Aged in India: socio demographic dimensions

Old age is a culturally relative term which varies with life
expectancy at birth for the general population as well as
proportion of aged population in a society. Ageing may be
viewed as a biological process through which an organism is
modifed from birth to death. Aging can also be viewed as a
crucial index of societal or civilization maturity. In India
the population in 60 + age group is growing at a much faster
rate than the people in the other age groups. During 1951-81,
the number of the aged persons, has doubled. Although the
dynamics of old age are primarily physiological they are
conditioned by the social customs, norms, culture and value
system to a considerable extent. The far reaching and rapid
changes of the modern society have profoundly affected the
position of the old people and their ability to deal with their
own problems. The transition form the role of a bread
winner to a dependent causes problems among the aged in
our country. The isolation of old people within their family
sometimes constitutes a source of frustration for many aged
persons. In this book, various dimensions of ageing are criti-
cally examined by eminent demographers, sociologists,
doctors, psychologists working on aged in different institutes
of the country. This book provides guidelines for develop-
ing multidisciplinary approach towards understanding the
problems of aged population of the country.