I was privileged to be invited as the chief guest to a Children’s Day-related function, an honour bestowed upon me by a reputed school in a tehsil in the year 2002. Conscious that donning the role of chief guest was a solemn duty to be discharged befittingly, I went well-prepared.
India had been celebrating Children’s Day since 1956, but initially it was celebrated on November 20. After the death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, the celebration of Children’s Day was advanced by six days to coincide with his birthday on November 14. Nehru’s penchant for children was epochal.
The famous lines in which Nehru enunciated his views on children are: “The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.”
The cultural programme presented by the schoolchildren, the main segment of the function, was hugely entertaining and deservingly cheered loudly. After the children had displayed their talent, it was the turn of the elders to speak on the occasion. The speakers, including the school principal and other guests of honour, appreciated the children’s performances in the cultural programme and wished them well for the future, besides giving them some piece of advice or the other.
But I was aghast that there was no invocation of Nehru’s name in the entire proceedings. How could we celebrate Children’s Day without commemorating Nehru’s legacy? Having read extensively about the freedom movement, including Nehru’s Discovery of India, I viewed him as an iconic stalwart. His autobiography and Glimpses of World History were other renowned books with which I was familiar.
The perception among Nehru’s contemporaries was that he would have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in literature if writing had been his main vocation. I have no doubt in my mind that Nehru transformed a nascent nation into a self-confident, mature, democratic republic with a liberal ethos. He laid the foundations for strong institutions, which have stood India in good stead. You name any institution today; overwhelming chances are that those were created in Nehru’s time. With all this knowledge in my mind, it was unimaginable for me not to hear any eulogies to Nehru.
Rising to address the gathering in the end, I took upon the mantle of the Chief Guest to redeem Nehru from the egregious omission. I touched upon the significance of November 14 as the birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru and how Children’s Day coincided with it.
The audience’s attentiveness was palpable when I elaborated on the contributions and accomplishments of the first Prime Minister of India. Winding up my speech, I told the students about the Discovery of India and exhorted them to emulate Nehru in discovering India and shaping its future.