CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Children Writers and Artists Association has urged major political parties to incorporate a comprehensive set of demands related to children’s arts, literature and libraries in their election manifestos for the upcoming Assembly election.
The association, founded in 2021, currently functions through 35 branches across the state and works with the stated objective of promoting holistic development of children through art and literature.
In a statement, the association said political parties must place children’s intellectual, emotional and ethical development at the centre of policy-making, as they represent the future of society.
As part of its ‘Children’s arts and literature charter of demands’, the association urged the state government, in association with the Publishers’ Association of South India, to organise an annual children’s book fair in Chennai during summer holidays.
It also sought the institution of a separate Azha Valliappa Award for children’s literature, on the lines of the Tiruvalluvar, Bharathiar and Bharathidasan awards.
It proposed the creation of an autonomous Tamil Nadu Children’s Arts and Literature Corporation under an IAS officer to promote research, documentation and development of children’s literature.
The charter emphasised the need to integrate children’s literature into university curricula and to confer honorary doctorates on achievers in the field. It also called for the appointment of trained librarians in schools, the transformation of school libraries into child-centric creative spaces, and the recruitment of storytellers and theatre trainers in government schools.
The association further demanded the establishment of exclusive children’s libraries and cultural centres in every district, regular children’s programmes in district book festivals and libraries.
Speaking to TNIE, writer Udhayasankar, Bal Sahitya Puraskar winner (2023) and president of the association, said copies of the charter had already been submitted to the Chief Minister’s Office and parties such as VCK, CPI and CPM. “We are making efforts to submit our demands to other parties, including the AIADMK, to ensure wider political support,” he said.