Editorial
Yesterday (October 7) was just a typical day like other days. The day is World Smile Day. Everybody loves a smiley face. Smile carries the sign of peace. American artist Harvey Ball created a symbol of smiley face for commercial purpose in 1963. He painted that smiling face with just a few strokes. He thought that the smiling face would not be acceptable to people. But soon after its release, it quickly spread worldwide. It happened as people like smile, want to smile and want to make others smile. There is a widely known saying around the world that- "Life is short, try to stay happy as much as you can". The world famous peace-loving missionary Mother Teresa said, "Peace begins with a smile". Medical scientists say that smile keeps people healthy. People can get rid of stress and disease by smiling. For this reason, we see many people pretend to smile at the parks in the morning. People try to smile to cover their sadness and sufferings in mind. People even smile when they carry sadness inside them. Leonardo da Vinci said, "I love those who can smile in sufferings". But a colossal reality of our country is that many people's lives are not limited to the usual hardships now-a-days. Tension and uncertainty of life has crossed the pain Vinci mentioned. It is not a matter of wonder if people forget to smile amidst the anxiety at home and outside and uncertainty everywhere.
Are people, especially from the developing world, in a condition of smiling? How can people smile with tension? People have no health insurance, no social safety in developing countries. How will be the huge expenses of the treatment managed? The pension, people get after working for a certain period, is so insufficient that running the family becomes a challenge. And those who don't get pension, they totally depend on their children.
There is no guarantee of death. Most of the people do not know what their family members will do if they die! How their children's education will continue. Can people smile in this situation? So, those who run the state and the responsibility of guardians of the citizens of the state should aware of some basic human rights. In our Constitution, it is mentioned about provision of basic materials of life including food, clothing, shelter, education, medical treatment.
We have to think about in what extent it has been achieved. He who has no food in his house, who is entangled in the web of unemployment, who does not know how to get treatment, whose children do not have proper education, how can he smile? Development is a continuous process, it will continue. But if basic needs cannot be met, all other efforts including development are bound to fail. It is important to remember that the first priority is to focus on meeting basic needs.
