‘Solidarity, not sympathy': Kolkata campaign centres dignity of the elderly
In a social ecosystem where the elderly often find themselves isolated, battling loneliness and depression with few avenues for expression or support, a citywide campaign currently underway in Kolkata seeks to reconnect them with the world beyond their often-empty homes.
Launched in mid-April at the Asiatic Society by the Department of Psychiatric Social Work at SSKM Hospital, in collaboration with the National Institute of Social Defence — a Central government body — the initiative will conclude with a West Bengal-level conference at the Indian Museum on June 22.
A significant milestone in the campaign came on June 15, observed globally as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, during an event at the Kolkata Police Training School. In a departure from conventional observances, caregivers and family members were not invited. The event gave the stage exclusively to older adults, who spoke candidly about experiences of neglect and psychosocial distress — concerns often overlooked in discussions around India's ageing population.
'Mental healthcare for older adults is not optional — it's essential. Wrongly labelling depression or dementia as 'normal ageing' delays care and deepens suffering,' Dr. Amit Bhattacharya, Professor of Psychiatry at SSKM Hospital, said underscoring the urgency of the campaign's goals.
One of the campaign's most poignant moments, according to organisers, was a theatre performance titled Banchbo Mora Eksathe (We Will Survive Together) by the group Janhabi Sanskritik Chakra. The performance conveyed the message that dignity is not a favour but a fundamental right.
'This campaign is not about sympathy — it is about solidarity. When someone says, 'No one has asked me in years how I feel,' it shakes you. Right to dignity cannot expire with age,' Mayank Kumar, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatric Social Work and project head, said.
Reflecting on the emotional resonance of the sessions, Manisha Manna, an M.Phil. scholar and facilitator, said, 'Several participants broke down. For some, it was the first time anyone asked how they were doing emotionally. One woman held my hand and cried — not because of anything I said but because someone finally cared to ask. It reminded me that we don't always need grand solutions. We just need to listen.'
The Kolkata Police, which partnered for the June 15 event, runs a separate programme for senior citizens called PRONAM. 'Our programme has around 26,000 members enrolled. Any resident of Kolkata above 60 and living alone or with a spouse can enrol with us. We have a dedicated helpline and a call centre for them. Police persons keep visiting members regularly to provide them a sense of security,' said Santosh Pandey, Additional Commissioner of Police.
The final event on June 21–22 will bring together experts from institutions such as NIMHANS, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and Delhi University. 'India currently has over 104 million citizens aged 60 and above, according to Census 2011, and this number is expected to nearly double by 2050. Globally, it is estimated that 7% of older adults live with depression, 5% with dementia, and 2% with anxiety disorders. In India, however, such conditions often remain undiagnosed and untreated, usually dismissed as part of 'normal ageing',' said Mr. Kumar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Foundation stone laid for Viral Research Diagnostic Lab in Kurnool
Minister for Industries and Commerce T.G. Bharath on Saturday (July 5) said he was committed to developing the Kurnool Government General Hospital. The Minister was here to lay the foundation stone for a Viral Research Diagnostic Lab (VRDL) on the premises of Kurnool Medical College. He said both the GGH and the medical college are prestigious institutions that produced several eminent doctors. 'We are taking steps to develop the hospital on a par with corporate hospitals,' he said. He said the VRDL would help doctors get key tests done in the hospital. The lab is being constructed with Central funds, and the contractor has been asked to complete the construction within three months. 'We will also take steps to complete the construction of the out-patient section, which was halted mid-way after the previous government did not release funds,' he said, adding they recently began 120-slice CT scan provision in the hospital. Officials said with the setting up of VRDL, confirmatory tests for flu, dengue, malaria, COVID and other virus-related ailments could be conducted at the hospital itself. The Centre is spending ₹60 lakh to set up of the lab. Adoni MLA P.V. Pardhasarathi, medical college principal Chitti Narsamma and GGH superintendent Venkateswarlu were present.
