Policy on problems of the aged

THE year 1999 has been devoted to the welfare of senior citizens. Some time back the Central Government had announced that a national policy for providing better care to elderly persons had been formulated. Since the government at the Centre remained chained to political uncertainty in the country, the related file must be gathering dust of utter indifference in some obscure government corridor. It cannot be said that our government is totally oblivious of the problems of the country’s older population.

Now that the NDA has assumed power at the Centre, it is expected that it will soon address itself to the peculiar difficulties being faced by elderly persons in every corner of the country.

The benefits that are envisaged for the senior citizens in the framework of the national policy ought to be clearly spelled out and implemented in a uniform manner throughout the country. Let the state and the Central governments put their heads together to work out the modalities, including the financial implications which may be borne on a sharing basis. Eminent economists and social scientists may pool their experience and wisdom in order to assist the government in bringing out a viable scheme which takes care of every aspect of the life of the aged irrespective of their economic placement and other things.

India is a welfare state and for no reason it can wriggle out of its constitutional responsibilities. The government very well knows how to raise the required funds for implementing the national-level welfare scheme to ameliorate the lot of the citizens aged 65 years and above. During the post-independence period nothing tangible has been done for them so far as a result of the slipshod approach of the administrators and rulers. They can now forget about their callous attitude and indifference deep under the threshold of the next millennium that is coming up and earn sincere gratitude of 70 million senior citizens living in distress.

G. L. DHAM
Chandigarh

National malaise

Apropos of the editorial “Killing as instant justice” (Oct. 7), that a mob in Meerut should club four suspected criminals to death is a clear indication of the erosion of the common man’s faith in the institution of justice and the agencies of law and order.

When even the seemingly law-abiding citizens try to bypass the institutions established by law for the redress of their grievances, it brings out to the surface a national malaise of corruption and inefficiency which is eating into the very vitals of the national administration.

People, by and large, are not only fed up with the callously indifferent attitude of the police force, they also have little faith in the institution of justice administration, which may be kept in abeyance, if not twisted, with the money power through indefinite adjournment of trials and hearings.

Naturally, such a lack of efficiency, transparency and accountability has resulted in a disturbing rise in cases of armed robbery, burglary, rape and murder in almost all cities of the country.

While sociologists and criminologists may undertake a detailed analysis of the whole situation and suggest remedies, more essential is the immediate need for restoring public faith in the agencies of law and order by making them personally and individually responsible for any spurt in the incident of crime and any delay in justice dispensation.

VED GULIANI
Hisar