In India, from the very beginning, a child is taught to respect elders but it seems that after growing up, Indians forget the old teachings; at least this is what the HelpAge India study reveals.
A survey was done in the country on “How India Treats its Elderly – A National Study 2017” and the findings were shared on the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Unfortunately, 44% of the elder people who are part of the study state that the treatment they get in public is very bad. Around 53% are of the opinion that Indian society practices discrimination against the elderly.
4615 elder persons (2,377 men and 2,238 women) took part in the survey which was conducted in the 19 cities of India. It focused on four points – perception of elders on the ill-treatment meted out to the old, the state of mind of elders when they go out of house, their expectations from the society and the actual experiences of elders when they communicate with people.
Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar and Chennai have emerged as the worst cities when they were evaluated on these parameters; however, to everyone’s surprise, Delhi which is considered as a rude city has fared well on these parameters and proved that it has a softer side when it comes to elders. 70% of the elders from Bengaluru have asserted that they have been abused and mistreated in public places while in Delhi, the percentage of such elders is 23.
What’s more disturbing is that nearly 64% feel that it is pretty easy to escape after being rude to the elderly. The percentage of discontent is highest in Bhubaneshwar (92%) and then comes Guwahati (85%), Lucknow (78%), Hyderabad (74%), Bengaluru (71%), Chennai (64%), Kolkata 62% and Mumbai 61%, while Delhi scored only 16%.
The CEO of HelpAge India, Mathew Cherian, stated,
“The findings worry me. Elder abuse is a sensitive topic. Over the past few years we have been studying and researching elder abuse within the closed doors of one’s home. This year we decided to move out into the much broader area of public space, where mistreatment and abuse is inexcusable.”
While country head, Communications and Advocacy, HelpAge India, Manjira Khurana, says,
“The core of it all is ageism, which is discrimination on the basis of age. Few understand it, but practise it knowingly or unknowingly. Simple things like assuming elders don’t understand technology, or being impatient with elders are examples.”
Delhi has been kind to its elders but when it comes to treating elders in government hospitals, the staff is very rude and abusive. Nearly 26% of the elders have witnessed it while in Bengaluru, 22% have experienced it.
It seems that Indian youngsters need to understand that one day, they will also get old. How will they feel if they are treated in the same manner?
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