Lost childhood

 "There is no darkness but ignorance"

— William Shakespeare

MILLIONS OF children in India are engulfed in this darkness. Their innocence and childhood lost in the bid to eke out a living. Books, school and toys are beyond their reach as they are grounded in the harsh reality of being poor.

Many children work as domestic servants in houses, sweeping, dusting and performing other such innumerable household chores. Often at traffic signals young children can be spotted selling indifferent articles, while their financially better off counterparts are busy at school. Poor children in a bedraggled condition beg in front of temples, flocking devotees and reciting well-rehearsed lines, to evoke their sympathy. It is heartrending to see young rag pickers hunting for food in garbage dumps and fighting amongst themselves for it.

These street urchins enter the adult world much before their time and learn to fend for themselves at an early age. The carefree attitude and effervescence of childhood are alien to them. They are either orphans or their parents are too poor to provide for them. The future does not hold much promise for these unfortunate children. Eventually they are sucked into the quagmire of crime and languish in juvenile homes, where they are often ill-treated.

The true potential of underprivileged children is not channelised in the right direction. Poverty is the bane of their life and education, which can be instrumental in their upliftment, is denied to them. This is the scenario in our country where the `Right to Education' has been incorporated in the Fundamental Rights, guaranteed to citizens, by the state. How can our country boast of technological advancement and development when millions of children are wallowing in the darkness of ignorance and poverty? The vision of a strong and powerful India cannot be envisaged until every child becomes equipped with the tool of education.

Every year we celebrate Dasara by burning the effigy of Ravana to symbolise the triumph of good over evil while Deepavali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by decorating houses and lighting lamps. Instead of mere pomp and show associated with these festivals, we must ensure that knowledge prevails over the evil of illiteracy and the light of education dispels the darkness of ignorance.