India, June 17 -- Her hair is a smoky grey, the face, a little wrinkled and the eyes, blood-flecked. At 73, Sharda Gambhir, a resident of Malviya Nagar, needed care, love and attention from her loved ones but life had something else in store for her. "Can you even imagine your daughter harassing you because she wants maximum rights in your property? Or making false allegations and calling the police?" she asks. She adds that it was only after several rounds at the courts spread over the months that she managed to get a judgement in her favour.

Gambhir is one of the elderly people who featured in a report that was released by HelpAge India, a charity working with and for disadvantaged elderly for nearly four decades. The nationwide report...