- It’s all good to read, mention, and argue about how the development of children is extremely crucial for the overall growth of the nation. We have heard enough of how children are the future of the nation as this generation is not only expected to carry forward the developmental agenda set forth by the policymakers but also set a legacy for the next generations to sustain the momentum. Every government worth its salt would leave no stone unturned in ensuring desired levels of focus, attention, and resources allotted to attune the children’s growth prospects in line with the nation’s mission of being counted amongst the best. Needless to mention, none would wish to be left behind on this crucial parameter that makes or breaks the nation’s forward march.
PC: Medium
- The moot point to ponder here is how India positions itself in comparison to other countries worldwide. Are we capable of terming ourselves as one of the best in the world in terms of provisioning requisite resources for our young children? Unfortunately, we are mired in mere rhetoric rather than providing concrete measures for our children to prosper at par with their counterparts elsewhere. As reported recently, a 13-year-old Mumbai resident, Anamta Ahmed, who lost an arm in an electrocution accident went on to score 92% in her board exams. Much as we celebrate the young girl’s resilience, and her will to overcome a life-altering accident, it’s yet another reminder of how India fails her children, again and again.
- Children electrocuted is just another horror we appear helpless to fix. Per2018 report, Status of Children in Urban India by the National Institute of Urban Affairs, looked at the lives of children in cities. The under-18 brigade makes up 34% of the urban population – 129m kids of India’s 472m children live in cities. Viewed through the children’s prism, the uneven development of every big city is starkly evident. Vulnerable groups – slum and street children, migrant kids, and children with disability are for policymakers a blind spot, and almost entirely missing from datasets. They work in appalling conditions, are violated, underfed, and are drug mules. Those in urban clusters have limited access to green spaces and play areas, contributing to obesity and a lack of interpersonal skills.
PC: Child Care Aware
- Further, kids drowning in drains, getting trapped in elevators, and suffering the impact of pollution, are matters that trigger anguish, but nothing concrete is done about it. Urban parents’ biggest fear is allowing children mobility. Roads are unsafe. One has lost count of the number of school bus accidents, unauthorized vehicles ferrying kids, drunk drivers, and accidents. In slums, fear of traffickers sees young girls marked off. Assault on minor boys is a blind spot in law and society. Schools are largely unsafe as sexual harassment by teachers, by all accounts, is grossly underreported. No wonder, crimes against children, including cybercrimes, are on the rise. We obsess about having children, yet as a nation, we don’t know how to care for them. Some concrete steps by the government machinery for the all-round welfare of children are par for the course.
