When we begin to protect our children’s rights

In every sector, there are government schemes that gather dust. The Social Welfare department has provisions for women, the disabled, even sweepers. But nothing is implemented. Although these provisions are offered for free on paper, I don’t agree with handing them out. People only appreciate something when they have to pay for it, be it a token amount of Rs 2.

I strongly believe that education empowers, and not the kind that’s achieved just by going to school. I’m talking about all-round development. More than 50 per cent of the children in urban areas are educated in municipal schools, yet we don’t feel the necessity to better the facilities offered there. Our society is consumed by building elite educational institutions that cater only to a certain section of people.

I also feel strongly about the rights of children. This country is fast becoming the paedophile capital of the world. The cases of abuse go up every day, be it mental or physical. And the official figures are only half correct. What are these children going to contribute to society if we don’t look after them in their formative years? We are contributing then in producing disturbed adults.

We’re too obsessed with furthering India’s economic growth and don’t pause to think about society. It’s great that the economy is booming, but a country’s success is determined by how it treats its citizens.

One of the main problems is people believe that as individuals their voice will drown. It can start with something as simple as casting your vote. During elections, excuses are abundant—I didn’t know it was election day or it’s a holiday or I don’t want to go out. It needs to be understood that if we are going to blame politics for everything, citizens are also responsible for having allowed that person to come to power.

Whenever I go to a party, there are always heated discussions on the sorry state of the country. But at the end of it, it’s party talk and won’t amount to anything. We lack today a sense of nationalism. What I want to tell people is that it’s important to exercise that one power which the Constitution allows. I took up the responsibility of a young politician because it gives me a bigger platform to voice my concerns. In the coming months, I would definitely want to bring up the issue of child rights in Parliament.