Kailash Satyarthi (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian social reformer who has campaigned against child labour and for children’s right to education for more than four decades. He founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save Childhood Movement) in 1980, and his organisations have rescued tens of thousands of children from bonded labour, trafficking and slavery. In 2014 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai.
Quick Facts
| Birth name | Kailash Sharma |
| Born | 11 January 1954, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Age | 72 |
| Occupation | Child rights activist |
| Education | Samrat Ashok Technological Institute, Vidisha (electrical engineering) |
| Organisations | Bachpan Bachao Andolan; Global March Against Child Labour; Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation |
| Spouse | Sumedha Kailash |
| Children | 2 (Bhuwan Ribhu and Asmita) |
| Honour | Nobel Peace Prize (2014) |
Early Life
Satyarthi was born in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, the son of a police constable. He has often told the story of his first day at school, when he saw a cobbler’s son of his own age working outside the gate and asked why that boy could not come to school too. As a teenager he collected used textbooks for poor children. He studied electrical engineering in Vidisha and taught at a college for a few years. He gave up his Brahmin surname, Sharma, and took the name “Satyarthi”, meaning “seeker of truth”.
Activism
In 1980 Satyarthi left his teaching job and founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan. With a small group of colleagues he began carrying out raids on brick kilns, carpet looms, mines and factories to free children and adults held in bonded labour. The work was dangerous: he was beaten several times, and two of his colleagues were killed. He also set up Bal Ashram in Rajasthan, a home where rescued children are educated and trained.
Satyarthi realised that laws and consumer pressure were needed as well as rescues. In 1994 he started Rugmark (now GoodWeave), a label certifying that carpets are made without child labour. In 1998 he led the Global March Against Child Labour, an 80,000-kilometre march through more than 100 countries, which helped bring about the International Labour Organization’s 1999 convention against the worst forms of child labour. He was also a founder of the Global Campaign for Education.
On 10 October 2014 the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize jointly to Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”. He dedicated his medal to the nation, and it is kept at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In 2017 he led the Bharat Yatra, a march of about 11,000 kilometres across India against child sexual abuse and trafficking. His foundation continues to push for stronger laws, and he has launched international campaigns calling on young people and governments to act with compassion towards the most vulnerable children.
Personal Life
Satyarthi lives in New Delhi with his wife, Sumedha, who has worked alongside him from the beginning. Their son, Bhuwan Ribhu, is a lawyer and child rights activist, and they have a daughter, Asmita. Like Mahatma Gandhi, whom he admires, he lives simply and is a vegetarian.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Kailash Satyarthi born?
Kailash Satyarthi was born on 11 January 1954 in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India and is 72 years old.
What is Kailash Satyarthi’s occupation?
Occupation: Child rights activist.
Featured image: Kailash Satyarthi at a press conference in Brasília, Brazil, 4 February 2016. Photo by Wilson Dias / Agência Brasil, licensed under CC BY 3.0 br, via Wikimedia Commons.
