Last update:November 14, 2024, 12:08 PM IST

Children’s Day in India, celebrated on November 14, is a unique cultural touchstone. It is a testament to the nation’s love for its children, deeply linked to Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy

Nehru’s birthday was chosen as a day to emphasize the importance of cultivating and educating the youth of the nation. (Image: Shutterstock)

Today is November 14, a day that is celebrated as Children’s Day in India. The day is celebrated every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who is known to have been particularly fond of children. Nehru’s birthday was chosen as a day to emphasize the importance of nurturing and educating the youth of the nation. The children fondly call him “Chacha Nehru.” He loved children and treated them as the pillars of India’s future.

Children, for one, look forward to the fourteenth day of November every year. This is a day when they are the center of attention. We all grew up seeing schools go the extra mile to make children feel special on this day by getting teachers to dance and organize plays, apart from hosting lots of fun activities. Schools organize cultural programmes, games and awareness activities and often the focus is on the child’s welfare and education. And above all, who can forget the treats that come with it at the end of the holidays.

Children’s Day around the world: dates and themes

Children’s Day varies around the world, but most countries celebrate Universal Children’s Day on November 20, declared by the United Nations in 1954. It falls on the day the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. of the Child in 1989. Meanwhile, another International Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1 every year. The day’s international focus is on children’s rights, well-being and protection from violence and exploitation, making it a day of advocacy as much as celebration. Here’s how the world celebrates children:

• United Nations (November 20): Universal Children’s Day is an international day of awareness and mobilization around children’s rights, well-being and global concerns.
• Japan: May 5th is a named national holiday “Kodomo no Hello” in Japanese, which simply translates into English as Children’s Day. It originates from traditional festivals. This is a family-centered day with the most important cultural customs that support children’s happiness and health.
• Mexico (April 30): The Niño Day it is both a day of joy and a moment of highlighting children’s rights through activities designed to enjoy, connect and address the common special needs of children.

Changing the date of Children’s Day in India: A debate

In recent years there has been a debate in India to change the date of Children’s Day celebration to November 20, corresponding to Universal Children’s Day. Supporters of this change believe that an internationally recognized date can raise the profile of child welfare and rights in line with international standards. Holding Children’s Day on November 20 would bring India in line with the rest of the world by building an international consensus on children’s rights. Moving beyond a historical figure to an internationally recognized children’s day can also include celebrations for today’s issues: child labour, abuse and access to schools.

On the other hand, some critics of this pressure point out that November 14 has inseparable relations with Nehru’s legacy and with India’s cultural heritage. For many, it was about rejoicing for the joy and innocence of childhood, rather than just celebrating the rights of the child. There are arguments that this date has acquired a special cultural significance over time and is a unique tradition in India. Changing the date will further dilute this national character. The second point is that in India, Children’s Day is often less activist and more celebratory. The focus is on fun, games and educational activities. The fear is that November 20 will make this more somber, issue-focused in tone.

The opinions expressed in the piece above are personal and solely the author’s. They do not necessarily reflect the views of News18.