New Delhi: Children’s Day is celebrated in India on November 14, the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
Most schools in India hold fancy dress competitions, painting contests, cultural programmes and fairs organised by children, for children.
Let the children play
Here's what some young people in India have to say about their hopes and dreams for themselves and their country:
Tishya Dubey
13 years, Grade 8, Navy Children School, Goa
I would love to see my country rise to greater heights and be a guiding light to other nations. Along with holding peaceful relations with other countries, I dream of an India with a high literacy rate. This aspect will gradually eliminate poverty, as more jobs would be created. I also wish to see my country become the greatest power — in terms of new inventions for the future of mankind — and a model nation as far as cleanliness in concerned. Striving to work in its interest, I hope to become a journalist. Since I am courageous and aware of my social responsibilities, I am aiming towards my goal. I not only find that journalism is a noble profession, it is also quite challenging and can satisfy the adventurous streak in me!
Amisha Sharkanya
15 years, Grade 10, Sulabh Public School, New Delhi
I dream of seeing India a richer, happier and healthier place to live in. I want to see it progress in all fields. Sadly, though people are becoming selfish and thinking of self before society and nation, how I wish people upheld great moral values, civic sense and love for the nation. There should also be justice, as we see so much disparity regarding caste and class everywhere. That could be the reason I dream of becoming a doctor. My even bigger dream is to some day be able to set up a hospital for the poor. Along with that, in my leisure time I desire to work towards improving the sanitary conditions of the poor, who are forced to live in unhygienic surroundings.
Siddharth Chugh
14 years, Grade 9, Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, New Delhi
What I want from India is that we restore the most important thing the Britishers took away from us. That is: our culture. I find Indians aping the West. And I want people to see the reality and accept themselves for what they really are and not become slaves of western thinking and mentality. By doing this, not only will we grow confident as a people, but also set an example for the coming generations. My desire at present is to become an engineer. And once I have established a strong financial base, I want to try out as many possibilities for the good of the nation. I would want to explore new avenues, meet new people to have a different perspective to life and live it to the fullest.
Saanvi Vasdev
10 years, Grade 5, Amity International School, Noida
I dream of my country as a prosperous, popular, safe and peaceful place. Since we see and read so much about unclean and polluted environment in most cities and towns, I very much want that India becomes a clean and green country. Apart from having healthy citizens, we will also attract tourists from across the world, which will help build our economy. To see my country grow further, I shall take up a job and become self-reliant. My dream is to become independent and do social service for the needy.
Vihaan Saxena
7 years, Grade 2, Amity International School, New Delhi
My dream for my country is to become a superpower. When I grow up, I want to become a scientist. I would work on invention of clean energy sources. I would also build a spaceship that would help me travel to deep space and explore various other galaxies. In my spare time, I would also create a time machine to see how people lived in ancient times in India and recover lost knowledge and science. And when I wake up from my dreams, I shall go to school and attend classes to learn and work hard to fulfil my dreams!
Faiza Anwar Khan
12, Sixth Standard, Loretto Convent, Chembur, Mumbai
“I’m fond of all my subjects in school but English is my favourite. That is why I dream of becoming an English teacher. English is a language that helps us to communicate with people from any country. There are so many TV channels in English which give a lot of information. Though I speak Hindi at home, and my national language is Hindi, I love chatting with my friends and brother in English.
“My hometown is Aurangabad and the only other places that I have visited is Hyderabad and Mahableshwar. I hope to see many other places in India when I grow up. My hobby is playing hockey, music, dance and applying ‘mehndi’ (henna) on my hands.
“I live in Mumbai which is crowded and people do not take care of it. It is my dream to see Mumbai and India become clean and where lovely plants and trees are grown everywhere. I also hope and dream that every Indian child goes to school and every person is honest.”
Hari Murthy
12, Seventh Standard, Our Lady of Perpetual School, Chembur, Mumbai
“After I finish school, I have decided to take up hotel management since I am impressed by my cousin who is studying and working in this field. My dream is to become a chef in a big hotel and then run my own restaurant after gaining experience. I always help my mother in cooking and my favourite dish is paneer tikka.
“My dream is to see big buildings being built in India so that every Indian has a nice house to live in. I also wish my country becomes clean since it is in a bad state now. In the place where I live, people throw garbage near my house. I do not want to see people going to the toilet in the open. “I enjoy playing football with my friends and watching Tamil movies, especially in which actor Surya is the hero.”
George Mathew
Age 14, Class 8, Mar Athanasius International School, Kothamangalam, Kerala
I dream of a tobacco-free India. Our country is losing too many people to cancer and other diseases caused by tobacco usage. This is a health hazard that we can and should put an end to. When I walk around, I can see shops selling tobacco and a lot of people smoking or chewing tobacco. This is avoidable and we must work towards a tobacco-free country.
I have not firmly decided on my dream, though I have a few. One thing that I wish to do is to join the Indian Foreign Service. Being part of that service, I will be able to spread the message about India around the world and influence people everywhere to contribute to India’s growth.
Tiya Elizabeth Jose
Class 10, Age 15, The Village International School, Thodupuzha, Kerala
I dream of an India where women are empowered and are secure. They should be able to move around with safety and security. India must eradicate its poverty. In Kerala I do not see much of it, but I am aware of the poverty in different parts of the country. Our nation must also have clean cities, and good politicians.
I would like to make enough money so that I can help a lot of people. I dream of doing charitable work. I have come across people who need help. There are a lot of orphans and others in our country who need assistance. They too have their dreams in life and I want to help them fulfil those dreams.
Amisha Rajshree
Class 11
“I have seen the rural populace in the grip of utter poverty. During my visits to the villages, I came across the poor people somehow filling up their empty belly and survive. Balanced food was not even the back of their mind.
Rampant corruption is yet another problem gripping the country. I have heard people and even read in newspapers giving bribes to officials for even small works, like for issuance of birth certificates or availing the old age pension. I want to fight against corruption and poverty. They are blots on the face of my country.
As for myself, I want to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to executive these plans. A district magistrate is in charge of a district having enough power to executive the welfare plans. It’s strange that even seven decades after independence, the poor country men are yet to get the benefits of government’s welfare schemes with full freedom.
Becoming an IAS officer also involves a lot of prestige and glory in the society and I want to achieve this task. None from my family has qualified for this job.
Kumari Ishika, Class seven: My country still lags behind in matter of technology as compared to foreign nations and I want to develop many facilities for the country men. I want to improve the current system which is not in sync with the changing times.
Although many technological changes have taken place in the past few decades but there are still many areas which needs proper attention. Good books still remain out of reach of poor students since they don’t have enough money to buy. Moreover, we can’t purchase just every book. I wish to develop apps which provide all the study materials free of cost.
As for myself, I want to become an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) engineer. None in my family is an IIT engineer although my grandfather worked in engineering field. Also, IIT engineers are in great demand across the globe and I love to work for top companies like Google and Facebook which have attractive salary packages.
