When the revelry is over, do remember the colorful Holi is a child protection festival.

And so are, Janmashtami, Id-ul-Zuha, and Christmas. At the center of each one of these festivals is a child, a vulnerable child in need of protection.

Id-ul-Zuha or Bakr-Id is also known as Eid al-Adha or Id-ul-Adha)

What we are celebrating is the child’s triumph.

Why do our faiths and our traditions keep us reminding us so often in the year about children’s need to be protected?

Prahlad, Krishna, Ishmael and the infant Jesus, they were all born princes. Yet Krishna was born in a prison and Jesus in a manger.

Children are vulnerable in their own homes Prahlad at home, Krishna in the kingdom and palace of his own uncle, Jesus in the town of David, whose descendant he is.

Cruelty surrounds them from insecure and ill -informed adults.

Insecure and Power Hungry Adults

Insecure and power hungry adults can do anything.  Prahalad’s father could unleash his enormous crookedness and the all the boons he has received on a little child.

Kans could incarcerate his own sister and brother in law, kill all the siblings of Krishna.

Herod could go blind with rage and massacre thousands of children all in fear of an infant.

Insecure adults can do anything to protect their fiefdom, their shaky thrones and withering power.

Our ancestors, our traditions and our faiths knew that children will always be vulnerable. They will always need protection. They will need interventions, extraordinary interventions, some times. That is the message of Holi, of Janmashtami, Bakr id and Christmas.

Vulnerability is not the Destiny

But vulnerability is not the destiny of children.

The Almighty will do anything to protect these children, so say our traditions, our faiths and the stories our grandmothers told us.

God could appear on earth as half man half animal to crush those who persecute children. That indeed is the story of Holi.

Millions of the most vulnerable children in the world live in India. Some of our most developed states have the least developed children.

Insecure politicians do not invest in children, in schools or hospitals.

As we celebrate the most colorful festival of Holi do remember the following

• Our children are vulnerable.
• Do not trust insecure adults
• It takes extraordinary efforts to protect our children
• Let us make those efforts.
• Be aware. Be alert.