Hans India
5 days ago
- Hans India
Prioritise mental health for a developed India: Tripura Guv
Vijayawada: Tripura Governor Nallu Indrasena Reddy stressed the importance of mental health as essential to the nation's progress while inaugurating the Clinical Psychology and Professional Diploma in Clinical Psychology (PDCP) courses at Indlas Hospitals here on Monday. Speaking at the event, Indrasena Reddy stated that the vision of a Viksita Bharat (Developed India) is incomplete without ensuring the mental well-being of its citizens. Along with medical and health minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav, he handed over admission letters to students of the newly-launched courses. He also pointed out India's growing reputation as a global healthcare hub attracting patients even from developed countries due to quality and affordable treatment. However, he called for an end to the social stigma surrounding mental illness, urging society to treat mental disorders like any other health issue. Minister Satya Kumar Yadav praised Indlas Hospitals for initiating the advanced mental health courses to address the growing demand for professionals in this sector. Citing national data, he said nearly 80 per cent of people in India experience some form of mental health challenge, while Andhra Pradesh alone records a prevalence of 76.22 per cent. He called on the film industry to refrain from misrepresenting mental health professionals and appealed for empathy and respect toward those undergoing treatment. He further said there is a need for at least three psychiatrists per one lakh population and shared that the Central government had allocated Rs 1,100 crore towards mental health in the current financial year. The minister also announced the upcoming launch of a Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Visakhapatnam, modelled after NIMHANS, Bengaluru. An expert committee led by Dr Indla Ramasubba Reddy will be formed to drive innovation in the field. The event featured the unveiling of course brochures and concluded with minister Yadav felicitating Governor Indrasena Reddy with a Dharmavaram silk shawl and a copy of his book 'Satyakalam'. Key dignitaries present included Dr P Chandrasekhar, vice-chancellor of Dr NTR Health University, MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, registrar Dr V Radhika Reddy, and Dr G Samaram.
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Startup Mantra: Giving nurses wings
Pune: After spending 10 years with his earlier venture upGrad, Mayank Kumar left in October 2024 to start another company — BorderPlus — with his co-founder Ayush Mathur (who was earlier with OYO). The genesis of BorderPlus began when Mayank was in Germany and happened to visit an old age home. Lack of healthcare professionals at a foreign country triggered Ayush to set up his second startup BorderPlus that aims to meet the increasing demand for skilled nurses in Europe to begin with. (AP (PIC FOR REPRESENTATION)) 'I noticed there that despite having capacity they could absorb maybe 70%-80% elderly people. The reason? They lacked staff that could care for them. This was the case in most of the old age homes there. While their population was growing old, they did not have enough young, able-bodied people to look after them. Also, about 90% of the residents were women. And besides having someone to care for them, they wanted a person who they could talk to, someone to share their day with. And, unfortunately, this was missing.' 'To address this demographic crisis – this huge shortfall of caregivers, in such homes, Germany was planning to hire thousands of Indian nurses over the next few years.' And so, Mayank's entrepreneurial mind began to work in overdrive. 'This was something we noticed in countries around the world. They were struggling to find skilled workers, especially in healthcare, logistics, and construction. A key driver of this shortage is the aging population in many developed nations. In Japan, nearly 30% of the population is over 65. Germany isn't far behind, with 22% of its population in the same age bracket. As older populations grow and birth rates decline, the pressure on essential services, especially healthcare, is increasing sharply. At the same time, India has a large, young, and trained talent pool. But most people don't have access to the right support systems to take their skills global,' he said. This was an opportunity knocking at the door. Mayank Kumar (HT) Mayank set out to build a solution for this need. He met with several stakeholders across countries- hospital recruiters, healthcare administrators, and policymakers. 'What we consistently heard was that the talent gap wasn't just about skills or degrees. It was about language proficiency and real-world readiness.' Mayank understood that to serve the need in those countries he had do more than just send out blue-collar workers on the next plane to Germany. 'There's no shortage of qualified professionals in India. But without strong language training, cultural preparation, and the ability to meet local standards, most would never get access to global opportunities.' And so, he got down to fill that gap in their qualification. 