Kamla Devi (not her real name), of advanced but uncertain age, lives in Lohari, a remote adivasi village located inside a wildlife sanctuary in Udaipur, Rajasthan. On a summer day in 2016, we approached her as she was chasing after a small herd of goats, to ask questions as part of a study on the relation between ageing, paid work and pensions.

Our very first question–whether she was a beneficiary of the government’s non-contributory pension scheme for the aged–irritated her. She explained that she was indeed a beneficiary but did not want to be one. Local officials had refused to give her work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA, the law that governs the key central government employment guarantee programme) since she received Rs 500 a month as pension under the scheme.

In a clear violation of MGNREGA, Kamla Devi was informed that the pension was the reason she had been denied work under MGNREGA. She was clear that she wanted to continue working to earn a living, not just because the pension is too little, but, as she explained, because she was still capable of labouring.

In the block headquarters of Kotda in Udaipur district, the study took us to Irfan’s house (he uses one name). He put his age at close to 60 years and said he had spent the better part of his life transporting loads on his head for a fee. Having remarried in his old age, Irfan lived with his young wife and 10-year-old son. He said he suffered from severe back pain and muscle soreness, and would like nothing more than to stop working. However, between his son’s school fees and his own medical bills, he had no choice but to work. Recently, his wife had also begun to look for work to share his burden.

Full Content: Sify finance

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