The highlight of August was shooter Abhinav Bindra standing on the podium to receive his medal — India’s first individual Olympic gold — the tricolour going up behind him to the tune of the national anthem. The timing couldn’t have been better. It was the eve of the nation’s 62nd Independence Day.

Indeed, India is in its silver years now, a nation built on “the age-old values of harmony, tolerance and mutual respect” in the words of President Pratibha Patil in her address to the nation.

We owe these values to none other than our silvers. These are the men and women that built this country brick by brick. They toiled selflessly to enable us to enjoy the fruits of independence. And they laid the foundations for India’s economic growth.

What have we done for them in return?

The answer: precious little. It’s been 61 years since Independence and we are yet to guarantee our silvers financial security, healthcare, shelter, protection of life and property, freedom from abuse, security and a barrier-free environment — all imperatives in a modern, developed, ‘free’ state. To achieve these goals, the National Policy for Older Persons was unveiled in 1999. But it resulted in more sound than substance.

In fact, the only concrete provision for the elderly has been the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens’ Act, passed in 2007, which makes it mandatory for adult children or grandchildren to financially provide for the elderly. With the constitution of maintenance tribunals in each sub-division to enforce it still underway, it remains to be seen whether the Act fulfils its mandate.

The good news is that some states are taking matters in their own hand. This month, the Himachal Pradesh government announced its ‘Integrated Programme for Old People’ to establish old age homes and day centres, provide geriatric care; and reach out to silvers through counsellors and volunteers in collaboration with the community and NGOs.

Harmony for Silvers Foundation commends this effort. Rather than disparate agencies — government and non-government — working at cross-purposes, civil society must work as a unified force. Let’s give our silvers their due, recognise their potential and bring them in from the fringes. It’s only then that the true promise of our freedom can be fulfilled.