Sarvani Chavali
16th November, 2020
Pandit Nehru with children (Source: DD News)
November 14th is the day we all know and celebrate as ‘Children's Day’ across the country. While the International Children’s Day is celebrated on the 20th of November, India celebrates it on the 14th to honour India's first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Usually celebrated in schools across the country, this year, however, the celebrations are muted.
India used to celebrate Children's Day on November 20th, after the declaration by the UN, till 1964. After the death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, it was decided to honour his memory and celebrate his birthday as Children's Day. India, from then on, celebrates Children's Day on November 14th.
Fondly referred to as 'Chahcha Nehru', Jawaharlal Nehru was very fond of children. The rose that he used to wear was meant to be a symbol of the joy that children bring to him.
Nehru believed that education and empowering the children of the world was vital, and it was because of this it was decided to celebrate his birthday, November 14th, as Children's Day or Bal Diwas.
The West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) in association with Apeejay Anand Children’s Library has launched the ‘World’s first tram library for children’. This initiative was made as a tribute to Pandit Jawahrlal Nehru.
While Chahcha Nehru is well-known for his love for children, there are quite a lot of interesting facts about him, some of these are:
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, born in Allahabad on November 14th, 1889, was the son of a prominent lawyer Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani. After pursuing his early studies in his hometown, he moved to England at the age of fifteen. After two years at Harrow, he moved to Cambridge University and the Inner Temple, where he trained to be a barrister. After returning to India in 1912, he started working at the Allahabad High Court but soon shifted his focus after being drawn to national politics and the Indian struggle for Independence. He met Mahatma Gandhi in 1916 and was inspired by him immensely that he became a follower. He was imprisoned several times in connection with the Non-Cooperation movement of 1920-22.
(Sources: Times of India, Indian Express, DD News)
Edited by: Sarvani Chavali, Tanya Jain, Anjali Dinesh