A historic "Children’s Session" was organised in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on June 12, 2023. This session was organised by the HP Vidhan Sabha, under the leadership of the Speaker, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, and the Future Society, an NGO, on the occasion of "World Child Labour Day."

In March 2023, Future Society, an institute based in Rajasthan, submitted a proposal to HP Vidhan Sabha to organise this campaign to increase the political awareness of children. This proposal was accepted and Himachal’s Education Department and The Future Society made meaningful efforts to promote this campaign to every child. The Future Society had also helped organise the country’s first Children’s Session in Rajasthan.

Future Society approached the HP Vidhan Sabha and met with the Speaker to propose this special session. This idea was greenlit by the Speaker as he believes that events like these serve as the foundation for the bright democratic future of not only Himachal Pradesh but the entire country.

The participant children were selected under the 3-month-long campaign “Bachon Ki Sarkar Kaisi Ho,” under the aegis of the Himachal Pradesh Education Department. Kids from 8 to 17 years were invited to participate.

Thousands of children applied during the earlier stages of the selection process, and after the initial scrutiny, the shortlisted applicants were required to submit a two-minute video from April 1 to May 25, 2023. A total of 1,085 children submitted videos, and the entries came from a total of 9 states across the country, including Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Assam, and Bihar. In the videos, the children expressed their views on many issues and shared suggestions like career counselling for the youth to combat unemployment, marketing of crops of Himachal farmers, weekly sports competitions, strengthening of state buses to prevent traffic, and improvement of education.

A team of judges formed by “Digital Bal Mela” evaluated the videos and a total of 68 children were selected as “Child Legislators”, based on the issues raised by the children in their videos.

These young legislators were divided into two parties – ruling and opposition, much like the actual Legislative Assembly. They were also appointed as Chief Minister, and other ministers, as well as other posts like Chief Parliamentary Secretary.

The special session featuring Himachal’s young legislators was organised on June 12, 2023. It was broadcast live over social media websites and every step was taken to ensure that it reached the public across the state and the country.

The Chief Minister of Himachal, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, was the chief guest at the occasion. Rajya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman, Harivansh Narayan Singh, was present as a special Guest. Other prominent members present were the Leader of Opposition, Jairam Thakur, the Deputy Chief Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri, and the Chief Parliamentary Secretary. The entire Himachal Cabinet and many assembly members were also present.

The Speaker, HP Vidhan Sabha, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, began by thanking the present guests. He congratulated the selected children and gave them his best wishes. He stated that the selection of the children took place after a long and exhaustive selection process. He keenly observed the selection process and was impressed by the knowledge of the participating children. He expressed his happiness that the children of Himachal, as well as the country, were interested and concerned about the development of the nation. He said that it was a collective responsibility of the elected representatives to involve everyone in the discussion of improvement of our country. He added that even if the children are ineligible to vote due to their age, they must still be involved in the running of the government. He said that when children express curiosity about complex issues of governance, their questions are shut down. Pathania implored the parents to not stifle their children’s curiosity, as the children are the future of the country.

Addressing the present children, he said all the laws, plans, and schemes of the government will directly affect how their lives turn out to be, and therefore it was important for them to be proactive in the governance of the country. He also said that during the selection process, he was pleased to see the high level of political intrigue among the children. He also expressed his jubilation at the fact that most of the selected children were from government schools. He said he was happy to see the selected children talking to the press and pointing out the ideas for improvement in many diverse fields like agriculture, education, sports, and more.

He also drew the attention towards the historical significance of the halls of the HP Vidhan Sabha. He said that the Council Chamber has been the seat of the Central Legislative Assembly of the British Government before independence, and it has been a seat of Punjab Government’s Assembly, before becoming the seat of HP Government’s Legislature. He also informed everyone present regarding the election of Vithalbhai Patel’s election as the first Indian President of the British Legislative Assembly.

He finished his speech by thanking everyone present and gave them his best wishes.

Portraying members of the opposition, students asked questions in the House.

Vyom Singh, a student of Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Daslehra, Bilaspur asked about the sports which were being promoted for the children and youth in the state.

Aditya, a student of Pachhad’s GSSS, Kotia Bangi placed his suggestion to the government under Rule 324. He suggested that the medical system of the state must be digitised.

Aakarshit Sharma, a student of MCS Raja Ka Bagh School, Jassur, as the MLA of the opposition, drew the attention of the government about the accidents taking place due to wrong and rash driving in the state.

Aastha, a student of Him Academy Public School, Hamirpur, was also selected for this session and raised special questions related to the environment in the House.

Arinjay Bhagat, a student of Arihant International School proposed setting up of a help desk for members of the Legislative Assembly, so that they get help about various schemes being run by the state and the government.

Many such interesting and thought-provoking questions and suggestions were discussed in the session.

Addressing the session, Harivansh Narayan Singh, congratulated the Chief Minister of Himachal and the Speaker of HP Vidhan Sabha for organising the session. He also congratulated the children for participating in the activity. He praised the children for their interesting questions. Singh stated the children are the leaders of the future, and he was elated with their performance. He said there was no better way to get the youth of the state involved in the administration and development of the country than initiatives like the Children’s Sessions. He shared the progress being made in reducing child labour. Singh stressed on the importance of spiritual education for children and adhering to ideals of Swami Vivekanand. He also advocated for holistic development of youth and development of scientific temper among them.

Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, addressing the house after the session, congratulated the children on their wonderful performance. He said he was certain that someday the present children would be elected to the House. Recounting his own political journey, he inspired the children to take up roles of leadership and to keep working for the general good. He expressed his confidence in the fact that Himachal will become the most developed and prosperous state in the country. Sukhu stated that he was happy to see the children ask questions about the environment and informed them that over the next few years all the buses run by the HRTC would be electric. In the field of education, he said, Himachal ranks second. He informed the children and the guests that his government is implementing plans to provide quality education in the state. Sukhu praised the suggestion of one the kids regarding allotting ten minutes every day for yoga in schools. He informed the children of the policy of the HP Government to adopt orphaned wards of the state and listed all the benefits given to the children under the scheme. Furthermore, he said that the children must be prepared for the digital revolution and the unique challenges it will pose in the future. At the end the Chief Minister praised the children once again and thanked them for participating in the session.