Experiences in Old Age: A South Indian Example of how Functional Age is Socially Structured

Abstract

Research on chronologically older people approaches “the old” as a category of people sharing common problems and experiences that are rooted in the functional disparities between old and younger people. These functional disparities are seen as impinging on social and economic positioning, leading to asymmetries in dependence and vulnerability. The argument here is that, rather than simply being an objective functional condition, old age is a deeply contested, socially structured condition precisely because the definition of “old” does not merely denote diverging abilities, but confers differential needs, rights and obligations on both the “old” and on younger people. Drawing on research in rural and urban South India, the article illustrates how definitions of “old age” are shaped by class position within local economies. These definitions pattern older people's access to work and, consequently, not only the extent to which people can remain self-supporting in old age, but also the degree to which younger people expect downward resource flows.

Notes

 1 WHO (2002) has laid down internationally recognized standards, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, for measuring function for comparative analysis and planning purposes.

 2 See Vera-Sanso (2004) on the significance of differentiating co-residence and proximate residence (in the same dwelling or on the same property) for understanding intergenerational relations.

 3 As custodians rather than owners of family property, fathers have little ability to resist the pressure to subdivide dwellings or land (Vera-Sanso, 2004).

 4 In many households, particularly amongst agricultural labourers and those working in the urban informal sector, this discourse of men as providers masks the fact that sons rely heavily on their wife's income to support the marital family (Vera-Sanso, 2000).

 5 The need to reduce the retirement age of government employees in order both to create employment opportunities for the young and to reduce the state's pension burden has been the focus of public debate and union action since the late 1990s. The impact of earlier retirement on intergenerational relations, in the context of later marriages and protracted training, has been ignored to date.

 6 What is seen as a luxury depends on class position (Vera-Sanso, 2004).

 7 In other areas of Tamil Nadu gangs of women are similarly working on a piece rate basis (Kapadia, 1995).

 8 This practice of giving small advances has largely supplanted the earlier bonded labour system whereby farmers would give large loans (typically Rs10 000) to families who would then provide one male labourer (locally known as a pannaiyathal) to the farmer until the loan was paid off. Although in 2000 there were still bonded labourers working off their debts, farmers and Scheduled Caste labourers said neither side found it economic to establish new bonded labour contracts.

 9 Maanam means personal honour or reputation. Tamils view maanam not as something that can be built, but as something that can only be lost and hence requires protection (Vera-Sanso, 1995).

10 By working hard and fast, mottam contracts enable labourers to raise their daily earnings above the standard male rate of Rs60.

11 See Vatuk (1990) on the elderly's concern not to be “a burden” on the family and Mahajan (1992) on elder abuse.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Penny Vera-Sanso

  I wish to thank David Mosse, Caroline Osella, Barbara Harris-White, Kaveri Harris, the anonymous reviewers, participants of the Ageing in Asia Workshop, Oxford, February 2005, the Development Studies Association's ageing study group, and the Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Edinburgh, for comments on earlier drafts.