'That's when we realised that if we could integrate a finishing school with language training, career support, and employer demand and layer it with technology for scale and credibility, we could build something truly transformative. A platform that doesn't just move people, but prepares them to stay, grow, and thrive in their new environments. Getting down to work Simply getting blue-collar workers jobs abroad was not the goal was obvious. They had to be trained like in a finishing school. They had to have fluency in the foreign language, understand their customs and culture, get assistance with various legal procedures, be able to crack the visa interviews. BorderPlus helps people build global careers, not just get jobs abroad. Mayank said, 'Finishing school helps train participants in German language and healthcare-specific communication, prepare for cultural and professional expectations, help with documents, interviews, and visa paperwork, and connect to employers abroad.' With his tech skills and upGrad experience, Mayank devised an AI tool that can teach nurses German in 750 to 800 hours. 'If they put in five to six hours every weekday they can learn the language in seven months to about a year. Our AI-powered training platform supports learners with personalised feedback, real-time pronunciation correction, and self-paced practice modules. It complements the finishing school experience and makes sure candidates can build fluency and confidence even outside the classroom.' The programme fee for nurses is ₹ 2 lakh and the amount is reimbursed either through a BorderPlus scholarship or relocation support. 'Our revenue model is employer-based, meaning we only earn when a hospital or recruiter successfully hires someone we've trained,' he said. BorderPlus charges employers ₹ 4 lakh to ₹ 12 lakh per worker placed. Building the platform Since both the founders come with prior entrepreneurial background, assembling a strong early team and raising capital was not their biggest challenge. Mayank, 'What mattered more was to have clarity - a clear understanding of the problem, the systems we needed to build, and how to solve it meaningfully at scale. The real work now is focused execution, integrating training, tech, and compliance into one seamless experience for both candidates and employers. We're building for trust and long-term impact, and that takes time. We're not just trying to scale, we're trying to solve the problem in a way that actually works for everyone involved. We're still building it and there's a lot more work ahead.' The money story Up until now Mayank and his co-founder Ayush started with founder capital of ₹ 1 crore and a few small grants, keeping it lean and intentional. In February 2025, they raised $7 million in their first institutional round. Owl Ventures led the round, with support from investors like Binny Bansal, Ritesh Agarwal, Mithun Sacheti, Apoorva Patni, and Aakash Chaudhary. 'The funds are going into scaling our finishing school model, building AI-led tools like a language bot, expanding to new sectors, and setting up more training hubs across India and beyond.' Ayush Mathur (HT) Each candidate contributes roughly 40%–50% margin after accounting for costs. 'The current focus is on optimising delivery while maintaining quality and compliance.' In their first batch they enrolled 150 nurses who will complete their course in October-November this year. 'Even before our batch closure we are seeing our nurses getting placed.' The country in focus is Germany but plans are afoot to cater to Japan, the UK, Canada, Europe, GCC. Competition Mayank is not unduly concerned about competition because he knows that at the moment there aren't many players who provide the kind of services that they do. 'There are players who focus on either recruitment or training, but not many who do both in a structured, end-to-end way. What sets us apart is our full-stack approach. We don't just find people jobs, we train them, prepare them, and support them all the way. It's about outcomes, not just placements.' Plans to scale Their training hubs are in Pune and Kochi. This 'finishing school' model takes a candidate from language and soft skills to culture and documentation. It runs through both physical hubs and digital tools like AI-led language bots and modular training content. Parallelly, they are working closely with employers, hospitals and governments in their destination countries. The big picture According to Mayank, 'The global demand for skilled professionals, especially in healthcare, is not just large, it's also accelerating. The World Health Organization projects a global shortfall of 4.5 million nurses by 2030. Countries like Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK are actively expanding visa routes and relaxing norms to bring in foreign talent, with India emerging as a preferred source due to the strong reputation of its nurses. India has a growing, young workforce, but most lack access to structured global pathways. That's the gap we're solving. 'We're building structured global careers backed by training, technology, and trust. Our goal is to create 42 mobility routes across sectors, beginning with healthcare and soon expanding into other high-demand fields like logistics and construction. 'Our model is vertically integrated from language training and cultural preparation to documentation, placement, and post-arrival support. For destination countries, that means better-prepared, longer-retaining talent. For candidates, it means a smoother, more supported journey to global opportunity,' he said. Future plans BorderPlus has seen a 20%-30% increase in demand for nurses since its launch in January this year. 'We're setting up more hubs across Delhi NCR, the North East, and South India, and expanding quickly through a franchise model. We're also scaling in the Philippines and Brazil, and actively training 150+ nurses there right now. The goal is to train 100,000 nurses in the next few months. And we're also exploring strategic partnerships and acquisitions to grow faster in key regions.' Mayank and Ayush have set their sights across the globe. Time will tell how this will play out for India's blue-collared workers.
