Q: What is 'Ageing' ? Discuss the major problems of aged people in India.

Model Answer:

Ageing is a social construct redefining social roles, status, and power. Driven by the Demographic Transition Theory, India is shifting from a traditional Gerontocracy (where age equaled authority) to the modern marginalization of its elderly population.

Sociological Problems of Ageing

• Economic Marginalization: Sylvia Vatuk notes the transition to an urban wage-labor economy strips elders of traditional productive roles and economic authority, causing profound status loss.
• Kinship & Care Deficit: A.M. Shah argues that despite persisting functional jointness in families, nuclear living and youth migration create a physical “care deficit”, fundamentally altering the traditional intergenerational contract.
• Intersectionality: S. Irudaya Rajan highlights the “Feminization of Ageing,” where elderly widows face a “Triple Jeopardy” of age, gender discrimination, and lack of property rights.

The LASI report reveals rampant elderly multi-morbidity and pension exclusion. Consequently, the MWPSC Act, 2007 attempts to legally enforce filial piety, exposing severe strains in modern kinship structures.

Conclusion

Addressing India’s ageing crisis requires shifting from a charity-based welfare model to a rights-based framework, integrating the elderly as active participants in society rather than passive dependents.