Panel Organizer:

Prof. Carla Risseeuw - Department of Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Netherlands

Prof. S Irudaya Rajan - Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

Abstract

Shifting inter-generation contracts, emerging institutional tensions and state policy could be key actors in understanding the implications of the process of population ageing for the social security (including pensions, insurance systems etc.), health care, institutional support systems as well as the social relations of aged people. Within this context a deeper understanding is sought in relation to the substantial differences in gender, class, caste, religions. Likewise different family and property systems, degrees of access to differing social networks, organizations and circles of friends, impact on the life of the aged, especially in contexts of large scale international migration where primary relations have migrated abroad.

Contributions are invited of disciplines: demography, anthropology; history, policy studies. The aim is to come to a publication of (selected) contributions.

Manja Bomhoff, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Elderly in Kerala: A Care Full Approach

In this paper the private care-relationships of urban well-off elderly in Kerala will be investigated. Hereby it will become apparent that care-relationships are complex and culturally influenced and not as unilateral as sometimes portrayed.
In Kerala, one can find a strong discourse on filial responsibility. However, practical reality often demands other forms of care-solutions than the ones considered most ideal. The most recurring practical care arrangements will be described and the link between discourse and practice further developed.

Syam Prasad, Centre for development studies, Kerala, India
Living Long in India: Struggles to Survive

Population ageing is one of the most discussed global phenomena in the present century. Ageing can generally be described as the process of growing old and is an intricate part of the life cycle. Basically it is a multi-dimensional process and affects almost every aspect of human life. Ageing is basically the result of a two dimensional demographic transformation which is explained by overall declines in mortality and fertility.

The Indian aged population is currently the second largest in the world to that of china with 100 million of the aged. The absolute number of the over 60 population in India is 77 million in 2001. Ageing in India is characterised by ruralization with more than seventy percentage of the elderly are living in rural India There is a concern on increased vulnerability and insecurity among the majority of the elderly in India. Paper also finds that there is high incidence of work participation among the elderly as they struggle to work on the extended years of life to attain basic living. The paper also using the NSSO data to show the economic insecurity and poverty among the elderly through the deprivation in terms of access to basic needs of food, cloth and medical care is a painful reality. The paper also highlights larger financial dependency among elderly, which adversely affect quality of life in terms of autonomy functional capability and socio economic status.

 The paper also highlights economic deprivation of elderly in Kerala which is front runner of the demographic achievement and thus in the process of ageing by using both quantitative data and specific case studies. The paper then focuses on how Indian society is traditionally based on Indian social set up that provided greater emphasis on values and family relations provided an informal protection for the elderly changed into a society with more marginalization of the aged that trap them in a situation of insecurity and vulnerability. The paper then highlights the social transformation that occurred in the society along with demographic transformation that led to more ruin of the living condition. In this context paper evaluates need and current functioning of pension system in a fast ageing society of Kerala, India.

Bharti Birla, Center for Social Research, New Delhi, India
Impact Of Globalisation On Elderly Women: Issues And Implications

The globalization has different meaning for different stakeholders. For some globalization bring new opportunities and increase in living standard, for others it may mean loss of jobs and increased migration. The elderly in this context suffer a double burden. Because of globalization, the traditional joint family systems are breaking up as the young in the family migrate for better livelihood options, leaving the elderly to fend for themselves. The existing safety net breaks and in absence of state social and health security system, the aged become more vulnerable.

India is poised to become home to the second largest number of older persons in the world. Projection studies indicate that the number of 60+ in India will increase to 100 million in 2013 and to 198 million in 2030. The challenges for elderly are more complex in Indian situation because a majority (80%) of elderly is in the rural areas, which are often left behind by migrating youth. Secondly, there is feminization of the elderly population (51% of the elderly population would be women by the year 2016).

The paper analysis the demographic aspects of aging population of India over the last decade, the challenges in context of globalization with special focus on gender aging, and existing social security measures available to them. The last section focuses on state and civil society interventions, which can make the elderly women less vulnerable leading to productive aging.  

The paper is based on census data and other secondary material from government and non-governmental agencies. A comparative analysis over the last decade has been done including the comprehensive study of the existing policies and programmes of the national and state government and existing civil society interventions in rendering services to the elderly.

