The True Meaning of Children’s Day
Children’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of November in India as a tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru, who was born on this day in 1889. Nehru, who was fondly called Chacha Nehru or simply Chachaji, was known for his love for children.
Prior to 1964, India celebrated Children’s Day on 20 November, which was observed as the universal Children’s Day by the United Nations. But after his death in 1964, it was unanimously decided to celebrate his birthday as Bal Diwas in the country due to his love and affection towards children.
Nehru once said “The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country”.
Keen on the development and education of children in the country, Nehru oversaw the establishment of some of the most prominent educational institutions in India. His vision for the development of youth played a major role in the setting up of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, or AIIMS, and the Indian Institutes of Technology. He even initiated the establishment of the Indian Institutes of Management.
Why It’s Important
Fredrick Douglass, an American social reformer, writer and statesman one said- ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men’. A wise quote referring to the role children could play in laying the foundation of a strong nation; a thought also shared by a much respected Indian freedom fighter and the first Prime Minister of India- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Nehru strongly believed that the foundation of a strong nation depends on the way its children are cared and nurtured. In order to build a strong nation we must instill good values in our children providing them love and care; guiding them through thick and thin till they become confident and strong enough to contribute in building the nation.
This equation was very well understood and believed by Nehru; which was displayed in his affection towards children across culture and linguistic barriers.
And so this celebration of children is a tribute to him and his belief that ‘the foundation of a strong nation depends on the happy state of its children.’ The noble man is long gone but his thoughts live till today; which we are reminded of every year on Children’s Day.
It also reminds us of the importance of well being of our kids for the nation as well as society. It also reminds us as responsible citizens of India; not to differentiate between children based on their, caste, religion, ethnicity or financial and social status. It reminds us to protect them, nourish and nurture them; providing them education, opportunity to grow and good health.
The day also marks celebrations in the schools across India, when various amusement events are organized for the children. Gifts are distributed in schools and children are morally encouraged by speeches and prize distribution ceremonies.
It is also a common practice to distribute gifts like clothes, toys and books to orphan children on this day.
Many social activists and non government organizations organize events in the slum areas of big cities; a noble effort to improve the morale of under privileged children dwelling there and also show them that they are equally cared and loved for.
The Challenge
According to UNICEF data, India accounts for 20 per cent of global deaths (more than 12 lakh children) among children less than five years of age. Of these, 5 lakh under-5 deaths annually are due to vaccine-preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.
The Government of India has taken some commendable steps already to help rectify this situation — it has adopted the India Newborn Action Plan, rolled out Mission Indradhanush with an aim to immunise all unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated children and pregnant women by 2020, started work on a new National Nutrition Strategy, and announced the inclusion of four new vaccines under its Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
However, there is still more work to be done.
India is well positioned today to move from mere activity to tangible outcomes in matters of governance. A decisive executive is working in tandem with the bureaucracy to turn around India’s dismal record on child survival and adolescent health. With support from technical partners such as the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and Gavi amongst others, we can secure our country’s future by helping our children and adolescents survive and thrive.
While there seems to be a broad consensus across the political spectrum to improve India’s health and nutrition outcomes, we need to galvanise broad-based support and time-bound action for these issues. Most critically, we need to strengthen the political will around these issues to facilitate a higher prioritisation for health and nutrition-focused programmes in budgetary processes and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
We will need the support of all child survival and adolescent health champions to translate our political advocacy into action on the ground. The new beginning that we have made this Children’s Day will only be worth it if we all join our hands together.
Ketto & Children
Since its inception, Ketto has been a champion of children’s upliftment and empowerment in India. Click on the links below to view crowdfunding projects it has been involved with for to improve the welfare of Indian kids. If you feel inspired, you can start your own project with Ketto as well.
Ketto Blog remains committed to inspiring and compelling social change to India’s most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.
