Kailash Satyarthi – the noble man who won the Nobel Prize

Amidst the depressing news of the cyclone Hudhud causing unparalleled damage in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Pakistan army continuously violating the ceasefire and attacking villages along the Line of Control, the last week also brought a proud moment for India when Kailash Satyarthi was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”.

Call it unfortunate or call it destiny, it took an award by an external organization to make the Indians notice the great work that Kailash Satyarthi has been doing for decades. However, as they say, better late than never! Here are some quick pointers that you must know about the latest Nobel Prize Winner ““

• Born in Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh), Satyarthi has never won any award from his home state despite his decades of work as a child’s rights activist.
• His real name is Kailash Sharma. When he started working for the child’s rights in his 20s, he decided to drop his surname ‘Sharma’ as it highlighted higher caste and caused hindrance in his interaction with people living in slums and villages. He took up the surname ‘Satyarthi’ which is caste neutral so that the people can accept him as one of their own.
• In the year 1980, he started the ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ in Delhi. This organization raids factories and other working units that were suspected of employing children as labourers. He has rescued over 83,000 children in more than 140 countries till date.
• Some of his raids have also been dangerous and he has been hurt physically a number of times during the raids.
•  He has also been actively involved with ‘Global March Against Child Labour’, an International organization working for the rights of children trapped as labourers. He was also the President of ‘Global Campaign for Education’ from the year 1999 to 2011.
• Satyarthi is only the second Indian to win the Nobel Peace Prize after Mother Teresa who won the prize in the year 1979.
• He is also a member of several other renowned organizations such as the International Labour Rights Fund, Centre for Victims of Torture and the International Cocoa Foundation.
• Known to lead an extremely simple living, he is also a great cook!

What are your reactions to his commendable feat? You can leave your reactions in the comments below.