My dear children,
I am sorry.
I am sorry we have deprived you of the happiness of celebrating you and your day.
Your compassion, courage and commitment for other children, is the shining sun above the dense and dark clouds.
Yet, I was happy and proud to learn that on Children’s Day, thousands of you would stand up at India Gate for those of you, who are missing, kidnapped, trafficked and exploited.
We need new action. We must build a comprehensive accountable and binding strategy to tackle the pollution that claims lives. We need genuine and collective commitment from all parts of government, politicians, industry and society to create a stronger and coherent framework for action to tackle air pollution, as well as water and land contamination. We need this strategy to be backed with clear, time-bound and strict enforcement mechanisms.
I am straining to hear the sounds of your slogans, which have fallen silent grasping for breath. We have choked your voices in this gloomy polluted air. I found your handmade posters and placards, your demand letters, your hope from us, lying forlorn in my office.