One of the major impact of globalization is breaking up of traditional family system. In India, migration from the villages and towns to cities predominates, which results in breaking up of families into nuclear families. The aged who are left behind have to fend for themselves. This is leading to an increased danger of marginalizing the geriatric population due to migration, urbanisation, and globalisation. Another impact of the globalization is the increasing economic burden on the elderly, especially the women who has practically non-existent property rights and other social security measures.

It is important that the state, civil, society and community recognizes the rights and needs of the elderly women and make suitable polices, legislations and effective implementation of health and security schemes, which already exist.  Specific state interventions are required for the aged women, they being most vulnerable and for the aged who are below the poverty line. There is a need to protect the human rights of the elderly and have gender just laws and policies to ensure adequate economic and social protection during disability and old age, especially where the aged lack adequate family support.

Ageing of population is a desirable and natural aim for any society, but it should be a positive experience and according to WHO it should stand on three pillars- mainly, health and independence, productivity and protection.

K Saradamoni, Centre for development studies, Kerala, India
Ageing Becomes an Issue Exploring the Question in Kerala

Longevity is considered a positive sign by experts and governments while trying to demonstrate their achievements. Many cultures treat long life as desirable. Sixtieth and  eightyfourth birthdays are of special significance for large sections of Indians. A person who has completed her eighty fourth year is believed to have seen the moon thousand times and it is a cause for celebration.  Most cultures attribute knowledge and experience to the elderly.  Elderly women both under matriliny and patriliny received respect and status which enabled them to enjoy some amount of authority not only within the family, but also in the neighbourhood and sometimes in the community. Of course the experience was not uniform to all the elderly; it varied between class, caste and gender. On the whole the old were not seen as a special problem.

In this paper I plan to examine the ‘issues' of elderly women in Kerala. Just as I thought of this question a news item  ‘an old woman bit by a dog found dead'  drew my attention. While reports of elderly women's increasing difficulties are on the increase, a news item a few days back, supported by a photograph of an old woman aged 106 working on a computer was a matter of cheer.

This paper will briefly explore the changes that have happened  in recent decades in Kerala in the areas of land, family amd employment and in this context examine the results of an ongoing small study conducted by me in a nearby village. A dilution, if not deterioration in the status of the elderly, especially women can not be isolated from what has happened to women in general.  This is related to changes happening in the wider society.

S. Irudaya Rajan and Shanthi Johnson, Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum, Kerala, India
Health Status Among Elderly in Kerala: Evidences From Kerala Aging Survey

"Population ageing is first and foremost a success story for public health policies as well as social and economic development..."  --  "Longer life can be both a penalty and a prize" - World Health Organization

Kerala Aging Survey (2004/2005) has been completed with funding support from the Shastri Applied Research Project (SHARP) of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (Shastri Institute) and Global Health Initiative of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This survey is also a part of research conducted at the Centre for Development Studies with the financial support from Indo-Dutch Program on Alternatives in Development of the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi, coordinated by S Irudaya Rajan at the CDS. This research project has targeted health and social development as it pertains to aging population.

The study was situated in Kerala as the state of Kerala in India is an ideal setting to study the determinants of aging, given the dramatic population-aging phenomenon and the feminization of aging. From 1961 to 2001, there has been a 200 percent increase in the population of older adults with a majority being women.  Kerala is classified as the aging state; it has the highest number of old age institutions.  Kerala is at the vanguard of demographic transition and already experiences the problems related to institutional failures. The availability of systematic evidence as well as newer evidence-based provisions of programs and policies are essential to address aging is Kerala and in India.

The purpose of the Kerala Aging Survey was to examine the determinants of healthy aging.  In order to provide our research with direction, we used the World Health Organization's comprehensive list of factors that affect the health of the elderly population across the globe.  These include: Culture and gender, health and social service systems, behavioural determinants, personal factors, physical, social and economic environments.  The Kerala Aging Survey was based on all of these factors so we can gain a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of healthy aging within the cultural context. 

In order to accomplish this main objective, a representative sample of 5013 elderly from throughout Kerala covering both gender groups and rural and urban areas was studied. 

