Children’s Day is celebrated all across India on November 14 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, who, due to his love for children, was fondly called Chacha Nehru.
The day emphasises on the importance of giving love, attention and affection to children, values that the first Prime Minister of India believed in. As Nehru once said, children of today will make the India of tomorrow. He believed that the way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.
Nehru was a strong advocate of the importance of education when it came to children. As a newly decolonised country, Nehru believed that good education would lift the poverty-stricken populations from their misery. He went to the United Kingdom for higher education himself at the Harrow School in London and at Trinity College, Cambridge.
With his vision, Nehru established some of the reputed educational institutions of India including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs).
As a tribute to Nehru and his contribution in their education, Children’s Day is celebrated on his birthday. Nehru, fondly called ‘Chacha Nehru’ was born on November 14, 1889. Apart from education, he also established Children’s Film Society India in 1955 to create indigenous cinema exclusively for kids.
To celebrate the occasion, schools and colleges host cultural programs, functions and events. Teachers also participate in these functions organised especially for their students, in order to express their love and affection for children.
November 14 was commemorated as Children’s Day in India only after Nehru’s demise in 1964. Before this, India celebrated Children’s Day on November 20, that is Universal Children’s Day as declared by the United Nations. Apart from being a freedom fighter, member of the Indian National Congress, Nehru has left behind a legacy of education for the children of India and is much remembered even today.