Kailash Satyarthi

Kailash Satyarthi, many of us heard the name for the first time when it was announced as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2014 . It was not unusual for people of substance to keep their noble deeds under the wraps. Kailash Satyarthi is precisely such a person, a silent crusader who began very early in life with the aim of wiping away the blot of human slavery.

The first time he revolted against a perfectly normal incident in the day of the life of many of us, was when he saw a young boy polishing shoes while the others were going to school. The recollection of that incident stayed with him, he said, leading him to eventually give up a career in engineering at a young age of 26, to spend the rest of his life fighting India’s rampant child labour. Till today, Satyarthi has worked to protect the rights of children from more than 144 countries.

Initially named Kailash Sharma, Satyarthi was born in Madhya Pradesh and completed his degree in electrical engineering and a post graduation in high voltage engineering . He then started teaching in a college. . In 1980, he decided to give up his career as a teacher and became the secretary general for the Bonded labour liberation front, the global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labour . He went on to found the Bachpan Bachao Andolan . Soon, Satyarthi became a name to be reckoned with . It was because of Satyarthi’s work and activism that the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted convention no. 182 on the worst firms if child labour, which is now a principle guidance for governments around the world . He has also served as the president of the Global Campaign for Education, from its inception in 1999 to 2011 . The Global March Movement started on January 17 1998 , was initiated under his guidance to put the message against child labour .

Keeping in line with his thought process, as he was against any kind of child labour, Satyarthi established GoodWeave International as the first voluntary labelling, monitoring and certification system of rugs manufactured without the use of child labour in South Asia. He has also been actively involved in the movement against child labour for achieving “Education For All” . Bal ashram, established in 1988 by satyarthi is a transition centre where newly freed slaves are taught basic skills. He is now working on bringing child labour and slavery into the post 2015 development agenda for the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals .

Even though he has become a globally recognized figure, Kailash Satyarthi continues the brave work of leading raids to free slaves. He believes that the focus should be on activities ranging from the most grassroots to the most visionary, in order to win the battle .

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