Hyderabad: India celebrates its Children's Day along with the festival of Diwali this year. The day is celebrated each year on the birth anniversary of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which is on November 14.
Reasons to celebrate Children's Day
Children's Day is also known as Bal Diwas. Chacha Nehru was mainly fond of children and roses. According to Jawaharlal Nehru, children should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. They are the strength of the country and the foundation of society.
History and Significance of Children’s Day
Besides the active involvement in Indian politics, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was very fond of children and was often seen to be photographed with them. He was fondly addressed as Chacha Nehru due to his popularity among children. Nehru was often witnessed as saying that children should always be carefully and lovingly nurtured and he regarded them as “the future of the nation” and “the citizens of tomorrow”.
Jawaharlal Nehru was well-known for his affection and love for kids. He advocated for children to have fulfilled education. “The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country,” he exclaimed once. He emphasised on the education of children and played a major role in the continuous establishment of colleges in the country which are still considered one of the best in the country. He was involved in the establishment of prestigious institutes of India like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and the National Institutes of Technology (NIT).
He always believed in the country’s young minds and emphasised on their welfare and growth. Hence, many educational and motivational programs are held across India, by and for children on his birth anniversary.
Children's Day celebration in India
A lot of programs including cultural and fun activities are organised all over India. Government and non-government organisations, schools, NGOs, private bodies and other conduct a variety of competition for the children to let them known about their rights and make them happy and cheer.
TV channels also demonstrate interesting programs for the children on the 14th of November. Parents take part in this event very enthusiastically to make their children happy; they distribute gifts, greeting cards to their sons and daughters.
Children's Day celebration across the world
The foundation of Children's Day was laid in 1925 and in 1953, it was recognized worldwide.
On 20 November, the United Nations (UN) announced to celebrate Children's Day. Due to this, Children's Day was celebrated on 20 November in India also. But in many countries, it is celebrated on different days. Like in 1950, Child Protection Day (June 1) is celebrated in many countries as Children's Day.
After independence, in 1959, the first Children's Day was celebrated in India. But after the death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, the Children's Day celebration date was changed from 20 November to 14 November (birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru).
Also Read: PM Modi pays tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on his 131st birth anniversary
