Children's Day is celebrated across India to raise awareness about the rights, education, and welfare of children. It is celebrated on 14 November every year on the birthday of the First Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was known to have been fond of 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.