Kailash Satyarthi: A Relentless Crusader Of Child Rights

With a dream to uproot social evils from the lives of innocent children, Kailash Satyarthi bid goodbye to his lucrative engineering career to start Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a non-profit organisation. And his hardwork paid off, as the renowned child right activist was today honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize 2014. He shared this prestigious award with Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, the woman rights activist who was shot by a Taliban fighter in 2012. Let’s take a look at what this man’s aim, worries and future plans are.

Aim: To see children smiling

Pursuing his simple dream to see kids across the country smiling, Kailash Satyarthi formed Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 1980, an organisation of like minded people working together to wipe out child trafficking. He had this belief that it is impossible for just one person to fight social evils existing in the Indian society, and thus he keeps motivating people to come forward and be the part of this great initiative, which aims at bringing smile on the faces of innocent kids.
Kailash feels strongly for kids who are forced into the worst kinds of abusive work. While describing children’s plight, he once told media that "If they cry for their parents, they are beaten severely, sometimes hanged upside down from trees and even branded or burned with cigarettes.”

Worry: Child trafficking growing at a faster pace

Satyarthi is worried about the fact that inter-state trafficking is growing at a faster pace in the country. Kids are trafficked from smaller towns to bigger cities, wherein they work as child labourers. These kids work laboriously throughout the day and in return don’t even get essential meals and money.

Vision: Calls for strong laws on child trafficking

Satyarthi feels that India doesn’t have strong laws on child trafficking. During one of his interviews to leading media house, he had said, “We have a law on immoral trafficking and that is basically for adult trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. Therefore, it is important for the government to form some tough laws to tackle this menace.”

Wish: If Mahatma Gandhi would have received the much-deserved honour

Today, it was a great day for Satyarthi to get worldwide recognition, but the man made a great statement on the stage that must have touched every Indian’s heart. It touched ours’ at least. After receiving the award, he had said, "I am really honoured but if the prize had gone to Mahatma Gandhi before me I would have been more honoured"
(Image: kailashsatyarthi.net)