International Literacy Day is celebrated on 8th September every year to make aware and highlight the importance of literacy in human life. As milk is to a child, literacy is to person. It empowers the individual as literacy is our window to the world. Literacy is not just about reading and writing but about knowledge of opportunities for changing lives. It is all about life long learning and understanding process.
An illiterate person is like a closed rolling bottle full of emotions. The poor creature can not pour out his emotions as he doesn't have the bottle opener tool of literacy. His throat get choked with unfulfilled emotions and his life gets wasted and destroyed. He can't develop and apply his own sense in absence of literacy. Thus literacy is a wonderful tool to steer the boat of life is desired direction to the ocean of the world. Literacy could be gained by a teaching program, discussing with a learned person, friendship with enlightened one and by satsang.
Our country India is lagging behind in literacy. That is why, the government policies and programmes sometimes fail due to ignorant population. Hence a National Literacy Mission has been formulated for commitment to the goal of providing functional literacy to all. It is also supported bu UNESCO. Different types of learning systems have been developed in our country like open schooling and distant learning. Thus literacy is the critical factor for the knowledge and development of society and culture. "Literacy empowers,
To blossom like flowers."