BALASANGHAM, a children's organisation of Kerala, organised an all-India workshop for young minds at the EMS Academy in Thiruvananthapuram to create scientific awareness and equip them with the logic of reasoning, to take on future challenges facing the society. The workshop was a new experience for children who were exuberant with a fighting spirit. The workshop was filled with playfulness, scientific thought, and debates based on reason.

Children from 20 states attended the workshop which has formed a roadmap for the future organisational tasks. The workshop envisaged a New India that is built on scientific temper, a historical sense and a sense of reason. It also appealed to the students and kids to recognise the attempts being made to fill the young minds with superstitions and evil practices. 

Balasangham has units in every length and breadth of Kerala and has stood as a model for other state units to organise the children. The leaders of Balasangham shared their experiences and deliberated on the organisational structure. It has 4,83,749 boys and 4,52,659 girls as members. These members are functioning in 208 areas under four districts. A robust number of girls reached all levels of the organisation. In some cases, girls serve in the post of president as well as secretary. 

Representatives of Kishore Bahini, an organisation from West Bengal talked about the impediments before them in the Trinamool Congress regime. 

Representative of all other states shared their experiences and most of them face various obstacles as the political and social situation is not in favour of the democratic functioning of children's organisations. 

A roadmap for the future course of action has been adopted in the workshop and it was decided to form units in all states within the next six months. A workshop will be organised within one year to review the task. 

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury inaugurated the workshop. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M A Baby addressed the inaugural session. Central Committee members PK Sreemathi, state secretary MV Govindan, state secretariat member Anavoor Nagappan,                  M Prakasan, V Joy MLA, TK Narayanadas attended the inaugural session. 

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan interacted with the kids on the second day of the workshop. He shared his childhood memories upon the children’s request. He gave a detailed reply on the queries regarding how the state of Kerala reduced the infant mortality rate. Children presented some mementos to the chief minister. 

On the last day of the workshop, the delegates visited various Balasamgham units in Thiruvananthapuram and interacted with Balasamgham activists.