Introduction

When discussing this book with colleagues and students, people were generally excited by it and said that there was a real need for such a book. Almost everyone, particularly those in the UK, had a fairly similar argument for why this was important which went something like this: i) the family has traditionally been the main source of care for older adults in India, ii) tradition mandates that daughters-in-law will move in to the family home with their husband and assume caring responsibilities (for all generations), iii) modernisation and migration are destabilising these traditional living arrangements as adult children, in particular women, move for education and/or work, iv) in the absence of any old age social security programs older adults will be unable to get the care that they need and instead face years of disability, depression and loneliness. There is definitely more than a kernel of truth in this accepted narrative about changing living arrangements and care for older adults in India. Families are mandated to take care of their older members through the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007. This act empowers any ‘senior citizen including parent who is unable to maintain himself [sic] from his [sic] own earning or out of the property owned by him [sic]’ to apply for support from their relatives who are then obligated ‘to maintain a senior citizen … so that [they] may lead a normal life’. Failure to do so can result in fines or imprisonment. This Act is often taken to underscore the centrality of the family in India and seen to represent the government's attempt to shore it up in the face of challenges such as migration and modernisation. Again, such concerns are not without merit. As has been noted earlier in the book the scale of internal and international migration in India is staggering. There are estimated to be 450 million internal migrants within India and a further 18 million Indians who live abroad (De, 2019; UNDESA, 2020). Alongside this, as the data presented by James and Kumar (Chapter 3) and Rajan and Sunitha (Chapter 5) show, around a fifth of older adults do not live in households with extended families. For many older Indians this represents the decline of traditional values and is something to be lamented.

Introduction

Demographic ageing and the associated changes in population health are necessitating a complex reorientation of health systems, public spending, social security and living arrangements of older adults in developing countries (Bloom et al, 2015; Goodman and Harper, 2013; Lamb, 2013). In countries such as India, the consequences of ageing are far more severe because insufficient social security systems make families the main providers of support to older adults (Bloom et al, 2010). Changing demographic circumstances, such as the increased mobility of adult children, fewer siblings and increased longevity of parents, are influencing care arrangements in Indian households (Croll, 2006; Dhillon et al, 2016). The BKPAI (2011) study on the elderly in India reports that 6.2 per cent of older adults live alone, 14.9 per cent live exclusively with their spouse and 78.9 per cent of them live with children and other family members respectively, and importantly, the proportion of older adult women who live alone is nearly four times in comparison to older adult men (Ugargol et al, 2016). The traditional Indian family is in transition and the modified extended family where parents, children and other relatives do not necessarily live under one roof or share a hearth is now becoming common (Rajan and Kumar, 2003; Medora, 2007). Simultaneously, a cultural norm exists in India that older adults will continue to live with and receive their care from family members (Bongaarts and Zimmer, 2002; Ruggles and Heggeness, 2008 ) and living alone or in old age homes is interpreted as a sign of breakdown of traditional Indian values in public discourses (Medora, 2007; Lamb, 2013).

Though migration of adult children is considered one of the most effective poverty reduction strategies for families in the developing world (Stark and Lucas, 1988; Clemens, 2011) and increased incomes from migration can provide support for parents left behind, often the physical presence of a caregiver is the most desired but missing element (Bohme et al, 2015; Dobrina et al, 2015). Miltiades (2002) found from her study of left-behind Indian older parents that migration of adult children changes household dynamics and leaves families, mainly older adults, in disarray.

Introduction

This chapter investigates how life course obligations, expectations and practices are linked to older adults’ sense of well-being. Linked lives, which is one of core dimensions of the life course approach, recognises that life trajectories of individuals are socially embedded and closely linked to the transitions of the significant others (Elder, 1975, 1985; Dannefer, 2003; Moen and Hernandez, 2009). The studies that have examined linked lives in the context of migration (Bailey et al, 2004; Cooke, 2008) tend to focus on western countries or on internal migration (Mulder and Hooimeijer, 1999; Thomas et al, 2017). However there are some new studies emerging on international migration (Kou et al, 2015, 2017; Statham, 2020). Some strands of work in Asia focus on transnational families (Yeoh et al, 2005), aging in diasporas (Lamb, 2002, 2009; Fluit et al, 2019) and marriage migration (Charsley, 2005; Gallo, 2006; Shaw and Charsley, 2006; Gardner, 2009; Le Bail, 2017). In non-Western multi-generational co-residential families the determinants of well-being need to be evaluated in relation to the reciprocity and support exchanged between older adults and other family members (Ugargol and Bailey, 2020). In our study the concept of linked lives is translocal and broadened to include older adults in migrant households, their adult children (co-residing or migrant children), grandchildren, caregivers and non-kin social networks. The focus in this chapter is on how the broader well-being of the older adult is linked to the life course obligations of older adults towards their families. This chapter also discusses how we can better contextualise life course decisions and trajectories in non-Western settings.

Living arrangements, migration and care

The population aged 60 years and older in India constitutes over 7 per cent of the total population (1.21 billion) and is projected to triple in the next four decades, from 92 million to 316 million (James, 2011). In the past, the family has been the major source of support in later life. However, increased mobility may challenge the continued reliance on family in the future. Jamuna (2000) finds that in the Indian ethos elder care was generally seen as a duty of the adult children, which meant the primary caregiver was usually the daughter-in-law.

Introduction

India has one of the most rapidly ageing populations on the planet. Given the change in the size and nature of the older population in India it is imperative that we better understand the situation of older people in India. However, India is a complex and diverse country made up of different states, castes, cultures, and ethnic groups. India's older adult population has now risen to 8.57 per cent, however in states such as Goa and Kerala the percentage of older adults is as high as 11.20 per cent and 12.55 per cent respectively (Census, 2011). Recent data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) show that nearly 12 per cent of older adults were 60+ and that the states of Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu had a higher proportion of older adults (IIPS, 2020). India had, in the past, a predominantly familybased elder care system. However, rapid population ageing, the decline of extended families coupled with decreasing fertility rates, increasing life expectancy, widowhood, singlehood or strained intergenerational relationships, have all raised concerns that an increasing number of older adults in India live alone. These concerns are amplified as India, like many other lower-and middle-income countries, is still struggling in setting up social security and pensions systems (Arokiasamy and Yadav, 2014; Giridhar et al, 2014; Bloom et al, 2015). However, as we show throughout this edited volume, the demographic picture is not uniform as Indian states are at surprisingly diverse levels of demographic transition and vary to a great extent in their cultural practices, social norms and socio-political contexts.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the topic by situating the subsequent chapters within the broad demographic trends already mentioned and gives an outline of the structure and chapters of the book. This chapter introduces the need for focus on living arrangements and care. It highlights the social, economic and cultural contexts that shape the provision of care for older adults. We link the different studies presented and explore the consequences of changing living arrangements on long-term care, and the economic, physical, social and psychological well-being of older people.