Voice of the Elderly in India

Contents: Preface. Foreword. 1. Situational analysis of elderly in India/S. Siva Raju. 2. Demography of ageing in India: levels and trends/S. Irudaya Rajan and Sabu Aliyar. 3. National and international efforts for promoting the situation of older persons: a review/S.D. Gokhale. 4. Programmes and schemes for senior citizens of India: a review/Gururaj Mutalik and Vinod Shah. 5. Senior citizens and collective action: a beginning/Vyasamoorthy. 6. Elderly issues: a few voices of senior citizens groups: senior citizens groups. 7. Networking of organizations working on elderly issues: a case study of Mumbai/S. Siva Raju. 8. Genesis of the senior citizens movement and the role of the All India Senior Citizens confederation (AISCCON)/R.N. Mital. 9. Some reflections on senior citizens issues: way ahead/S. Siva Raju. Appendices.

Attempts to focus on elderly issues are made from time to time but such efforts are isolated localized and have not brought significant results for enhancing their quality of life. Under these circumstances the initiative of All India Senior Citizens Confederation AISCCON to bring the agencies involved in the care of the elderly working in different parts of the country to raise issues at various state district local levels is noteworthy. One such effort included forming the Joint Action Committee JAC along with other organizations and observing a day of awareness on August 16th 2010 on various elderly issues. In this regard an attempt made by AISCCON to bring out a volume as an information base for understanding the background issues policies and programmes and need for networking of the senior citizens across the country provides us a valuable platform from which to collaborate amongst different senior citizens groups in our country. Thus the volume presents the voices of senior citizens from different socio-economic backgrounds and from different areas across the country to plead a common cause.
 
The book briefly highlights issues of the elderly and provides a glimpse as to the major areas the Government and civil society need to address. Besides it mentions those sectors where a new inclusive approach for better services at affordable rates is required. Such issues are represented based on the voices of senior citizens across the country from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala providing a wide perspective of those residing in different parts of India. This volume symbolizes the first effort towards the goal of strengthening the collectivity of senior citizens. It demonstrates that the elderly are active agents in asserting their own needs as well as a significant resource in constructing a progressive India. This book brings attention to an issue which is important for all stakeholders in different sections of society to look at how each of us has an important role to play in taking care of the elderly in our society. (jacket)