I have personally rescued thousands of children, and most times in small-scale industries especially, the employers, traffickers and slave masters claim that they are uncles of the children, who is going to do a DNA test on them to check if they are related to the children?

Kailash Satyarthi

Categorized in : World

The single aim of my life is that every child is:

Kailash Satyarthi

dream children school

Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child's eye - it is very beautiful.

Kailash Satyarthi

positive beautiful beauty

There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children.

Kailash Satyarthi

violence dream children

I refuse to accept that the shackles of slavery can ever be stronger than the quest for freedom.

Kailash Satyarthi

slavery quests stronger

I refuse to accept that the world is so poor, when just one week of global spending on armies is enough to bring all of our children into classrooms.

Kailash Satyarthi

army children world

For centuries, we were taught that anger is bad. Our parents, teachers, priests, everyone taught us how to control and suppress our anger. But I ask: why can't we convert our anger for the larger good of society?

Kailash Satyarthi

taught-us parent teacher

If not now, then when? If not you, then who? If we are able to answer these fundamental questions, then perhaps we can wipe away the blot of human slavery.

Kailash Satyarthi

wipe humanity fundamentals

India has hundreds of problems and millions of solutions.

Kailash Satyarthi

solutions india problem

First of all, everyone must acknowledge and feel that child slavery still exists in the world, in its ugliest face and form. And this is an evil, which is crime against humanity, which is intolerable, which is unacceptable and which must go. That sense of recognition must be developed first of all. And secondly there is a need of higher amounts of political will. There is a need of higher amount of corporate engagement, and the engagement of the public towards it. So, everybody has a responsibility to save and protect the children on this planet.

Kailash Satyarthi

political-will responsibility children

Child labor perpetuates poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, population growth and other social problems.

Kailash Satyarthi

population-problem growth children

A lot of work still remains but I will see the end of child labor in my lifetime.

Kailash Satyarthi

slave-labor slavery children

My philosophy is that I am a friend of the children. I don't think anyone should see them as pitiable subjects or charity. That is old people's rhetoric. People often relate childish behaviour to stupidity or foolishness. This mindset needs to change. I want to level the playing field where I can learn from the children. Something I can learn from children is transparency. They are innocent, straightforward, and have no biases. I relate children to simplicity and I think that my friendship with children has a much deeper meaning than others.

Kailash Satyarthi

philosophy children thinking

We adults, our policies, our ways of governance, are responsible for poverty, not the children.

Kailash Satyarthi

adults children way

We talk of globalization, and how much money is needed for the education of children in the world, their liberation and rehabilitation just $9 billion which is four days of military expense. Just four days. Nine billion dollars is nothing. But what Americans spent on ice cream just 20 percent of this. One fifth of what you spend on ice creams could bring the children out of the clutches of their masters and put them to school.

Kailash Satyarthi

military children school

Equity is compromised due to the privatisation of education. Education has become a commodity. Those who can afford to buy it, buy it, and those who can sell it make money out of it

Kailash Satyarthi

equity commodity making-money

I am really honoured but if the prize had gone to Mahatma Gandhi before me I would have been more honoured

Kailash Satyarthi

prize humanity gone

During the past few years North East India has emerged as one of the biggest destinations for child trafficking.

Kailash Satyarthi

children past years

I am thankful to the Nobel committee for recognising the plight of millions of children who are suffering in this modern age

Kailash Satyarthi

suffering humanity children

I think of it all as a test. This is a moral examination that one has to pass... to stand up against such social evils.

Kailash Satyarthi

humanity evil thinking

I definitely appreciate the government's move to enhance the age of employment from 14 to 18, but these are two serious grey areas, finally, the government has agreed to bring an amendment to the existing law, but what is more shocking is that this amendment is regressive, it is not progressive.

Kailash Satyarthi

world