Childhood, according to William Wordsworth, is the initial stage of digression from divinity. The soul is given a body as a dress and dispatched into the material world to confront trials and tribulations. When the soul confronts the body, a tussle begins between the two, mortifying and restraining each other from completion. The process of birth blurs or deletes most of the divine light and vision obtained in the world of particles, where God called for recognition. The rest is influenced by the society in which one is born and lives. Post-birth, recognition is lost as childhood innocence is marred by rules and regulations, halting growth and development. William Blake drew a distinction between the innocence and experience of a child, criticizing social norms that deprive children of their innocence and quickly push them into the brutal sphere of experience, losing touch with divinity.
When Blake saw little children working as chimney sweepers in London, he referred to these chimneys as their black coffins, openly criticizing such society and advocating for change. Like me, if not thousands, indeed hundreds of people might wonder whether we should celebrate Children’s Day or mourn it. To decide one’s stance, one needs to confront the following questions: Are our children safe in our societies? Are they attending schools or working at their tender ages? Are their rights preserved or snatched from them? Do they enjoy privileges like good healthcare, education, and guidance? I leave these questions to you to decide your stance.
Rousseau opened his treatise on education with the saddest lines, stating, “Everything is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man.” He referred to children whose potentials are stunted by corrupt and degenerated societies comprised of humans, not beasts and birds. Humans make stringent rules for others, not sparing animals and birds. The freedom to education is snatched from children, and they are employed in different firms and industries to earn money. Poverty is not a reason to be uneducated in this era, which has crossed the stage of institutionalization. He blames social patterns that ruin the innate goodness of the child. How can one celebrate Children’s Day if their rights are not given to them? Don’t you think it should be mourned, in black clothes, to convey its severity?
In wars and battles, children are the targets of brutality. They don’t understand the definition of war, are naive, never think of harming anyone, and are nearer to divine light than adults. In the Israel-Palestine war, who bore the brunt of war? Children! Small children who never understand the causes but witness the effects. More than eight thousand children were killed in this war. Should we not mourn their dooms on Children’s Day? They don’t need our prayers and supplication, as they have not done anything wrong. We can at least remember them on this eve and condemn their killers. Should we not lament their innocent coming and going from this filthy world? Who will read their books now? Who will build their schools, and sadly, who will become the support of their parents in their dotage?
Convening multiple functions to celebrate Children’s Day and giving or hearing multiple speeches on children’s rights is frivolous if we don’t begin from our homes and societies. We need to inquire how many children in our society don’t go to school, investigate the causes of their deprival, and facilitate avenues for them to have this privilege. It is to be started here and now. We have escaped this duty for too long and procrastinated enough. It is time for action. Let’s pledge to send the children of our societies to schools and help them become better human beings, making better societies for all of us. Our children are our posterity, our future leaders and guides. If we deprive them of their rights, we deprive the rights of our future race. If we don’t become serious and take good care of our posterity, the time will come when we will have no good doctors, teachers, engineers, or leaders. The whole social fabric will break down, and chaos will prevail. If we don’t start now, repentance and guilt-ridden memory will be our fate. Let’s start now, let’s start today. Let’s save our future, let’s educate our children.
The writer can be reached at [email protected]

Fida Hussain Bhat