The elderly population has been growing rapidly, compared to other age groups in the world, with a majority living in developing countries. However, one-sixth of the world’s elderly resides in India. In developing nations, this demographic transition is considerably occurring more rapidly than in developed nations, it is projected to constitute around 20% of the total population by 2050. India is also a home to the biggest tribal population in the world. The rights to property ownership, status, access to resources, as well as social exclusion, discrimination, exploitation, stereotypes, and so on are majorly influenced by caste, ethnicity, and religion. Caste, an ascribed status is so much ingrained in Indian society that it remains indelible throughout life. The tribes in India are also divided into various subcastes, the multiple identities interlocking with the tribes engender heterogeneity and inequality and differential deprivation among the elderly population. Moreover, intergenerational relationships, though ingrained in the Indian culture, are gradually eroding in modern living patterns. The fast pace world does no longer provide all-inclusive social support to the aged. It is hereby argued that elderly individuals and groups differ in terms of their existential condition and degree of marginalization in relation to the multiple identities they occupy in a given social context. This chapter marks a shift from single dimension paradigm of studying aged individual to multilevel approach, namely, “urban-elderly-tribes,” acknowledging the perspective that the elderly is shaped by the intersection of social locations occurring within the context of a connected system.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Tribal Elderly in Urban Community

  • Iftekhar Alam

摘要

The elderly population has been growing rapidly, compared to other age groups in the world, with a majority living in developing countries. However, one-sixth of the world’s elderly resides in India. In developing nations, this demographic transition is considerably occurring more rapidly than in developed nations, it is projected to constitute around 20% of the total population by 2050. India is also a home to the biggest tribal population in the world. The rights to property ownership, status, access to resources, as well as social exclusion, discrimination, exploitation, stereotypes, and so on are majorly influenced by caste, ethnicity, and religion. Caste, an ascribed status is so much ingrained in Indian society that it remains indelible throughout life. The tribes in India are also divided into various subcastes, the multiple identities interlocking with the tribes engender heterogeneity and inequality and differential deprivation among the elderly population. Moreover, intergenerational relationships, though ingrained in the Indian culture, are gradually eroding in modern living patterns. The fast pace world does no longer provide all-inclusive social support to the aged. It is hereby argued that elderly individuals and groups differ in terms of their existential condition and degree of marginalization in relation to the multiple identities they occupy in a given social context. This chapter marks a shift from single dimension paradigm of studying aged individual to multilevel approach, namely, “urban-elderly-tribes,” acknowledging the perspective that the elderly is shaped by the intersection of social locations occurring within the context of a connected system.