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
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
, who was known to have been fond of children. On this day, many educational and motivational programs for children are held all over India.
History
![Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Children's Day celebrations, 14 November 1957](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Pandit_Jawaharlal_Nehru_in_Children%27s_Day_celebrations%2C_14_November_1957.jpg)
On 5
th November 1948, the first Children's Day was observed as "Flower Day" by the predecessor of Indian Council of Child Welfare (ICCW) to collect funds for United Nations Appeal for Children (UNAC) through the sale of "flower tokens". On 30 July 1949, "Children's Day" was widely celebrated and publicised through radio, articles, cinema, etc.
In 1951, V. M. Kulkarni, a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Social Welfare Fellow, while carrying out a study on the rehabilitation of
juvenile delinquents
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...
in the
UK, realized that there was no system to look after underprivileged children of India. Inspired by the Flag Day observed in England on the birthday of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
to raise money for “Save the Child Fund”, Kulkarni presented a report recommending that Pandit Nehru’s birthday could be marked as Flag Day for collecting funds for
NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
working for child welfare in India. When Nehru’s consent was sought, he was at first embarrassed but then conceded reluctantly.
While Nehru's birthday (14
th November) had publicly been celebrated all over India since 1947, with public meetings being organised to pay tribute to him and games for children being held; it was only in 1954 that the day was first celebrated as "Children's Day".
More than 50,000 schoolchildren attended the celebrations in National Stadium in Delhi.
In 1957, 14
th November was officially declared Children’s Day in India by a special government edict. The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
's Department of Posts and Telegraphs issued first day covers and three commemorative stamps on the occasion of ''Bal Din'' ("Children's Day").
Nehru and children
![Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with children](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Pandit_Jawaharlal_Nehru_with_children.jpg)
Jawaharlal Nehru was affectionately called ''Chacha Nehru'' ("Uncle Nehru") by children, and their faith in him was a constant source of happiness for him.
As the Prime Minister, Nehru wanted to "create an atmosphere in the country where the attention is constantly focused on children and their welfare". He had also established
Children's Film Society India in 1955 so that Indian children could see themselves represented.
Nehru's concern for children and their welfare,
M. O. Mathai wrote in his book ''My Days With Nehru'' (1979), "Nehru saw in their innocent faces and sparkling eyes the future of India. He was convinced that no amount of money spent on children and their mothers was too much, and that it was a sound investment for the future." When asked by
Ram Narayan Chaudhary in an interview in 1958, if he was fond of children because the future of the country depended on the children, Nehru had replied, "I have always felt that the children of today will make the India of tomorrow, and, the way we bring them up will determine the future of the country."
This philosophy is expressed in the letters written by him to
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, his daughter, when she was a young girl. The letters were also published as books. ''
Letters from a Father to His Daughter
''Letters from a Father to His Daughter'' is a collection of letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to his daughter Indira Nehru, originally published in 1929 by Allahabad Law Journal Press at Nehru's request and consisting of only the 30 letters s ...
'' (1929) and ''
Glimpses of World History
''Glimpses of World History'' is a book published by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1934. The book is subtitled ''Being further letters to his daughter, written in prison, and containing a rambling account of history for young people''.
Context
It is a ...
'' (1934) have gained fame as children’s non-fiction because, as Deepa Agarwal writes, "any child can respond to their warm, affectionate tone and his lucid and spontaneous style. The wealth of information woven into them and his unique approach to historical facts is an added bonus... communicating humanist values".
Sir Walter Crocker, however, mentioned in Nehru's biography ''
Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate'' (1966) that Nehru did not really have time for or enjoyed the company of children. He wrote, "Nehru certainly did some acting on public occasions and before the TV cameras; but never much. The acting was never worse than the pose of ''Cha Cha'' (Uncle) Nehru with the children. This was at its worst on his birthday for a few years when sycophants organized groups of children, with flowers and copious photographing, to parade with him. It was out of character; his interest in children was slender. But his acting was on the periphery of his personality. He did not fake."
Demand to change date
In 2018, sixty
MPs of
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
requested the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
to designate 26 December as Children's Day. They suggested that December 26,
the day of martyrdom of ''Chhote Sahibzaade'' (younger sons of
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...
) be observed as Children's Day, while November 14
th be celebrated as "Chacha Diwas" in memory of Nehru.
References
Unofficial observances
Children's Day
November observances
Monuments and memorials to Jawaharlal Nehru
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