Know Kailash Satyarthi- First India-born person to win Nobel Peace prize

New Delhi: Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi belongs to Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. He was an electrical engineer who turned into an activist for children's rights at the age of 26.He gave up his job as an electrical engineer to dedicate himself to protecting and advancing child rights for over three decades now, freeing 80,000 child labourers and giving them new hope in life.Also Read: At a Glance: Indians who won Nobel Prize before Kailash SatyarthiIn 1983, he founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement) to fight child labour. His efforts have helped rescue thousands of children from bondage, trafficking and exploitative labour. It is largely due to his doggedness and zeal that NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan has emerged as by far the most prominent child rights group in the country even as 60-year-old Satyarthi rose to become a global voice for the children's cause. With the help of NGOs and activists, he has organized hundreds of raids on factories and warehouses where children were being made to work. Also Read: Know Malala Yousafzai - World's youngest ever Nobel laureateHe created "Rugmark" which certifies that carpets and rugs sold abroad have been made without the labour of children. The initiative turned out to be highly successful in raising international awareness about children's rights. Rugmark, now known as Good Weave, in 1994, is a kind of social certification for child labour free carpets in South Asia. He has passionately argued that child trafficking and labour perpetuate poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and population growth.From the factories exploiting children in the country's biggest cities like Delhi and Mumbai to the hinterland of Odisha and Jharkhand where children are still illegally employed as bonded labourers, his organisation has rescued them in almost all parts of country.He has advocated for stricter laws against child trafficking and labour and met with mixed success so far. While growing up, Satyarthi has said he was concerned about the plight of child labourers around him and it finally prompted him to start an organised movement. His early attempts to raid factories employing child labourers met with hostile reaction from the factory owners and at times the police but the significance of his work was slowly recognised.He also played an important role in the movement for Right to Education law for free compulsory education to children.Several prestigious awards have been conferred on him, including Defenders of Democracy Award (2009-US), Medal of the Italian Senate (2007-Italy), Robert F Kennedy International Human Rights Award (USA) and Fredric Ebert International Human Rights Award (Germany) etc. He created the Global March against Child Labour, a movement that is active in many countries.Satyarthi has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize many times in the past for his relentless crusade for defending child rights. Satyarthi is the first India-born person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the seventh Indian Nobel laureate. Mother Teresa, who was born in Albania, was the first Indian Nobel peace prize winner. She was honoured in 1979.Satyarthi, who is the second Indian to win a Nobel Peace prize after Mother Teresa was very happy as he won it with Malala and said he will invite her to join his efforts for peace between India and Pakistan.After Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister, Mr Satyarthi tweeted, "A tea-boy dares his detractors by becoming the PM of India. Now it's his turn to ensure that no child is forced to become a child labourer."According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Satyarthi and Yousafzai were picked for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people, and for the right of all children to education.The Nobel Peace prize which is worth about $1.1 million will be honored to the brave hearts in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who was the founder of the famous award and had mentioned it in his 1895 will.The winners this year were selected from a list of 278 nominees, the highest number of candidates ever. The list included 47 organizations, the Nobel committee said. The previous record was 259 in 2013.