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| Abandoned Parents and Senior Citizens | | | Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
The transformations from living under one roof (a joint family system), now emotionally stand torn apart to living in a unitary system of families. The gap is widening and mutual co-existence getting unbearable. In many cases the old parents and Senior Citizens are abandoned by their grown up children and care takers. For most people, it's unimaginable for a grown man or woman to choose to stop all contact with their parents. The people who provided food, clothes, and shelter, volunteered at school, don't deserve to be abandoned in their old age. We find that parents always hold their children in their closest circle of relationships. But those children when grow up to have children of their own, who fill their parents' closest circle, and the oldest generation gets bumped to the outer edges. Thus older generation loses a primary relationship. We are shocked to see the upsetting behavioral changes in next generation. The hypocrisy of our society in acknowledging the social challenge is brushed away casually. The lackadaisical attitude is justified artistically. The forlorn parents buried under stress and strain spending their twilight years in oblivion, forcing them to walk into old age homes to survive the onslaught of servitude. The desertion of old fraternity charges us that: The way we treat our parents/Senior Citizens causes them physical and emotional pain. We are responsible for causing them to develop depression, obsessive thoughts, low self esteem, aggressive and self destructive behavior, distrust of entering relationships, isolation, anxiety, panic attacks and even obsessive thought of suicide. A word of caution comes from Richard A. Gardner, MD who wrote a book titled "The Parental Alienation Syndrome". Dr. Garner said "Only terminate your relationship with your parents in the most extreme of circumstances and only then after careful counseling and guidance from a professional. Your entire identity is tied up in who they are, their historical systems and beliefs trouncing around your family history." One who throws his/her parents in the Old Age homes is the cruelest person in the world. A moral duty is put on the children to take care of their parents. But nowadays what we are observing in our society is that the children are not willing to take care of their parents. They do not want to share an emotional bond with parents. These feelings might have been the concept for law makers in bringing "The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007". The act has given safe guards to parents (father or mother whether biological, adoptive or step father or step mother, as the case may be, whether or not the father or the mother is a senior citizen) and senior citizens (person being a citizen of India, who has attained the age of sixty years or above) for food, clothing, residence and medical attendance and treatment as welfare measures as bounden responsibility on their "Children" (Children includes son, daughter, grandson and grand-daughter). The obligation of the children or relative (means any legal heir of the childless senior citizen), as the case may be, to maintain a senior citizen extends to the needs of such citizen so that senior citizen may lead a normal life. Act has provided that any person being a relative of a senior citizen and having sufficient means shall maintain such senior citizen provided he is in possession of the property of such senior citizen or he would inherit the property of such senior citizen. The Act has incorporated the provision of District Social Welfare Officer or an officer not below the rank of a District Social Welfare Officer to be designated as Maintenance Officer who can be approached for securing the maintenance by senior citizen and he is under obligation to ensure maintenance. The person having the care or protection of senior citizen, leaves such senior citizen in any place with the intention of wholly abandoning such senior citizen, is a criminal act that is cognizable offence (where police officer may arrest a person without warrant as per First Schedule of Criminal Procedure Code 1973). Cognizable offences are usually offences serious in nature. If children or relatives, as the case may be, neglect or refuse to maintain a senior citizen being unable to maintain himself, the Tribunal (Maintenance Tribunal to be constituted under section 7 of the "The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007) may, on being satisfied of such neglect or refusal, order such children or relatives to make a monthly allowance at such monthly rate for the maintenance of such senior citizen, as the Tribunal may deem fit. Under the Act, State Governments have to ensure that beds for all senior citizens as far as possible be provided in Government hospitals or hospitals funded fully or partially by the Government. A step forward for indigent ("indigent" means any senior citizen who is not having sufficient means, as determined by the State Government, from time to time, to maintain himself) the Act provides for establishment of management of old age homes, to cater to the standards and various types of services to be provided by them which are necessary for medical care and means of entertainment to the inhabitants of such homes, by the government. The State Government at accessible places, as it may deem necessary, in a phased manner, beginning with at least one in each district to accommodate in such homes a minimum of one hundred fifty senior citizens. The State Government may, prescribe a scheme for management of old age homes, including the standards and various types of services to be provided by them which are necessary for medical care and means of entertainment to the inhabitants of such homes. What lacking is the rules to be framed by the Union Territory for carrying out the purposes of this Act. The provisions of this Act are to be given wide publicity through public media including the television, radio and the print, at regular intervals, what this aspect is missing. When we speak of the Udhampur, DLSA chairperson and District Social Welfare Officer Udhampur had interacted with 'Senior Citizens Club Udhampur', having the same aims and objectives towards senior citizens, in the premise of the existing Old age home run by a non political and social organization. A healthy interaction with both officers by 'Senior Citizens Club' was held and assurance of DSWO to carry on the dialogue towards establishment of 'Day Care Centre' for senior citizens appears to be frozen at DSWO level. It reflects the real intentions of the authorities responsible towards implementation of various legislations handed down by the law makers. |
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