in a weakened party with no clear leader.

, which oversees the law, has not released data on the number of claims it has received. One mid-sized state, Kerala, said in 2022 that its dozens of tribunals hadsince the law’s passage, a microcosm of the national total.

Surveys show the vast majority of seniors are completely unaware of their rights under the maintenance act. Even if they do know, many are unlikely to take their kin to court.Bhagat, the leader of SHEOWS, says he’s not aware of a single resident of his shelters who has pursued a case. Many concede their fates and remain protective of the children that have deserted them.Resident Vijaya Lakshmi, 85, walks through a courtyard at the Garhmukteshwar shelter. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Resident Vijaya Lakshmi, 85, walks through a courtyard at the Garhmukteshwar shelter. (AP Photo/David Goldman)A feeling of acceptance is pervasive here. Those who call this home may have been cast away by their families, but they have been saved from the streets. Comfort comes with the rhythm of reliable meals and afternoon teas and their own quiet prayers. Castes disappear and friendships bloom.

More striking than the gravity of the stories or the weight of the sorrows is the warmth residents exude. Wide smiles spread across weathered faces as hands are pressed together in a sign of welcome or placed on a visitor’s head, gently mussing their hair to extend a blessing.

“It’s not that they don’t miss their families,” Bhagat says, “but I’ve seen a lot of broken people heal over time.”Annapurna Devi Pandey, an anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, whose research has taken her to homes for the abandoned in her native India, says respect for elders remains ingrained in society, but some must make a difficult choice between caring for their children or their parents.

“The sense of duty,” she says, “becomes kind of an existential issue.”The body of a resident named Yadagiri is prepared for cremation in Hyderabad. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The body of a resident named Yadagiri is prepared for cremation in Hyderabad. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (AP Photo/David Goldman)Neatly planted rows of vegetables cut across the Garhmukteshwar property’s midsection, a limp Indian flag comes to life with a breeze and a wall along the perimeter is painted with messages of hope.