Social Exclusion and Elderly Destitution: A Human Rights Perspective
Abstract
Ageing is an inevitable part of every human life. Ageing causes due to biological growth or changes in the human body. Very often elderly life is considered or assumed as a burdened life, predominantly, of struggle, illness, depression, exploitation and abuse etc. The elderly population is considered as an unproductive, non-contributing, redundant population. This paper traces the issues of elderly population both in urban and rural India under the purview of social exclusion. Elderly destitution is a process where factors of social exclusion will lead to deprivation and alienation which further push them to the state of homelessness and destitution. The major emphasize is given that, how old age care and support system becomes the need and necessity in addressing the issues of destitution in today’s context. Moreover, it identifies the social, economic and psychological reasons for deprivation, alienation and destitution among the elderly. By locating the forms of violations of elderly rights and nature social exclusion (Alienation and Neglection), it proposes an action plan to foster social support system at individual level, family level and community level which involves the prominent actors like government agencies, ngo’s and the youth generations.
