Multiple Childhoods in India
By Mansi Aneja
Childhood has long been an area of interest to psychologists, sociologists, educators and parents. It is important to understand childhood through the lived experiences of children as they give us unique insights into their life worlds. They also provide insights into the ways in which children need to be raised, socialized and enculturated and the different roles and styles of parenting that exist in different families. Reflections on children’s lives and experiences also enable decisions on visualizing effective pedagogic processes, curricular structures and school policies and practices that would support children’s learning and development in schools. Further, the way childhood is understood in a society at a given point of time tells us about social expectations and aspirations about how a child is required to act, behave and participate in the community.
There are many ways in which childhood has been conceptualized in India over the last few decades. The most popular or widely recognized way is as a stage where children are seen as vulnerable (in need of protection), dependent (on adults) and innocent (of worldly ways). Such a notion of childhood highlights that the world of children is entirely different from the world of adults and the life of children is focused on play while that of adults is focused on work. This notion of childhood also suggests a universalism and a commonality to all children, typified by similar experiences during childhood, irrespective of their social milieus. In fact, this kind of childhood is often considered as the norm or standard against which all the other childhood experiences are evaluated. Somewhere, this construct of childhood tends to focus on its universal applicability. It has however been critiqued on the grounds that it presents a singular, upper class, male-centric notion of childhood. It portrays a childhood which is devoid of children’s social realities, lived experiences, religious-cultural identities and the socio-political scenario of a nation. Alternatively stated, the idea of multiple childhoods in India allows us to explore myriad experiences of growing up in varied socio-cultural milieus.