Protection of Rights of Aged Persons in India: An Analysis towards Implementation and Awareness

The duty of supporting the infant children is necessary to be enforced for the preservation of our race and the duty of maintaining aged persons is equally necessary to be enforced for his happiness. Growing old is a natural process that every human undergoes in one’s lifetime. It basically refers to the decline in the functional capacity that occurs due to physiological transformation. Senior citizens are an asset to a society with their pool of varied experiences, ideas, knowledge and expertise. The moral duty to maintain parents is recognized by all people. However, so far as law is concerned, the position and extent of such liability varies from community to community. Most senior citizens are unaware of their rights, either because of illiteracy or lack of awareness. Various international attempts have been made by the UN General Assembly 1991 to address the concerns of senior citizens [1] . United Nations have also declared 1 st of October as International Day for older persons. Various national efforts have also been made to protect the interests of the old aged. In India at present there are very few legislative measures to protect the elderly people’s rights. But there are various schemes and policies introduced by the Central Government from time to time for protecting the interests of the aged persons and that could be reached only by the minimum population of the concerned category. The reason might be lack of implementation on one side and lack of awareness on the other side. Hence, this paper is an attempt to analyze the legal and constitutional rights of aged persons, policies and schemes introduced for the benefit of senior citizens in India and also highlight some information about its working and implementation. [1] Eighteen principles have been adopted, which have been grouped into five clusters namely, independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment, and dignity of the older person.