Essay on Longevity – A Problem in India

The old saying of the scriptures “Jeeved Shardah Shatan” i.e. let us or wishes others to live for 100 years is coming back to India. The lack of medicinal support, early marriages superstitions and lack of understanding about diseases were responsible for short span of life. The average life span was 38 years in 1950-55 i.e. in the early years after independence.

The Indian Science Congress of 1994 threw light on the spectrum of society by the first quarter of the 21st century.

According to Kumudini Sharma the population of people in the age group 50-70 was 5.67 per cent in 1961. It increased to 6.21 in 1971 and to 7.70 in 1981. It came to 7.60 crore. Males dominated females by 4 lakh in number. With the likely improvement in medical facilities the average Indian life span is calculated as 71.5 years by the year 2025. It would mean that 27 per cent of the population would consist of the elders.

One just wonders why the longevity factor has been emulated in the scriptures. Increase in the percentage of old men means decrease in the actual number of young men. In the early fifties there were five per cent elders while the youth were 38 per cent i.e. a large number of young men and women shouldered the responsibility of old people. It is rather alarming for the youth that they will have to support 22 per cent children below the age of 14 and 27 per cent elders.

The percentage of people in the age group 15-19, the unsettled youth is expected to be 8%. With the joint family system the scene is really disgusting for the youth in the country.

The whole society is going to face disenchantment. With the European system coming to our country with a vengeance the fate of the old may not be smooth. Families have already started breaking in the urban areas.

In rural areas too after agriculture is declared an industry the western influence would peep in. Education that is lauded everywhere won't prove conducive to the physical existence of the old in the rural areas too.

According to a paper read by N.C. Das of Guwahati University "the elders in India were becoming more lonely, depressed and emotionally demoralized". P.V Ramamurthy from Tirupati suggested that a national policy should be evolved for the elders to have a respite.

Some scholars were of the opinion that the "Indian population of elders was increasingly exposed to the pressures and problems being faced by their counterparts in western countries." The standard of social values is changing fast and modernity has rather invaded proving a bane to the older generation.

The generation gap that was formerly considered a reason for the dissatisfaction is diluted among the youth. With the modern trends seeping in this gap is gradually "narrowing down and its negative impact was being reflected most in the lives of the urban aged" according to M.J. Hussain of Delhi. He rather bewailed that "modernization was delivering a telling blow on traditional emotional bonds which characterized the Indian family set up."

It is because of this disenchantment that the United Nations declared 1994 as the International Year of the Family. It may bring solace to the old in India too. Boutros Boutros Ghali, the former U. N. General Secretary stressed the role of families as "by caring for family members and learning positive social behavior together social welfare is encouraged". It can be sincerely wished that besides improving the status of women it would bring relief to the old too.