Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Children's Day

Children's Day is marked by rallies in schools and messages by leaders calling upon children to contribute to nation-building. But the grim realities go unnoticed. Millions live in poverty, as child workers, forced labour, trafficked in and forced into prostitution and other trades. Increasingly, they are becoming vulnerable to the frenzy of terrorism and armed conflict. While our leaders exhort children to dream, they have only nightmares.

Instead of lecturing to children, they should demonstrate the will to pass the Right to Education bill. Stringent measures should be taken to curb terrorism and make the country a safer place for our children.

M.J. Ruben,
Chennai

Children spend too much time watching television and surfing the net. In the process, they are exposed to unfiltered, negative influences. On the one hand are our social elite who oppose censorship and, on the other, are parents who rather than monitoring their children's access to television encourage it citing ridiculous reasons to defend their indifference to good upbringing. Sandwiched between the two groups are children who are the ultimate losers. By spending too much time watching TV, they miss out on vital human interaction. Television and the Internet are no substitute for human bonds.

Sera Noronha,
Mumbai

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Children's Day

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