Aged Population and Social Disability in Rural South India: The Social Exclusion and Inclusion Perspective

Ageing is a natural process that begins at birth, or to be more precise, at conception, a process that progresses throughout one’s life and ends at death. With prolonged human life, reduced mortality and fertility rates due to recent developments in science and technology, ageing has become a global phenomenon in the 21st century. World Health Organisation (WHO) views ageing as a privilege and a societal achievement. This process started in developed countries and slowly shifting to developing countries like India with increase in number of graying population. Elderly life is considered or assumed as a burdened life, full of struggle, illness, depression, exploitation, abuse etc. Traditionally, the joint family took care of the aged but rapid urbanization and the migration of persons from rural to urban areas have created a vicious situation. In the absence of the ability to earn, and without community support, in the form of kinsmen or the extended family, the aged are rendered destitute. It is also evident from Indian data that 40% of the elderly live below the poverty line and 90 % are neither covered by any state pension nor have any family to take care of them. Increased rate of survival beyond 60 years have implications for financial burden from both family as well as state. Social disability is the unproductiveness, redundancy and social maladjustment to the environments. This paper aims to underpin the socio- economic inequality that exits among the elderly poplation and causes social disability. Also it exposes the determinants of poverty and discrimination among elder people in the study area. And analyze about the social, economic and psychological problems experienced by old persons and advocate an action plan for effective implementation of welfare, care and support of the aged populations in the study area as part of social intervention.