KAILASH SATYARTHI - NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

Kailash Satyarthi is the noble prize winner from India for the year 2014. He was born on 11th January 1954 in MP. He studied in Government school and later completed his graduation at Samrat Ashok Technological Institute, Vidisha and a post-graduate degree from high-voltage engineering. He then became lecturer in Bhopal for few years. 

In1980, he felt so sad from the bottom of the heart when he saw the miseries of the poor children that, he left his career for the raising voice against child labor. He is a good logical thinker; he wants to solve the problem at the grassroot level. He made an issue of child labor as a human rights issue, not a welfare matter, or a charitable cause. He raised the national issue at the international level. He has been at the forefront of the global movement to end child slavery and bonded child labor. 

Mr. Satyarthi’s efforts in the direction of combating Child Labor are as follows:

• He founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) to bring a ray of hope in millions of hearts of the children. He started a movement to wipe out the curse of slavery and ignorance from the face of children and give them a bright future by educating them.

• He became a member of the High Level Group formed by UNESCO on Education. The group has been comprised of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and UN Agency Heads.

• He propagates for quality and meaningful education in world’s biggest conferences of Workers and Teachers Congresses, Christian Assembly, Students Conferences, etc. He was a keynote speaker on the issue of child labor and education.

• He is the member of the Board and Committee of several International Organizations. Amongst all the prominent are: Center for Victims of Torture (USA), International Labor Rights Fund (USA), Cocoa Foundation with the Headquarters in Geneva representing the global civil society.

• He was the editor of ‘Sangarsh Jari Rahega', ‘Kranti Dharmi', and ‘Asian Workers Solidarity Link'.  He authored several articles and booklets on issues of social concern and human rights.

• He has set up three rehabilitation-cum-educational centers free of cost to free bonded child labors and make them leaders and liberators.

• His life and work has been explicitly covered in hundreds of programmes on all the prominent television and radio channels including Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, ABC, NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian T.V., ARD, Austrian News, Lok Sabha TV etc. He profoundly featured in several magazines like The Time, Life, Reader's Digest, Far Eastern Economist, Washington Post, New York Times, Times London, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, Independent, The Times of India, etc.

• He had faced many attacks during the movement against child labor. The recent one was in 2011 when was attacked while surviving child labors from garment shop.

International Awards bestowed in the honor of Satyarthi:-

• Nobel Prize Winner (2014)

• Defenders of Democracy Award (2009-USA)

• Alfonso Comin International Award (2008-Spain)

• Medal of the Italian Senate (2007-Italy)

• Heroes Acting to End Modern Day Slavey by US State Department (2007-USA)

• Freedom Award (2006-USA)

• In October 2002, Satyarthi was awarded the Wallenberg Medal from the University of Michigan in recognition of his courageous humanitarian work against the exploitation of child labor.

• Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Award (1999-Germany)

• La Hospitalet Award (1999-Spain)

• De Gouden Wimpel Award (1998-Netherlands)

• Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award (1995-USA)

• The Trumpeter Award (1995-USA)

• The Aachener International Peace Award (1994-Germany)

Mr. Kailash is a great person who is working so hard to wipe away the curse of child labor. He truly deserves Nobel Prize. We all must also understand his message and take a vow never to employ a child as a labor. This will be the true honor to him and thus make him much happier that receiving the Nobel Prize.