Children are God's precious gift to mankind. They are our most precious resource and our future. God has created each one of them with tremendous potential. Institutions should strive hard to ignite their potential and enable them to realize it in full for their self-gratification and the well-being of the nation. The fresh innocence, vibrant zeal, unbiased temperament and implicit trust that they practice among their peers should be recognized, promoted and celebrated. Only then, we have the right to envision a community of harmony, understanding and prosperity.
Universally, Children's Day is celebrated on November 20, every year. It was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly with the sole objective of promoting exchange, sharing and understanding among children all over the world. Children's Day in India is celebrated on November 14 as a day of fun and frolic and a celebration of childhood. It coincides with the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the acknowledged architects of modern India. He was very fond of children and motivated them with his exhortation and counsel as he firmly believed that 'they are like tender buds in a garden and hence they should be lovingly and carefully nurtured as the onus of nation-building rightfully rests on their young shoulders'. He saw the future of the nation in them.
He had a peculiar way of unwinding after a day's hard work at office. In the open courtyard of his house there stood a robust blackberry tree that blossomed during the summer, laden with ripe and juicy blackberries. Pandit Nehru had instructed his staff to allow the children to enter the premises and enjoy the fruit. Thus, every evening, the courtyard would be filled with children, feasting on the berries. He would spend some time each day, either watching their activities or interacting with them, which rejuvenated him. I can personally vouch for the authenticity of this exercise, as I do the same quite often to reenergize myself.
The children reciprocated their affection and lovingly addressed him as 'Chacha Nehru'. Considering his immense love for children, it was decided to celebrate his birthday as Children's Day. The main objective of celebrating Children's Day is to emphasise the crucial role of children in society as the future leaders and nation-builders of tomorrow. However, we should not deviate from the noble legacy of Pandit Nehru of 'providing children with a safe and loving environment to grow up and flourish in', as well as giving them ample and equal opportunities by which they can contribute to the progress of the nation.
After Pandit Nehru, the other dignitary to spend a lot of time interacting with children was our former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. I'm sure he saw this as a very true path to achieve his vision for the country by the year 2020. Once, after a group of Ryan students met the former President, I interacted with them and asked them to share their experiences on how they valued the interaction. One of them responded promptly saying, "His Excellency is a great scientist and a great man. I love him and would like to become our country's future President". This clearly shows that a valuable desire was planted in this child's heart. Our children can make a meaningful difference to the nation's development and our former President Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave a lot of importance to this prospect.
November 14, serves as a reminder to each and every one of us to renew our commitment to the welfare of children. Though it is widely believed that 'children are the most valuable resource of any nation as they hold the key to the development and prosperity of the nation' in practice, only few comprehend the real significance of this statement. Studies have revealed that of the total population of our country, children below the age of 18 form a substantial proportion of 350 million. Sadly, of this large segment of population, 100 million children are not enrolled in any educational institution.
Is this the future generation to whom we would be entrusting our country's fast developing economy?
While we feel proud that India is blessed with a large young population, we also have to shamefully admit that our country has the largest number of working children in the world. Young people share a very important responsibility to improve the lives of children. There are more young people now than ever before and if we work together, we will be a major part of the solutions to the world's biggest challenges.
We are not troubled in our conscience by the shocking information that millions of our children are undernourished, deprived, abused and exploited. When one discerns the future of our country with a far-sighted and prophetic perception, one will realize that the continued indifference to the well-being of children will result in total annihilation of quality of life for posterity. We need to examine our priorities as a nation with constant reference to the imperative human values that are indispensable, ensuring equal privileges to all - the affluent and needy. India being ranked 94th behind Ethiopia (ranked 93rd) out of the 118 countries in the Global Hunger Index by the International Food Policy Research Institute should affect us in a far greater degree that the constant fluctuations in the sensex index.
'Children's Day' is marked with a lot of activities, organised by institutions all over the country. Television channels telecast fascinating programmes, keeping children in focus as the target audience. But the reality is that only a small section of the children across the country are the real beneficiaries of most of these celebrations. A major section of our children are left outside the ambit of our celebrations. Why can't we inculcate in our children a sense of responsibility they owe to the welfare of millions of children in our country who don't even enjoy the basic necessities of life?
I recently shared our theme of 'Each one, Teach One' with a production house, who willingly endorsed the theme through a movie titled Masti Express which promotes it through a story, where a few school students take the responsibility to help their friend (whose father is a rickshaw driver) to pursue school education like them. I am sure that the power of such films is rewarding, as they influence the minds of young children for a good cause. The best way to change the world is through our children.
Every child has the right to be cared for, by his or her own parents. I would like to quote Beverly LaHaye, a renowned family seminar speaker, who said: "When children first come into your life they trust you for everything. If the parents are absent from home, they are not going to be able to be effective later on when the kids are teenagers. You have to start influencing children when they are young and willing to be developed under your leadership and guidance. Start when they're babies and don't let up when they're toddlers and don't let up when they're in school and don't let up when they're ready to graduate. You continue until the day they leave your home and you look back and realize you have done faithfully what God has told you to do: to train them up in the way they should go from the day they were brought into your home through birth or adoption."
Our children must have a meaning in their lives: to love God and to love others - their parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, all their fellow human beings, even those who may have hurt or offended them. To love one's neighbour means to live for others, lending a helping hand, giving service where needed, being just, honest and pure, gentle, truthful and kind.
Families needing support to care for their children should receive it. The government should help families by developing social policies, which support struggling families and make childcare and psychosocial support services available to all families. May our nation become preeminently child-centric in planning and the implementation beneficiary of the nation's resources, as I firmly believe in Wordsworth's conviction that 'Child is the father of Man'. Let us do our best to guarantee our children a better future.
