Kailash Satyarthi, born on January 11, 1954 is a social reformer. He is best known for his contributions to eradicating child labor. His efforts have reshaped the lives of countless children around the world and more to come. He was listed as one of the 11 Human Rights Activists Whose Life Mission Is To Provide Others with a Dignified Life in India Times, 2017.
Due to his massive contribution to human society, he has been the subject of many documentaries, TV series, talk shows, and films. He also spearheaded The Bharat Yatra launched by his KSCF (The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation). This led to the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018 strictly prohibiting child rape. This also resulted in the Anti-Human Trafficking Bill.
Early Life
Kailash Satyarthi was born as Kailash Sharma to a middle class family of Ramprasad Sharma and Chironjibai in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. His locality homed both Muslims and Hindus together peacefully which also impacted Satyarthi’s outlook on society. He was only four years old when he started learning to read Urdu from a local Maulvi. Alongside, he also learned English and Hindi in his school.
He completed his schooling at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Vidisha. Later, he completed his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at Samrat Ashok Technical Institute. He also completed a postgraduate degree in high voltage engineering from the same college.
Later he started working at the same college as a lecturer. Satyarthi also departed from his surname Sharma which indicated his Brahman status. Instead, he adopted Satyarthi which means one who belongs to truth.
Contributions To Advocating Child Labor
Throughout his life, Satyarthi was deeply affected by the situation of Child Labor and poverty around him. This impacted him to advocate for the eradication of Child Labor in India and on Global levels. In 1980, Kailash Satyarthi left his job and started the Save Childhood Movement, called Bachpan Bachao Andolan. However, he didn’t stop there.
He led the Global March Against Child Labor and also set up the International Center on Child Labor and Education. From 1999 to 2011, he was the head of the Global Campaign for Education. Here, he helped start the organization with ActionAid, Oxfam, and Education International.
In 1998, he organized the Global March against Child Labour which went through 103 countries and covered 80,000 km. This pushed for a law against the worst forms of child labor. This incredible initiative, involving kids and youngsters, became one of the biggest social movements for underprivileged kids. It gave a global voice against the cruelest kinds of child labor.
The ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Types of Child Labour was largely shaped by the marchers, who included survivors of human trafficking and other types of abuse. At the ILO Conference in Geneva the following year, this agreement was overwhelmingly accepted. Satyarthi also made GoodWeave International, which labels and monitors rugs made without child labor in South Asia.
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked hard to make people aware of global companies and how they should act responsibly in what they sell. According to Kailash Satyarthi, child labor is not just about kids working but also a big problem that causes poverty, unemployment, and other issues. He’s been part of UNESCO and the Fast Track Initiative. He has worked with many international groups like the Center for Victims of Torture and the International Cocoa Foundation. He even put child labor and slavery into the United Nations’ goals for sustainable development.
Awards
In 2014, he got the Nobel Peace Prize along with Malala Yousafzai for his work against child suppression and for the right of all kids to go to school. He’s the first Indian-born person to win this prize. Satyarthi has also claimed that it is Mahatma Gandhi who inspired him.
Today, Kailash Satyarthi is the recipient of many national and international awards. He lives in New Delhi, India with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and his grandchildren. In India, Kailash Satyarthi and his colleagues at Bachpan Bachao Andolan have freed almost 86,000 children from the snares of child labor, slavery, and human trafficking.
