What Children expecton their Day ?
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: November 14, 2014 -

Today is Children Day, the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was the first prime minister of the country.

‘Nehru loved children’ because he envisioned children as the assets of the society, future pillars and destiny of the nation.

Mere celebration of the Day on November 14 every year along with distributing sweets to children will not be the befitting tribute a personality who endeared the siblings among mankind from the very core of heart.

The society as a whole, both the law makers, law enforcers, and the general public have to shoulder the responsibilities to protect our children from all kinds of hardships they are facing in this so called modern society today.

In Manipur, children are not secure enough on the laps of their mothers and are devoid of safety in their educational institutions.

A number of cases of child kidnappings for ransom, forced recruitment to armed groups, child labour, trafficking and atrocities, sexual assaults, rapes and murders have happened in Manipur during the past two decades.

Still today, girl children are frequently reported murdered after rapes by their near and dear guardians.

Just a few days ahead of the much celebrated Children Day, two girls were raped and murdered in their localities. Even girls with disabilities have been raped in school campuses and elsewhere.

In spite of throwing the ball out to the government agencies for failure to prevent such acts, the society as a whole has to take the responsibility for the sins committed to the children of this land.

Not to talk of personality development and other achievements for our children, we have to focus on the very safety of their lives first.

Right to life for our children and right to food for the small siblings must precede other rights including education.

Social welfare department, school education sector, juvenile police agencies, labour department, judicial bodies, media agencies and afterall the non-government organizations working for children’s rights must sit together to chalk out a strong and forceful ‘Child Safety Policy’ to save the future generation of this state.

Mere condemning the cases of crimes and violence against children when it happens will not serve the purpose.

The plans and suggestions must be concretized to make them practical.

Such will be the demonstration of real love for the children. It will be the real celebration of Children Day.