Life is not counted if you lived for yourself. But if you did something for the society, then they will appreciate and praise you. The man who has lived for the society is no other than Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi. He is a renowned child labor activist and the founder of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA). His organization works for the removal of child labor from the society and provides living facilities for the rescued child workers. Child labor is the major threat to the society and should be removed as soon as possible. This man has contributed his bit and rescued 80,000 child laborers since 1980. He is an inspiration to million minds.
Early Life: – This great personality landed on 11 January 1953 in Vidisha, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, India. In his early ages, he was self-motivated to do something for the society. He along with his friends collected used books and distributed them among the needy. When he was 15 years old, he removed his surname to bring equality between the lower cast and upper cast people. He changed his surname to Satyarthi which means “Seeker of Truth”.
Career: – After completing his post graduation, he was not satisfied with his job. He wanted to do something for the society, so he quits his job and joined as a teacher in Bhopal. He then started a journal called ‘The Struggle Shall Continue’ in 1980 to make people aware about the Child Labor. Many times he tried to rescue these children from their factories but often got beaten up. To overcome this problem he formed ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ to eradicate human trafficking and child labor. This movement was successful and led to the creation of South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS) in 1989. He analyzed that only rescuing will not affect that much but providing rehab can do more. So he formed ‘Bal Ashram’ in Rajasthan, where children were taught basic skills and prepared for their future.
He started an initiative called ‘Rugmark’ in 1994 to create child labor free carpet industry. Satyarthi then started the Global March Movement against child labor. This movement featured an 80,000 km long physical march across 103 countries with his 140 members. It has sent a powerful message to the society and motivates them to fight against child labor.
Awards: – Satyarthi got the appraisal from all around the world for his work towards society.
- He got the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1995 for his work towards the society.
- Satyarthi along with the Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousufzai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
- He also got “Humanitarian of the Year” award from Harvard in 2015
Apart from these awards, he has been featured in many popular magazines like ‘Reader’s Digest’, The Time’, ‘Washington Post’, and ‘New York Times’. Besides all this, a film is being shot to acknowledge his work and life. The role will be played by Boman Irani.
Satyarthi has done his part and now it’s our turn to do something for the society and get recognised by the world.