Nargis was the symbolic seven billionth baby girl born in India in the month of November. This is the very month in which on 14th, being also Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday, we celebrate Children’s Day. Also, Universal Children’s Day is observed on November 20. The International Children’s Day is, however, celebrated on June 1. Children’s Day is also celebrated in more than 50 countries around the world. All of this goes to show that children are the most valued beings. It is also a guarantee of sorts that human beings do want to continue God’s promise to Abraham in the Bible saying, “your children’s children will be like stars in the sky”.
And yet it was not easy for me recently on a national television channel to convince other panellists that we need not be scared of the seven billionth baby amongst us, for as Mahatma Gandhi maintained, “There is enough in this world for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed”. And was it not Rabindranath Tagore who once said, “Every child born into this world is a sign that God is not yet discouraged with human beings”? Kate Wiggin, an American educator and author of children’s stories, expresses it almost as profoundly, “Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.”
While this is not the place to moan about the problem of female foeticide, it is important to reflect on the contradiction of the fact that while on the one hand we celebrate Children’s Day on national and international levels, on the other hand some of us do not allow our conscience to question the killings of the unborn child.
Children everywhere bring immense joy to everyone. The news of a woman conceiving is always described as “good news”. Jesus is seen in the Bible as the one who had great love for children, “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them (Mark 10:13-16)”. Again, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10).”
Let us treat all our children as angels pouring our unconditional love on them not just today but every day.
Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of
communication of the Delhi Catholic Church
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/father-dominic-emmanuel-614
