“When I think of you (God) deep in my heart, mused Tagore, I perceive you sometimes; but why not every day? He rued.
The inner meaning of this poem revolves round the fact that if you are really concerned about something, such as the ills of mother earth and your duty to save her from the ills, you need not have to fix a day to commemorate it but do it on a regular basis. Moreover, you need to see to it that whatever action you have taken should be nurtured and taken care of so that it may eventually bear fruit and be something useful for all. But in reality the picture tells a different story.
Take for example, what happened in Meghalaya’s South West Khasi Hills on June 5, 2019. In an effort towards setting a world record, the Meghalaya government launched a campaign to plant 1.5 million saplings in the state on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5, 2019, appealing to every citizen to take part in it. But when you think of its enormity, you are bound to conclude its calamitous destiny. First of all, the hurried activity on a single day may prove unproductive; saplings dying because of inefficient planting, overactive moisture (Khasi Hills are famous for that), animal grazing, etc, etc. The project, however, would have been hundred percent successful had it been spread over a month or so.
The UN may be happy about declaring momentous dates, encouraging people to participate, little realizing the consequences. The scenario seems most eventful if you take the month of June in consideration, which is outlined below.
- June1 : Global Day of Parents
- June 3 : World Bicycle Day
- June 4 : International Day of Innocent Children Victims of aggression
- June 5 : World Environment Day; International Day for Fight against Illegal Fishing
- June 6 : Russian Language Day
- June 7 : World Food Safety Day
- June 8 : World Ocean Day
- June 9 : World Day against Child Labor
- June 10 : International Albinism Awareness Day
- June 13 : World Blood Donor Day
- June 14 : World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
- June 15 : World Blood Donor Day
- June 16 : International Day of Family Remittances
- June 17 : World Day to Combat Drought
- June 18 : Sustainable Gastronomy Day
- June 19 : International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict
- June 20 : World Refugee Day
- June 21 : International Day of Yoga
- June 23 : UN Public Service Day; International Widows’ Day
- June 25 : Day of the Seafarer
- June 26 : International Day against Drug Abuse
- June 27 : Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
- June 29 : International day of the Tropics
- June 30 : International Asteroid day
And now comes the million dollar question: Why select dates for events that occur every day. Sight of tender young children working in roadside tea stalls or brick kilns, when they should have attended schools drive our mind to desolation – only when we are confronted with such scenes.
We see the horrors of sexual violence through newspaper reporting almost on daily basis. There is no point in designating a date to such horrors
Why plant a sapling only on World Environment Day? India boasts of a wide variety of fruit and flowering trees that can be planted throughout the year.
“I know the answer,” commented a venerable professor lecturing metaphysics in a local college. “We are fond of putting burning issues ‘under the carpet’, but need “dates” to galvanize into instant action, more to initiate Selfies associated with such events than to achieving goals. Do you agree? He asks.
