Bhopal: Nobel Laureate and Bachpan Bachao Andolan activist Kailash Satyarthi today said cruelty against children and depriving them of education, freedom, security and dreams was a heinous crime against humanity.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who shared the prestigious award with Pakistan's education rights activist Malala Yusufzai was honoured by Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav at Raj Bhawan and later by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Chief Minister's residence.
Silence of two minutes was also observed at the MP Chief Minister's residence to pay homage to the slain school children in Pakistan.
“Wherever children are subjected to cruelty or deprived of their right to education, freedom, security and dreams, it is the biggest crime against humanity,” Satyarthi said, addressing a function in his honour at the Raj Bhawan. Satyarthi, who was born and educated in Vidisha town, said that though he received a lot of awards across the world it is the biggest honour to be recognised in his own native land.
Sharing details of his meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee, he said the latter had informed him that the Nobel Prize which Ravindra Nath Tagore had received was stolen and when he personally brought its replica that too was taken away by his relatives abroad.
Other Indian Nobel laureates too are settled in other countries and therefore, not a single medal was left in the country, the President told Satyarthi.
To this, Satyarthi said that he is an Indian and would never leave India to settle abroad.
“Therefore, I have decided to give a replica of my Nobel Prize to the Raj Bhawan so that anybody can come and see it,” he said.
The Nobel laureate said it's only on the day people end cruelty against children would they be able to say ‘Vande Matram' and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai' with pride. Addressing the function, the Governor got emotional while referring to the dastardly act of killing a large number of children at an army school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Congratulating Satyarthi for winning the Nobel Prize, Yadav said it was a matter of pride for Vidisha and also for Madhya Pradesh.
Addressing a function at the MP Chief Minister's residence, Chouhan said Satyarthi had saved the childhood of more than 83,000 children in 144 countries which is highly laudable.
He assured Satyarthi that the MP state government would stand by him in his drive to save children labourers. Chouhan said that the first condition of saving childhoods is to ensure bread for each and every child. “We will ensure that their childhood is saved and their future becomes bright,” Chouhan said.
