Human Beings, Not Subjects

The International Year of the Child provided an opportunity for national and international reviews of the needs of children and of the impact of the pro­grammes taken up for them in the past. Our Children, a part of the series of publi­cations for children planned by the Publications Division for the International Year of the Child, undertakes such a review of the Indian situation. The excel­lent Introduction by P.B. Desai puts it in the perspective of the plan of Action for the Child in India and raises the much­-needed conceptual and related questions which the Indian Planners as well as the society have to consider if child welfare is to have its rightful place. Mrs. Baig begins with the definition of child welfare. ‘It means and can mean (if an economic plan is envisaged) nothing short of the total well being of the child. It comprises the totality of measures, economic, administrative, technical, edu­cational, and social intended to give to each individual an equality of opportunity for growth and development’.