Our preliminary results have shown that the age of participants ranged from 60 to over 100 years of age with 54 percent of participants being women.  The study showed that joint pains were the most often reported morbidity among elderly, with women reporting higher percentage (53.5%) compared to men (43%).  Other common health problems include: loss of memory or forgetfulness, sleep problems, having no energy, chest pain and stomach problems.  Common chronic illnesses among the elderly in Kerala are hypertension/blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, emphysema or bronchitis, and heart problems.  Osteoporosis, which is an emerging chronic disease was reported less often.  This was perhaps related to the silent nature of this disease.  Prevalence of disabilities was high with over 75% reporting vision problems.  For medical needs, close to 40% accessed public hospitals and 56% used private hospitals.  The reasons for access to private versus public varied.  Most accessed public hospital for the free service provided whereas those who accessed private hospitals did so for the availability of better services, good care, and attention.  In our study, only about 30% had routine medical check-up and over 80% were taking medications on a regular basis.  Gender difference was clearly observed for behavioural factors with men smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol whereas women chew betel leaf more often.  Self reported participation in physical activity decreased with age.  Approximately 60% of the young old participated in physical activities mostly in the form of household activities and this reduced to 35% in the oldest old of 80+ age group.  Dietary patterns showed that most consume three meals a day with a greater tendency for the old old and the oldest old age groups to skip or miss meals.  Also, the type of food changed from non-vegetarian to vegetarian as people aged.  Approximately 30% were on special diet such as diabetic diet or low salt diet.  The study also showed that prevalence of falls and the fracturerates were high resulting in further disability. 

Although this study focuses on the health of elderly in the state of Kerala, the information gained from the surveys has striking similarities to those in other nations in the Asian and non-Asian world alike.  Understanding the determinants of healthy aging might be similar if not identical to those in other areas that are of similar social and environmental make-up.  As such, the findings and evidence-based recommendations have international applicability.

Praveena Kodoth and S. Irudaya Rajan, Centre for Development Studies, Kerala, India
Ageing, Gender and Property Rights in India

The implicit emphasis in social policy in India on marriage and reproduction as the defining social/sexual contracts is increasingly narrowing the focus of inter-generational contracts.  This is reflected in the suggestions of growing inter-generational tensions regarding the claims of the aged.  As property right governs access to material resources it is an important aspect of social security with significant implications in the process of ageing.  Ownership of property and assets is strongly influenced by social disabilities, particularly restrictive gender norms, besides obvious economic factors.  In this context, ownership of property and assets could well  be a defining condition of aged people's, particularly women's social security.  This paper seeks to analyse property and asset ownership of the aged according to gender, marital status and region to discern patterns and raise questions about their implications for the position of the aged within families and for power relations.  Further we examine whether the economic status of households the belong to, their child status i.e., whether they have children and of which sex, their living arrangements and their relationship to the head of households, the last in particular reflecting power relations within the household, have a bearing on property status (owning no property or financial assets) of aged men and women.  We also examine ownership of property and participation in management by aged men and women over the major Indian states and attempt to discern whether the levels of demographic transition could have any bearing on the levels of property ownership.  We find that property status of the aged varies predominantly by gender and age.  In contrast there is less spatial variation.  At much higher levels of property ownership, there was a greater decline in property status of men at widowhood than women.

Monica Qamar Zaman, University of Balochistan, Pakistan
Upper, Middle, and Lower Class Ageing People's Social, Economic and Psychological Problems

This paper explores the needs and problems of upper,middle and lower class ageing people of Balochistan( province of pakistan ).research was conducted in the capital of Balochistan , Quetta  because it is multi cultural city .Total 300 respondents were interviewed ,from each category 100 responts were interviewed.Without discrimination equal chance was given to male and females, but due to cultural values and parda system (female did not come infront of unknown people, their family males did not give them permission)  the number of females was low.
Presentation will discuss the family system of Balochistan and the number of ageing people's children their attitudes  after the retirement of their parents ,how they look after them, medical care , and other needs  whom every one did not give importance.Problems of those ageing people who did not have children will also present.
Respondents which were retired from their jobs ,their houseing,medical,pension and children's problems will give the clear picture ,how the retired aging people are trying to survive.
The main focus of the paper is at the needs and problems of ageing people, how their problems affect at them psychologically , socially and physically.Is our Government is providing them benifits, are they enough for them, is benifits are for only retired Government emploies or for every one, all the facts will be discussed in the paper.
At the end of the presentation suggetions from the ageing people and from researcher will presented.

