Contributions of the elderly
In an agrarian setting in rural West Bengal: Perspectives on policy

Falguni Chakraborty

Paper presented at the conference Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction: Lessons From Eastern India, 25-27 September 2001

Contents

Endangered and engendered livelihoods
Introduction
Methods and materials
Findings of the study
The Policy Implications of the Study

Acknowledgements
References

Endangered and engendered livelihoods

Introduction

Studies on the elderly in India are tilted towards the urban, middle class, educated and service sector of the population and look at a.) economic conditions (Sati 1988; Srivastava 1994; Sing, Sharma and Singh 1987), b) family environments (Khan 1997, Banerjee 1997; Bali 1995; Alam and Hussain 1997), c) extra familial rehabilitation and conditions of the institutionalised elderly people (Ara 1995; Matilda 1997) d) abuses perpetrated on old-age persons (Bambawale 1997; Devi 1997; e) leisure and recreation (Bambawale 1997), f)socio-psychological adjustment (Arora and Saxena 1997; Sinha 1989), g) health related issues (Bagga 1994; Anantharaman 1981, 1990; Bhargava 1998).

Some of the lacunae of the researches on gerontology in India is summarised:

(a)    Lack of adequate attention towards the aged in rural areas.
(b)   Researchers on gerontology rarely view the elderly people as human resources or as active participants in the economy.
(c)    Older persons were perceived as the natural recipients of welfare handouts and institutionalised services.
(d)   No focus on policy recommendations.

There are, however, notable exception to this general pattern of urban centred researchers (Marulasiddaiah 1969; Nair 1999; Rao 1990; Chakraborty 1995; Dak and Sharma 1987; Lakshminarayan 1993; Punalekar 1991.)

This paper deals with the different roles of and the contributions made by the elderly in the Jhargram sub-division of the Medinipur district in West Bengal, India to make some concrete anthropological observations that may be useful to policy-makers. The study population constitutes of the Santals  and some Hindu caste groups.

Methods and Materials

In this study, 100 elderly men and women aged between 60 to 80 (50 men and 50 women) were interviewed. They were selected on the basis of opportunity sampling in seven villages: Dholbhanga, Harulia, Kesharipur in Binpur-I Block and Kiyamaacha, Bhaluksole, Kharasole and  Jamboni.

Findings of the study

Gender

The findings of the survey reveal that the number of women is greater than that of the men in the age groups 60-64 and 65-69 while the number of men is higher in the age groups 70-74, 80-84 and 85-89 (see table 1).

Table 1
Age group wise distribution of old aged persons

Caste/Tribe

There is a clear preponderance of Santals over other scheduled tribe (Bhumij) and Hindu caste groups (see table 2).

Table 2
Community-wise distribution of the old age person

Household

Most elderly people live in large families (5-8 members). More interestingly, about 22% elderly individuals live in smaller families (3-4 persons). Thus, in rural areas the elderly live with their family irrespective of size.

Table 3
Distribution of households according to their size

Economic activities

The elderly belonging to agricultural families contribute in the various stages of cultivation. Men up to the age of 65 engage in ploughing fields owned by their families. Other agricultural activities namely weeding, transplantation, reaping, protecting crops, threshing, storing and marketing were done by both elderly men and women. In addition, older men and women helped by grazing cattle, collecting firewood, fodder and fuel; carrying food for their family members working in the fields. Elderly women were also busy with tasks like boiling paddy, drying, husking etc and domestic tasks like cooking, cleaning and child-care. Elderly men were also found adjudicating in intra family and community level disputes.

Thus, there is a allocation of tasks on the basis of sex rather than age. For example, older men store crops and seeds, while women boil and husk paddy. Similarly, women are not allowed any role in community level adjudication of disputes. However, it may be observed that the elderly constitute an important and productive component sharing socio-economic duties and tasks essential for the family and community.

The Policy Implications of the Study

1. The old men and women in the rural areas live in their families irrespective of the size of the latter and did not express any desire to live elsewhere. Elderly people in the rural areas do not need old age homes but easier means to perform the essential tasks they do for the families.

2. More empirical researches should be conducted on the socio-economic contributions of the elderly in rural areas to evolve policy directions.

3. The absence of any specific retirement age in the agrarian sector calls for a different kind of policy from that applied in the industrial and service sector.

4. The elderly people in the rural areas act as reservoir of knowledge and experience. For instance they have detailed knowledge about the plants found in the forests; traditional varieties of seeds and experience in child care. Policymakers should treat the elderly not as burdens to the family and society but as rich repertoire of human resources in participatory development works.

In sum and substances the employment of the elderly persons in the rural societies should be viewed not in terms of monetary earnings but as a kind of fruitful engagement in various types of socially and culturally productive contributions.

Acknowledgements

I am greatly indebted to my students Sri Bibek Pratihar and Sri Sanat Mandal for collecting the data for this paper. I would also like to thank Sri Abhijit Guha for useful suggestions for writing the paper. I also thank the organisers of Social Development Research Capacity workshop for inviting me to present this paper in the international workshop at Bhubaneswar, Orissa. I am also grateful to the concerned authorities of the Vidyasagar University who have allowed me to present the paper.

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