The jury is still out on whether Indians are indeed the most family-oriented people in the world. Intergenerational families that travel together, carrying their own food and dancing their dances, would make everyone think so. There is also the great Indian wedding where relatives, thrice removed, behave as integral body parts. The Indian family system still works within Asia’s largely collectivistic culture. Which is why the growing number of elderly abuse cases should raise eyebrows for it ruptures the foundational
The jury is still out on whether Indians are indeed the most family-oriented people in the world. Intergenerational families that travel together, carrying their own food and dancing their dances, would make everyone think so. There is also the great Indian wedding where relatives, thrice removed, behave as integral body parts. The Indian family system still works within Asia’s largely collectivistic culture. Which is why the growing number of elderly abuse cases should raise eyebrows for it ruptures the foundational principle of family: burden-sharing.
The Bombay High Court recently established that parents, irrespective of their financial status, can reverse a gift deed made to their children should they feel a breach of the underlying familial contract. The court ruled in favour of parents who had transferred property on the understanding that their son would care for them. They later alleged that the arrangement had broken down, forcing them to leave their home. They moved the tribunal, invoking the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, which cancelled the gift deed. The court rejected the son’s petition to overturn the tribunal’s decision.
Indian society’s realities are far removed from perception. If perceptions of the big fat Indian family were correct, a country, where a majority follows a belief system where parental authority is almost divine, wouldn’t need constitutional protections for the elderly. Experts say only one in 24 cases of elder abuse is formally reported, making the problem more common than it appears. The court’s intervention has thus addressed a largely invisible domestic issue and sought to protect the interests and dignity of the elderly parents.
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