Nearly 166 boys and girls will participate in a district-level ‘Bala Parliament’ for children organised by the Kudumbashree district mission this weekend.
The children—one boy and one girl—will represent the 83 Kudumbashree community development societies (CDSs) in the district. The Kudumbashree Balasabhas are children’s collectives, similar to those it has set up for women. These structured neighbourhood networks of children are intended to enhance children’s understanding of democratic processes and ensure their participation in the democratic space at the local body level.
The Balasabhas too adhere to the three-tier structure. At the bottom rung are the Balasabhas (neighbourhood group level). At the ward (area development society) level exist the Bala Samithis, while at the panchayat level (CDS), it is the Bala Panchayats.
Two select students from each panchayat will participate in the Bala Parliament, to be held on August 20 and 21. The participants will be given an orientation on how the Parliamentary system works, at the LMS Women Centre on August 20. The orientation, to be held with the support of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training, will focus on how institutions such as Parliament and the State Assemblies are convened, how procedures such as Question Hour and Zero Hour are held, and how starred and unstarred questions, and Bills are presented.
All these are intended to help students think critically, ask questions, research issues, and communicate their thoughts. Later in the day, students will be given 10 select topics such as education, health, environment, and so on for a discussion on them. They will then prepare questions and answers on the topics and present these. On the basis of their presentation, students will be selected to take on the role of President, Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, other people’s representatives, and so on.
The next day, the students will discharge their civic role by putting into practice at the Old Assembly Hall on the Secretariat premises what they had picked up the day before. Questions will be asked and replies issued, as it is in Parliament or State Assemblies. At the end, 10 students—five boys and five girls—will be selected to take part in the State-level Bala Parliament slated to be held next month.
