By 2036, over 22 per cent of the population of Kerala would be senior citizens, according to the India Ageing Report of 2023 from the UN Fund for Population Activities; this is significantly higher than the national average of 15% of population over the age of 60.
As Kerala ages, the state government has initiated programmes that cover this section of the people, starting mobile clinics, for instance, that access those who find it hard to arrive at the hospital.
There are also senior citizens who have begun organizing themselves, reaching out to members in need and planning programmes together.
The National Senior Citizens Movement (NSCM) started functioning in Thiruvananthapuram in 2005. It has 382 members at present, and the sole criterion for membership is that one should be over 60 years old. It was initiated by a retired government servant, KPP Unnithan, at a time when his own neighbourhood in the state capital, Jyoti Nagar in Pattom, had several residents who had retired.
The group collects voluntary donations from members, and a report of activities and accounts is presented at an annual meeting. Plans for future events are laid out.
The annual meeting of 2025 was held on Saturday, March 1. Members from the Federation of Senior Citizens of Kerala were also present. The members honoured RS Sreekumar, president of the Venganoor panchayat, with the award instituted in memory of KPP Unnithan, founder of NSCM. This is the first time this award was given, and leaders who take up the cause of senior citizens will be honoured with it each year.
Besides visiting homes of members who might be ailing or otherwise in need of support, the members also plan annual trips – the last one was to Thottilpalam in Kozhikode district, and about 30 members attended, ranging from 60 to 80 years old. EH Jones, who serves as the secretary of the NSCM, said that the trips are held only once a year, and since some of the younger senior citizens are quite fit, they lend a hand to the older and frailer.
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*Freelance journalist
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