Mahatma Gandhi once said that one of the most important tests of a society is how it cares for its elderly. In many parts of India, particularly in villages facing poverty and outmigration, this test is increasingly being failed in the lives of the most vulnerable older people whose needs remain invisible and unmet. Recent visits to several villages in the tribal belts of South Rajasthan reveal painful stories of neglect but also inspiring examples of collective effort and hope shaped by a wellness-based model of elderly care emerging through the Prabal Yatra (PY) initiative of ARTH, a voluntary organisation working in the region.
In Kakarmala village of Jhadol block, 70-year-old Jumli Bai lives alone in a hut. She has severely impaired vision and hearing, is a widow, and relies entirely on the uncertain kindness of neighbors for daily food. Although she receives a small pension and some free grains, cooking is impossible for her, and she often goes without food until someone offers her something to eat. When met around noon during a gathering of elderly people, she had not eaten since morning. Villagers say her son drinks heavily and does not help her. She sometimes receives better care in her maternal home, but reaching there requires finding someone to escort her, which is rarely possible.
In Gairiyo ka Gura village, two women between 80 and 90 years of age—Khomani Bai and Kakkoo Bai—live entirely alone and still climb hills to graze goats every day. After returning exhausted, they struggle to cook despite failing strength and urgent need for medical support. They continue because they have no other choice. In the same village 85-year-old Baggaji, nearly deaf and rapidly losing vision, also lives alone, though he is fortunate to have a more caring son who checks in occasionally. Devli Bai, a dignified 70-year-old widow, hesitates to speak about her difficulties but, when gently encouraged, admits that regular access to food is her biggest worry.
These are not isolated cases. Group discussions held across villages during PY activities reveal that many elderly people are left unsupported as children migrate for work or succumb to alcoholism, reducing responsibility towards parents. Particularly heartbreaking are elderly workers suffering from dust diseases like silicosis and asbestosis, severe incurable conditions caused by years in mines. Many who failed to receive compensation now struggle helplessly in old age. In Ambavi village alone, around 30 such elderly persons have been identified.
Programs like Prabal Yatra expose these hidden realities by bringing elderly people together in monthly meetings where they talk, share concerns, practise light exercises, play memory-based games, and discuss nutrition and health. These gatherings break the silence of neglect, restoring dignity and companionship. On-site cooking during meetings provides meals everyone can enjoy together, and discussions often focus on soft food options for those who struggle to chew. Small kitchen gardens near homes have been set up to ensure vegetables within reach. Spectacle distribution and free cataract surgeries have been arranged through eye-care partners, benefiting hundreds, while those facing mobility limitations receive walkers and sticks.
Safety improvements near homes—removing stones, providing solar lights, smoothing floors, placing light switches near beds—prevent falls that can be life-changing for elders. Community workers also help elderly villagers receive pensions, rations and medical referrals, ensuring access to treatment in city hospitals when required. As PY team member Bharat Singh Ranawat says, seeing smiles emerge “in the middle of wrinkles” is the greatest motivation.
While supporting the elderly in general is important, field experience repeatedly shows the urgent need to identify those in especially desperate conditions—people living alone without support, the sick without treatment, widows abandoned by families, and those battling chronic occupational diseases. Their numbers may be few—three in one hamlet, six in another—but failing them is failing humanity. A focused program providing at least one daily cooked meal and clean drinking water, supported by community participation and government or philanthropic contributions, would cost little and mean everything. During a severe drought in Bundelkhand, a voluntary organisation started cooked-food support for such elders—an effort that revealed the difference simple care can make in saving lives and dignity.
Prabal Yatra currently covers around 100 villages across Udaipur and Rajsamand districts, demonstrating what committed community-based care can achieve. With ARTH’s experience in research and training and a model broadly aligned with the WHO vision of Integrated Care for Older People, this initiative shows the potential of a wellness-based and holistic approach to inspire wider state and national strategies for elderly welfare.
The call is clear: the country needs urgent, systematic identification of the most vulnerable elderly and sustained care that combines nutrition, medical aid, companionship and safety. We owe them more than pity—we owe them security, respect and compassion. If society is to be judged by how it treats its elderly, then the measure will not be the number of pensions disbursed but whether people like Jumli Bai, Khomani Bai, Kakkoo Bai and countless unnamed others can live their final years with dignity instead of despair.
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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, When the Two Streams Met, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071
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