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Raj Kumar Makkad (Adv P & H High Court Chandigarh)     07 December 2009

AGE AND CHANGE

A recent poll by the Gilani Research Foundation and conducted by Gallup (Pakistan) tells us that there are fundamental shifts in our attitudes to the elderly. Two-thirds of us believe that respect for our elders has decreased. Elder respect is comparatively higher in rural areas, and 52 per cent of elders who were polled themselves thought that respect for them had declined. The role of elders in the education of the younger generation was also explored with 44 per cent saying that elders played a vital part in the imparting of wisdom to children, whilst 37 per cent felt it was a combination of books, school and elders that produced a rounded young person.


Surveys such as this may be seen as signposts on the road of change. We are a youthful population and will remain so for thirty years or more. That youthful population is more mobile than it ever was and travels far and wide in the quest for elusive jobs. Rural populations are falling and villages across the land are home to the elders who are left behind, increasingly having to fend for themselves. The shape of our traditional joint family is changing as well, and the care that elders might have expected to receive from their offspring in their declining years is no longer a certainty. The first 'elder homes' have opened as a reflection of this change, where old people live either from choice or because there is no one to look after them. That trend towards elder care can only increase and we need to look to more innovative ways of caring for our elders than merely warehousing them. 'Respect' is one of the bedrocks on which our society and culture are predicated. The change in patterns and depth of respect for elders that we now see is probably linked to the shift from a rural to an urban society. Elders are repositories of wisdom, but if fewer are listening to them then the pool of wisdom will shrink – and wisdom is something we can ill-afford to lose.



Learning

 4 Replies


(Guest)

Raj kumar Makkad ji,

Not only in pakistan but also in India elderly persons respect is also decresing in families. They are feeling alone. Sons are becomming selfish and not taking any care of their elders. Oh widom from elders! childrens are going to school at 3 years how they get time to know wisdom from their grand parents? Busy schedules to 3 years old childrens also.

 

Theja (Lawyer)     09 December 2009

Yes. Today how many of children spend time listening to their elders; how many of children spend time reading morals. This is how the moral values have extincted away from children. If we look at schedule of students today- it includes nothing but studying, tutions, that is it. The parents today also do not have time to impart moral values to children and that is why most of us today do not care elderly words and do not care respecting them.

The education board today is concentrating more on increasing the standard of the sylabus for children and increasing the sylabus. But, it is not bothered about the means to impart good and wise education. After all, wisdom is important. One shall have wisdom to use the knowledge so acquired. When we have wisdom we take wise decisions and there we know respecting elders. Wisdom will never encorage arrogance and egotistical attitude.

Vedaa Mirazkar (98457 02459) (Lawyer)     15 December 2009

Gone are the gurukul days  which imparted moral lessons of responsibilities tof children towards their parents.

Naresh Kumar (Sr. Executive)     21 December 2009

The main culprit is cable TV. There are more than 200 channels which functions 24 hours. Barring few channels are other chennals are doing the work of destorying the indian culture and diverting the minds of children to follow what they are not supposed to follow. Working couples have no time for their children. Grand parents are being shifted to Vridha Ashram. Teachers mainly focus on syllabus, then who will teach the childrend as to what are moral values?


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