TRIBAL ELDERLY IN URBAN INDIA: A STUDY ON THE INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Year 2023, , 771 - 796, 31.12.2023

Iftekhar Alam

https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1382690

Abstract

There are no other age groups increasing rapidly than elderly, which is projected to be doubled by 2050. Such demographic transition is witnessed in many developing countries including India. It is also indicated that the elderly population including the tribal elderly are increasingly dwelling in urban areas due to migration or their native areas becoming urbanized. The purpose of this research is to understand the intergenerational relationship among tribal societies dwelling in urban areas. This paper argues that elderly as like other age groups, do not constitute a single homogeneous category while marking the shift from single dimension paradigm of studying aged individual to multi-level approach i.e. ‘urban-elderly-tribes’, in understanding the intergenerational relationships. In total six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), with fifty elderly tribes (aged 60 – 82 years) comprising of three FGDs at nearby center of the town and three FGDs at outskirts of the town were conducted to understand the location centric perspective of the respondents emanating from differential access to resources and benefits. The data gathered went through several phases of interpretative thematic analysis. Subsequently, three main themes were identified, “impact of urbanization,” “better life than before” and “cultural degradation”. The participants perceived that there has been a disruption in intergenerational relationship in contemporary times owing to shift from socio-cultural approach to economic approach to development. This study draws attention towards tribal elderly perspectives on intergenerational behaviors and relationships for researchers, academicians, practitioners and policy makers to design their interventions accordingly.

Keywords

Elderly, Tribal Elderly, Urbanization, Intergenerational Relationships

Kentsel Hindistan’da Kabile Yaşlıları: Kuşaklar Arası İlişkiler Üzerine Bir Çalışma

Abstract

There are no other age groups increasing rapidly than elderly, which is projected to be doubled by 2050. Such demographic transition is witnessed in many developing countries including India. It is also indicated that the elderly population including the tribal elderly are increasingly dwelling in urban areas due to migration or their native areas becoming urbanized. The purpose of this research is to understand the intergenerational relationship among tribal societies dwelling in urban areas. This paper argues that elderly as like other age groups, do not constitute a single homogeneous category while marking the shift from single dimension paradigm of studying aged individual to multi-level approach i.e. ‘urban-elderly-tribes’, in understanding the intergenerational relationships. In total six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), with fifty elderly tribes (aged 60 – 82 years) comprising of three FGDs at nearby center of the town and three FGDs at outskirts of the town were conducted to understand the location centric perspective of the respondents emanating from differential access to resources and benefits. The data gathered went through several phases of interpretative thematic analysis. Subsequently, three main themes were identified, “impact of urbanization,” “better life than before” and “cultural degradation”. The participants perceived that there has been a disruption in intergenerational relationship in contemporary times owing to shift from socio-cultural approach to economic approach to development. This study draws attention towards tribal elderly perspectives on intergenerational behaviors and relationships for researchers, academicians, practitioners and policy makers to design their interventions accordingly.

Keywords

Elderly, Tribal Elderly, Urbanization, Intergenerational relationships

Ethical Statement

The study has undertaken all ethical consideration.

References

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