Indian Child right activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai have won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel committee said, the Prize has been conferred on them for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of education for all children.
The committee said, Mr Satyarthi, has maintained the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and headed various forms of peaceful protests, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain.
Talking to media in New Delhi, Mr Satyarthi said, it is a great honour for all those children who are deprived of their childhood globally.
Dedicating the prestigious prize to 125 crore people of the country, he said, the honour is symbolic and its is a victory for those who are fighting against child labour across the globe.
A wave of jubilation has gripped Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi’s home state Madhya Pradesh. People are greeting each other and expressing their happiness in Kailash Satyathi’s home town Vidisha and entire Madhya Pradesh.
Sixty year old Satyarthi was born and brought up in this town. He studied engineering at the Govt Engineering College of Vidisha. Kailash Satyathi gave up his career as an electrical engineer about three decades ago to start Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
He had also worked for the gas tragedy affected children of Bhopal. The Bachpan Bachao Andolan has freed over 80,000 children from various forms of servitude. This organisation has also fought child labour by creating domestic and international consumer resistance to products made by bonded children.
Mr Satyarthi has been conferred with several prestigious awards including Defenders of Democracy Award Medal of the Italian Senate, and Fredric Ebert International Human Rights Award.
The Joint Nobel winner Malala Yousafzai, the teen-aged Pakistani education campaigner was shot on a school bus in 2012 by a Taliban gunman.
At the age of 17, Malala has become the youngest ever Nobel laureate. She is known for her staunch advocacy of right to education for women, particularly in the Swat Valley, where the local Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school.
President, Vice President and Prime Minister have congratulated Mr Kailash Satyarthi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to abolish child labour in the country.
In his message, President Pranab Mukherjee said, the prize should be seen as recognition of the contribution of India’s vibrant civil society in addressing complex social problems such as child labour.
Congratulating Mr Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, Vice President Hamid Ansari said, this is a richly deserved recognition for two remarkable human beings, who have worked tirelessly and fearlessly, against all odds, to protect and promote the rights of the child.
He expressed hope that the path shown by Mr Satyarthi and Ms Yousafzai will inspire people to work together towards eradicating the deplorable crimes and injustices inflicted daily upon children in the society.
In his message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, Mr Satyarthi has devoted his life to a cause that is extremely relevant to entire humankind. He said, the country is proud of his momentous achievement. The Prime Minister also congratulated Malala Yousafzai saying her life is a journey of immense grit and courage.
