ABSTRACT
The chapter articulates the dominant constructions of children and childhood held in the Indian society. Drawn on empirical data, the chapter foregrounds that children in the Indian sentimentality stand out to be innocent and pure-hearted, uncorrupted by the socialized ways of the adult world. It presents that children and adults perceive “Childhood” and “Adulthood” as separate structural categories, each with a set of specific characteristics. The chapter elucidates subdivisions of childhood that coincide with early, middle and late childhood and adolescence. It concludes by documenting childhood rituals and ceremonies, according individuality, personhood and uniqueness to childhood as a life stage.
