The Legacy of Kailash Satyarthi: Championing Truth
The fight to end child labor
On 10th December 2014, Indian Human Rights Activist Kailash Satyarthi, an advocate for children’s rights and eradicating child labor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside education activist Malala Yousufzhai. Satyarthi founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save Childhood Movement) (BBA) in 1980, dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of children from atrocities like bonded labor, trafficking, and other forms of servitude. Over four decades, Satyarthi and his organization have freed over 100,000 children from exploitation, providing psychological support and integrating them into the education system. He also spearheaded the Global March Against Child Labour, a movement that pushed for stronger laws against child labor worldwide. Satyarthi’s vision of a world free from child labor inspires advocates globally.
Shedding his upper-caste identity
Born Kailash Sharma in 1954, Satyarthi shed his upper-caste identity and changed his name to ‘seeker of truth’. To educate children about his work, children’s author Srividhya Venkat wrote ‘Seeker of Truth: Kailash Satyarthi’s Fight to End Child Labor’, a picture book with illustrations by Danica da Silva Pereira.
Global action
Satyarthi is a voice for systemic change, bringing child rights to the forefront of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He also founded the Global Campaign for Education in 1999 to ensure every child has access to education. The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation is leading the 100 Million US campaign in the US to support education and eradicate child labor.
In the author’s note to the book, Venkat writes of Satyarthi’s “selfless efforts to save children from exploitation and help them get their right to an education. Unfortunately, child labor continues to exist today. It is estimated that 160 million children around the world were working in 2020, with 56 percent in the 5–11 age group. The pandemic reversed much progress in reducing child labor, but organizations like BBA continue their mission relentlessly.”
