Children demand adults stay home so they can go back to school

For the second time in recent memory, children took to the streets this time demanding they be allowed to go back to school to continue their education.

Earlier, the rowdy students had made a scene about road deaths around the country. This time, however, some say the students have an actual right to protest.

"The assumption of democratic governments is that people will behave rationally and in the interest of public good at the face of an extreme crisis as is the pandemic," a 12-year-old said to this correspondent.

"So shops are open. Public transport will be reopened with a 60 percent hike in fairs. Offices and industries can run if they 'swear to abide by vague health rules' and no one talks about either the children or expanding the social safety net. This short-term approach to everything is why we are here," another smart-aleck quipped.

Some of the children, however, said rationality wasn't the way forward either.

"David Hume illustrated this phenomenon - that common sense of helping one another in a collectively challenging situation does not stand true -  through an example of two farmers in his book 'A Treatise of Human Nature' (1740). You should read it, if you haven't already," a 10-year-old told this correspondent. The youth had obviously not read the book either.   Another youth argued that it was clear that those between the ages of 20-30 were the main carriers of the virus and so should be locked in their homes. "You can have malls, restaurants and everything else open. It's not like we kids don't go there, because we are taken to those places. What you, the ones in charge, have successfully done is lock us children and elderly indoors while you all go about preaching stay at home mantras. Why don't you guys do us a favour and stay at home instead?" an ichore-paka 11-year-old said.