Myrtle Perera, Marga Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Effects of Globalization on the Aged in Sri Lanka

Using data from a sample survey of elderly in their household and institutional settings, this paper examines the impact on the situation of the aged of the social cultural and economic changes consequent to the demographic transition and the effects of globalization in Sri Lanka. The specific issues covered include co-residential arrangements and their reasons, the shifts in intergenerational reciprocity, care giving, household and elders vulnerabilities, in terms of financial, health and life task capabilities. These are examined in terms of income level, gender, age, ethnic and occupational population clusters.
The findings suggest that subtle but significant changes are taking place in co-residential as well as intergenerational relationships that appear to herald greater change in the future. 
A reversal in the dependency chain was emerging with the aged in the household having to support the young family in providing accommodation in the home owned by the elder, using elders' income for the young family denying themselves critical needs such as medication and special food.
The emerging strain for care giving in households has led to increasing institutionalizing of aged care in elders homes. Alternatives such as day care centres are coming up as likely options. Elders' perceptions regarding these living arrangements have been sought in the study.
Ownership of assets, their origin and disposal has been examined in detail and changes in patterns of intergenerational movements of assets have been used as markers of cultural change.
An important component of the study is the mapping out of the macro economic scenario with respect to administrative , institutional and legal provisions and their changes. 

Sony Pelissery, University of Oxford, St Cross College, Oxford, UK and Leemamol Mathew, University of Calicut, India

Balancing honour and welfare: Caste differences in claiming non-contributory pensions in rural India

Household dynamics can change drastically depending on whether the elderly person in a rural household is able to contribute to care economy (eg. care of children). Such contributions to care economy ease the workload of other female members in the household. But in rural economy, where cash could be of substantial importance, for the other male members of the household a non-contributory pension regularly brought in the name of an elderly person is more attractive. However, access to such means-tested public provisions is often political. In the context of decentralised governance, and rural electorate mobilised around issues of religion and caste, these identities have profound importance for claiming the public provision of non-contributory pension. Very often, bargain with the local elites is the means to successfully claim such provisions. Such bargain may also involve serving in the farm and household of local elite. In the traditional system, where the lower caste worked in the land of the higher caste, some sort of informal pension was paid to meet the social security needs of the labourer. But, such traditional systems of informal pension systems are increasingly being replaced (by formal non-contributory pension) due to agrarian changes, migration to cities and emancipatory movements by lower castes. The pension system introduced to benefit the workers in the informal sector (with out formal security arrangements) is expected to reach the citizens without caste differences. But, the informal rules applied by the local elites in such situations aim to uphold their traditional preferences. A trade-off between honour (while dealing with local elite), and welfare (while dealing with family members) is explicitly visible if this phenomenon is viewed from Bourdieu's framework of ‘economy of honour'. The data is based on ethnographic fieldwork of eight months in two villages of the Indian state of Maharashtra during 2003-04. 

Pushpa Kamal Subedi, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Anthropology of Ageing in a hill community of Nepal

A two-generational model of the politics of ageing (parents hands down to children, and grandchildren replace grandparents) is concerned with structural responses to the predicament of social and cultural reproduction. For the tradition to be maintained it must have social process behind it. The social process is exercised by the members of preceding generation and transforms automatically to the successive generation that emphasises value of son(s), which are sources of linage perpetuation in a patriarchal society of Nepal.This paper argues that children (particularly sons) are culturally valuable rather than economically as a source of household insurance against various risks and old age disability.

Meera Balarajan, University of Oxford, COMPAS, UK
India's ageing parents - the impact of transnational migration on the parents left behind

International migration of skilled professionals from India is challenging family structures. The migration of the younger generation has a significant impact on the inter-generational contract and the dynamics of the family left behind. This paper draws on multi-sited research conducted in India and the UK over three years, and in particular in-depth interviews with parents of skilled migrants.  This research contributes to our understanding of how transnational practices impact on family ties and power relations between different family members, in different spaces and in the different ashramas of the Hindu life-course. 

The paper examines how traditional hierarchical notions (caste, gender, age, sibling order) interplay with new meanings and values defined by education, wealth and migration for the ageing parents.  The paper discusses how parents regard the changing inter-generational contract in reference to reciprocation of care and sharing of duties.  Focus is drawn to the changing relationships between elderly husbands and wives, mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws and parents and children, and grandparents and grandchildren. 

In the absence of children, this research demonstrates that the ageing parents are compelled to adopt different strategies to prevent an irreversible damage to the inter-generational contract, for example by taking on more care duties and creating local kith and kin networks.  I examine the effect of informal and formal intra-generational bonding, informal and institutionally provided care support and the creation of new property systems in the locale.  The effect of transnational migration is creating structural changes for the sending family with implications for the traditional Indian society.