On September 18, 2007, 74-year-old Bharpai shuffled up to the HelpAge India partner organisation office in bustling Rohtak, a small town about 100 kilometres north-west of capital Delhi. She had had to cross a busy road to get there, a road most residents prefer to avoid as it sometimes means a wait of 10 minutes before a clear stretch. Climbing the two steps to get in, she almost collapsed and the staff rushed to her aid. She had come all the way, alone, to put her thumb-print on a petition HelpAge India submitted to the government on October 1, on the occasion of International Day of Older Persons, as part of an international campaign called “Age Demands Action.”

Thousands of elders like Bharpai have put their might behind this drive. “Older people deserve to be looked after,” she said, talking of why the campaign was so important. “We don’t want to be pushed around or become a liability on our families. The state must acknowledge its responsibility.”

Age Demands Action is an international campaign initiated by HelpAge International to focus the attention and energy of its 68 affiliates in 50 countries around the world to mobilize older persons to engage their governments to enact change around the International Day of Older Persons.