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Aatmanirbhar Bharat

how can school children contribute to national development
With more than 180 million school children in India, the young generation is a force that is
yet to show it's true strength. Children have the energy to help the nation fight the problems
that are hampering its progress and then steer India onto the path towards becoming
Aatm - nirbhar Bharat or self- reliant India.
To begin with school children can organize and participate in numerous awareness
campaigns to fight problems like pollution. For instance, if each child consciously refuses to
use plastic tiffin and bottles and is careful about not littering in public places, pollution
levels will drop drastically. The time, money and effort currently being spent by the
government to handle pollution can then be used more creatively towards developing a
self-reliant nation.
Additionally, our nation suffers from acute illiteracy. This illiteracy translates into higher
unemployment and crime rates. School children can help here by trying to educate
underprivileged children of domestic helpers. While the government looks at literacy in
terms of figures, these children will be able to deal with their not-so-fortunate counterparts
on a one-to-one basis. This will help motivate both sets of children, to impart and gain
education. An educated nation is better adapted to technological
progress and efforts towards self-reliance.
As unrealistic as it may sound, school children have the potential to change the face of the
nation and help fight issues that the country is facing and put it on a progressive trajectory,
to take it to a level when India can truly claim its position as Aatm-nirbhar Bharat.
Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, India cannot become 'Aatm-nirbhar' overnight.
Nation building takes place through years of concentrated efforts by the government and
the citizens. School children can hence be trained to contribute to nation building both
during their schooling days and even more so when they become independent adults. The
major campaigns that children can effectively support, include 1) anti-orruption, 2) go
green and 3) rural initiatives.
Corruption is known to ruin the effectiveness of the most innovative and progressive
government policies. The policies cannot be fully implemented till the time the nation is not
corruption free. Children can greatly change this trend by consciously fighting dishonesty
even at the smallest levels and being vocal about it. With time these children these values
will become ingrained in them. In a few years, they will become the anti-corruption vote
bank of the nation.
Further, though traditionally India has been an agrarian society, of late the focus has shifted
to urbanization. As a result people in the rural pockets of India suffer from backwardness
and poverty. Since agriculture forms the backbone of sustainability and self-reliance, it is
important to uplift these sections of society. School children can play a role by promoting
the purchase of locally produced fruits and vegetables as well as local handicrafts. This will
provide direct financial assistance to those in the rural areas, eliminate middle
men and eventually bring the rural population into the
mainstream. School children may be young, with limited
resources but put together they make a potent force of about
180 million individuals who can, overtime, gradually help
India achieve self-reliance and become Atm-nirbhar Bharat.

Ms. Rekha Yadav | PRT ENG
Suraj School Mahendergah
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