Kailash Satyarthi, Biography, Nobel Prize, Achievements

Kailash Satyarthi is an Indian child-rights activist who has devoted his life to ending child labour, child trafficking, slavery and exploitation and promoting the right of every child to education. He founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) in 1980 and played an important role in building national and international movements against child labour. In 2014, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Malala Yousafzai for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

Kailash Satyarthi Early Life & Education

Kailash Satyarthi was born on 11 January 1954 in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, and developed an early concern for children deprived of education. As a young student, he was deeply affected by seeing children working instead of attending school. He studied Electrical Engineering and initially pursued a career in engineering. However, in 1980, he left his profession to dedicate his life to fighting child labour, exploitation and trafficking and promoting children’s right to education.

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Why Did Kailash Satyarthi Give Up His Engineering Career?

Kailash Satyarthi gave up his engineering career after becoming deeply concerned about the widespread child labour and exploitation he witnessed in society. He believed that children should be in schools rather than workplaces and that poverty should not deprive them of their childhood and education. In 1980, he left his engineering profession and dedicated his life to the fight against child labour, bonded labour, trafficking and exploitation, while promoting education and children’s rights.

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Bachpan Bachao Andolan

Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) was founded by Kailash Satyarthi in 1980 to protect children from child labour, bonded labour, trafficking and exploitation. The movement works to rescue and rehabilitate children trapped in exploitative conditions and help them return to education and a safe childhood. It also uses legal action, public awareness and community mobilisation to strengthen child protection. Over the years, BBA has become an important grassroots movement advocating for children’s rights, freedom, dignity and education. 

Kailash Satyarthi and the Fight Against Child Labour

Kailash Satyarthi has spent decades fighting child labour, bonded labour, trafficking and exploitation, working to ensure that children are freed from forced work and given access to education, dignity and a safe childhood. Through grassroots movements, rescue operations, legal advocacy and international campaigns, he helped make child labour a major global human-rights concern.

• Bachpan Bachao Andolan: Founded the organisation in 1980 to combat child labour and child exploitation.
• Child Rescue: Led efforts to rescue children from factories, workshops, mines, domestic servitude and other exploitative conditions.
• Rehabilitation: Focused on providing rescued children with education, rehabilitation and opportunities for a better future.
• Global March Against Child Labour: Led the 1998 Global March, which mobilised people across 103 countries against child labour.
• International Action: His advocacy contributed to global momentum behind ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour.
• Education as a Solution: Promoted universal and quality education as a key means of breaking the cycle of poverty and child labour.
• Ethical Production: Promoted initiatives such as GoodWeave to encourage child-labour-free supply chains.

ILO Convention No. 182 and Worst Forms of Child Labour

The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) calls for immediate and effective measures to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour.

Satyarthi and the Global March Against Child Labour were important forces in building international support for such a convention.

The convention focuses on eliminating forms of child labour involving particularly severe exploitation, including slavery, trafficking, forced labour and hazardous work.

Kailash Satyarthi and the Right to Education in India

Satyarthi also played a role in mobilising public and political support for free and compulsory education.

In 2001, he led the Shiksha Yatra (Education March) to generate public support for making education a fundamental right. His advocacy contributed to the broader movement that eventually resulted in the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002, which inserted Article 21A into the Constitution. Article 21A provides for free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 years of age.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 subsequently provided the legislative framework for implementing this constitutional guarantee. Thus, his work demonstrates how civil society activism can influence constitutional and legislative change.