Kerala is about to make caring for its elders a matter of law

V.D. Satheesan stood before a hall of senior citizens in Paravur and promised them something no government has put into law before: a legal guarantee of protection and care for the old. Kerala's draft bill — due in the assembly within weeks — would map every senior in the state, fund specialized care for the bedridden, people with dementia, and those needing palliative care, and send trained caregivers to elderly people who can't afford help. A new elder-care training track starts next year: six months in the classroom, a year of hands-on practice. And Satheesan wants the state's retirees mentoring young entrepreneurs, not sidelined. His reasoning is demographic — nearly 4 in 10 Keralites will be over 60 by 2036 — and moral: ‘The level of civilisation of any society should be assessed based on how it treats its oldest members.’