no one below 60 years living with them...

With children mostly living far away they do not have anyone to come to their help..

What sort of a society is this which does not take care of elderly...

With one or two children the problem may get acute in the future...

Are daughter-in-law's the main culprit who do not want to serve their inlaws?

May be the elders constant advice and nagging may be their undoing

Is there a way to stem the tide...

We have discussed this many times but may be we can look at all aspects & do another round of soul searching!


[h=1]15 million elderly Indians live all alone: Census[/h]Rema Nagarajan,TNN | Oct 1, 2014, 07.16 AM IST

Almost 15 million elderly Indians live all alone and close to three-fourths of them are women. In some states like Tamil Nadu the proportion of such 'single elders' is even higher with one in eleven of those aged above 60 living alone. One in every seven elderly persons in India lives in a household where there is nobody below the age of 60. In states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, a quarter of the elderly population lives in such all-elderly households.

This was revealed in Census 2011 data on the number of elderly people (above 60 years) and household size released this week. Of the nearly 250 million households in India, 31.3% have at least one elderly person. If we take away those elderly living alone or in elderly-only households from this number, just over 27% of households or 68 million households have elderly living with younger members. In almost 70% of households there is nobody above the age of 60.

In rural areas, almost a third of the households (32.5%) have at least one elderly person, whereas in urban areas that proportion is somewhat lower at about 29%. In rural areas, 28 lakh elderly women live all alone while in urban areas about 8.2 lakh elderly women live alone. About 12 million elderly live in all-elderly households in rural areas, while 3.7 million elderly live in such households in urban areas.

Among larger states, Jammu and Kashmir has the lowest proportion of elderly living in all-elderly households, just 5.8%, followed by Assam and Haryana with 6.5% and 8.7% respectively. J&K also has the least proportion of elderly living all alone in single-member households, just 1.6%, followed by Haryana and Punjab.

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have the highest proportion of elderly living in households comprising only those over 60 years. Chhattisgarh follows close behind with 24.2% of the elderly living in such households. These three states also have the highest proportion of elderly living all by themselves in single-member households with Tamil Nadu having the highest proportion 9.2%.

 

[tks]

With the destruction of teaching class in Hindu society and with Hindus enveloped largely in superstitious worship devoid any understanding of Dharma this is bound to happen. The west has been suffering from these problems for decades. I remember debating with someone in USA in late 1970s that such a condition will never happen in India and the person I was debating with said that with relative affluence all these issues will come.

I know a TB person (related to me) about 70 years in age who was living alone in Chennai. After his wife passed away and without any children there was no one to support him. His own sisters and brothers had their own family issues to attend to. Though he never asked anything I voluntarily used to send him money every so often. When he died his body was not found for probably a week. It is the stench that other renters in the complex made them realize he had passed away.

The பெருச்சாளி etc had consumed many of his parts like eyes etc. It is not clear if he died and then was devoured by these beasts or he fell down. One of his brothers came did the duties of a Kartha after the body was released from the Police.

Ironically he did not spend the money I had sent and instead put them in a bank and only taking the interest.
He had 'nominated' me as the beneficiary and it is about 2 lakh Rupees or more stuck for 7 years or so in a bank. I have not had the time during my visits to India (business or personal) and do not know the bureaucracy to recover this from the bank and donate to some worthwhile organization in his name.

Anyway the details of the bank account is not significant. It is that such people in wanting to live with pride do not know where to turn to. He did not even use the money I had sent ...

The plight of old is getting worse.

There are families living within India and have left them in some old people home telling them to dispose them off when they die (without bothering them).

This issue is very real and with increasing incidence of Alzheimers and diabetes the current generation of Indians in India are going to suffer the most in old age because no one wants to take care of someone who has diseases where a person cannot take care of their basic needs...The concept of nuclear family is a thing of the past.

 

[krish44]

senior citizen can do some soul searching as to why they have ended up this way everywhere , .in tamilnadu , it appears to be the highest.

most senior citizens are unable to accept the realities of modern day living and adjust to changed circumstances.

delhi is celebrating senior citizen day .

delhi haat is organising an event for them

they will be welcomed with flowers, free entry, discounted food and entertainment for them

one catch - they have to prove they are old with accepted proof of age.lol

 

[vgane]

With the destruction of teaching class in Hindu society and with Hindus enveloped largely in superstitious worship devoid any understanding of Dharma this is bound to happen. The west has been suffering from these problems for decades. I remember debating with someone in USA in late 1970s that such a condition will never happen in India and the person I was debating with said that with relative affluence all these issues will come.

I know a TB person (related to me) about 70 years in age who was living alone in Chennai. After his wife passed away and without any children there was no one to support him. His own sisters and brothers had their own family issues to attend to. Though he never asked anything I voluntarily used to send him money every so often. When he died his body was not found for probably a week. It is the stench that other renters in the complex made them realize he had passed away.

The பெருச்சாளி etc had consumed many of his parts like eyes etc. It is not clear if he died and then was devoured by these beasts or he fell down. One of his brothers came did the duties of a Kartha after the body was released from the Police.

Ironically he did not spend the money I had sent and instead put them in a bank and only taking the interest.
He had 'nominated' me as the beneficiary and it is about 2 lakh Rupees or more stuck for 7 years or so in a bank. I have not had the time during my visits to India (business or personal) and do not know the bureaucracy to recover this from the bank and donate to some worthwhile organization in his name.

Anyway the details of the bank account is not significant. It is that such people in wanting to live with pride do not know where to turn to. He did not even use the money I had sent ...

The plight of old is getting worse.

There are families living within India and have left them in some old people home telling them to dispose them off when they die (without bothering them).

This issue is very real and with increasing incidence of Alzheimers and diabetes the current generation of Indians in India are going to suffer the most in old age because no one wants to take care of someone who has diseases where a person cannot take care of their basic needs...The concept of nuclear family is a thing of the past.

You have touched a raw chord...We also know the status of the 2 status of 2 elderly TB sisters murdered in West Mambalam, a Brahmin locality by their own servants 3 years back..2 years back 2 of my relatives (mother & daughter) passed away and only the decomposed bodies were recovered..This has happened despite the mothers other children with families were living in a 5 km radius

 

[krish44]

there is no sense in lamenting alone about loneliness of senior citizen

what prevents senior citizens from networking with others ?

they deliberately isolate themselves from society at large.

I have kept talking about bonding with all many times

If senior citizens reach out to many , they will find reciprocity.

One need not be a relative to bond with . anyone is OK

for many money is hardly the issue

it is a mindset which requires a change.

a senior citizen is as safe and secure as he believes himself to be .

one can take some precautions like barricading with grills , doors with chain latches, magic eye , being choosy about modes of transport , avoiding lonely roads etc

but nothing like confidence in oneself to handle any crisis.

one should avoid reading scary reports about insecurity and live as if all are ones' friends

faith in humans is a must for good living

I prefer to dismiss all stories about senior citizen suffering.








they do not economically protect themselves and want to be at the mercy of all .

more I look at many around me , my anger rises .

most of them deserve what is happening to them.

it may sound callous.

most senior citizens are in self destruct mode.

they can pull themselves up and bond with people