01 october International Day of Older Persons

International Day of Older Persons is celebrated on October 1. The United Nations decided to celebrate this day to end the misbehavior and injustice towards the elderly in the world and to spread awareness among the people. On December 14, 1990, it was decided that by celebrating World Old Age Day every year on October 1, we will try to give the elderly their rightful place. Since October 1, 1991, this day is being celebrated continuously.

Due to the worldwide concern about the increasing population, there is some decrease in the child-birth rate all over the world, but on the other hand, due to the increasing health and medical facilities, the average age is continuously increasing. This average age varies from country to country. This average age in India was only 27 years in 1947, which has reached 42 years in 1961, 54 years in 1981 and now it has reached about sixty five years.

population of Older Persons

The increase in the number of people above the age of sixty started in our country especially from 1961, which continued to increase along with the spread of medical facilities. We had 5 crore 60 lakh people above the age of 60 years in 1991, which increased to 8 crore 40 lakh in 2007. Kerala has the maximum number of elderly people in the country. There are about 14 percent of the elderly in the total population, while the average for the whole country is about 8.6 percent. Elders or elders are our guides.

They spend their whole life in grooming us. But it is seen in the society that many people despise their parents for being old. Compulsively these elders have to take shelter of old age homes or have to be forced to stumble from door to door. This is the harsh reality of our society. This is an abominable form of human neglect. It is well known that in future we will also have to come to this situation. They need proper respect and support.

According to an estimate, currently more than 50 percent of the total population in the country is youth. The elderly constitute 8-9 per cent of the total population. At the same time, by 2050, the population of the country is estimated to be 170 crores. More than 20 percent of this population will be people above 65 years of age. In this way, by 2050, there will be about 34 crore elderly people in the country.

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laws and rules for their protection

Many laws and rules have been made to serve and protect the elderly. The Central Government formulated the National Policy for Older Members in the year 1999 to promote the health and well-being of senior citizens in India. The objective of this policy is to encourage individuals to make arrangements for themselves and their spouses for their old age. It also tries to encourage families to take care of their older family members.

Along with this, the Parents and Senior Citizens Maintenance Bill has been passed in the Parliament in 2007. In this, provision has been made for maintenance of parents, establishment of old age homes, provision of medical facilities and protection of life and property of senior citizens. Despite all these rules and laws, we should take care of the service and respect of the elders. Parents are worshiped in Indian civilization and culture. The real achievement is to keep serving the elderly.