DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2014.v02i01.011

Pages: 52-56

The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person's age, race, sex, religion, place of birth, or social status and government authorities worked to enforce these provisions with varying degrees of success. Despite laws designed to prevent discrimination, social and cultural practices as well as other legislation had a profound discriminatory impact and discrimination against elderly, women, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, national, racial and ethnic minorities was a problem. In the present scenario although family ties in India are still living with their family members, the position of an increasing number of older persons is becoming vulnerable they cannot take it granted that their children will be able to look after them when they need care in the old age, keeping in view the longer life span which implies an extended period of dependency (Help Age India, 2002). It was argued that in Puducherry schedule caste rural elders have smaller number and narrower range of community based services available to support independent life. It is mostly because schedule caste population in Puducherry is characterized by young generation, eroding traditional family system and networks. Elderly in schedule caste areas have limited access to existing health care, social infrastructure and socioeconomic as well as environmental challenges. Also the dwellers of the schedule caste areas are basically are agriculture labours and engaged in informal sector where there is inadequate social security measure for the elderly. In Puducherry region there is no old age home facilities provide by Government of Puducherry. More over schedule caste people are illiterate and ignorant about any such policy and programmes that available for the social support of elderly. Therefore the present study will give an idea about impaired social support and improve for their health care and social security services for schedule caste elderly.