INDIA: No Father’s Day for These Senior Citizens

KOCHI, Kerala (India eNews), June 18, 2006: The two dozen men at a senior citizen’s home here do not look forward to receiving a card or a call even as the rest of the world celebrated Father’s Day Sunday. At the Kakanad Sainik Vihar, an old age home run by a retired army officer, the day began as any other day. Balan, 83, does not complain of having to spend the sunset of his life in the old age home after his three sons migrated to the Middle East for better prospects. "I don’t blame any of my children because they are having their own problems and I have nothing against them," said Balan. But Peter, 80, needs family care after he was found to be suffering from a brain tumour. His mental health, too, is deteriorating. He has got his three daughters married and settled. Memories of his son, who passed away recently, keep haunting him, and he often finds himself talking to the late son. S. Irudayarajan of the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram said that just like the mushrooming growth of schools that Kerala witnessed in the 1970s, the state is witnessing the opening of at least a dozen old age homes every year in recent times. "Difficulties faced by the elderly people are going to be a serious problem for Kerala in the coming years. At present there are more than 200 old age homes with more than 7,000 inmates. "The figures are is going to rise because of the impact of urbanisation and migration. The need of the hour is a strong policy to redress problems faced by senior citizens," said Irudayarajan, who has conducted a number of studies on Kerala’s demography. According to census data, the number of people in the state above the age of 60 has gone up from 2.56 million in 1991 to 3.33 million in 2001, forming 10.5 percent of the total population - the highest ratio in the country. © 2006 India eNews Pvt. Ltd.