Who is responsible?

SAURABH KUMAR CHAUDHARY

Last Friday when I woke up I had a special feeling. I knew it was Children’s Day. I had heard that on the special occasion, most of the organisations and some people give different facilities, gifts and healthy food products to the children especially living in orphanages and streets. So that day means a lot to those children.

There was a strike on this Children’s Day. I saw the cheerful faces of some students from a school in my locality going on a rally shouting slogans for the rights of a child. I guessed those children were very happy and hopeful on that day.

I saw three street boys of about six to eight years of age near my home. They had old and torn clothes and all of them were looking untidy. They were barefeet. Each of them had carried a sack on their back. They were searching for some iron materials in a motor garage. I felt pity for them. I felt like asking some questions to those boys. So, I went near them and asked them their names. They looked at each other with blank faces which clearly proved that they didn’t know their names. After a couple of minutes one of them spoke, “People call me ‘Kale’, his name is ‘Fuchche’ pointing towards one of his friend and his name is ‘Bhatuwa’.” I realised that there was no respect for street children.

I asked one more question to them, “Do you know today is Children’s Day and today you will get many things from people?”. Then they told me that they knew that it was Children’s Day and they had heard that people give them clothes and foods but they had not even received even a greeting from anyone on that day, so Children’s Day didn’t mean anything to them.

I was shocked. Then they went away from there smiling at me.

After this incident many types of question arose in my mind. I had no one around suitable to answer my questions. These questions couldn’t be kept hidden inside me so I decided to express my questions by means of this article. Some of my questions are —

• Is Children’s Day only for children who are safe?

• What is Children’s Day?

• Should the rights of a child be given only on

Children’s Day?

• Are all the children of

our country aware of child rights?

• Who is responsible for

an unsafe child?

— Saurabh Kumar Chaudhary, Class VIII, Sundarban School of Science