Bhopal:
The Nobel Prize winner, the founder of the Bachpan Bachao Endool, and the global voice for the rights of children – Kailash Satyarthi may have earned praise around the world, but still carries the soul of Vidya, Madhya Pradesh. In a special interview with NDTV, he did not talk about the awards, but the pain of children, silence and responsibility of those people in power.
Question: You are from Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. How do you see the condition of children in your home state today? Has anything changed?
A: A lot has changed – and yet, a lot remains (equal). When I started, child labor was normal. It still exists, but awareness has increased. Parents now want their children in school. There are plans, but the monitoring of the ground is weak.
Question: What did your childhood teach you in learning? Does still inspire you from there?
A: Vidisha is not just my birthplace – this is the place where my thoughts were shaped. Emperor Ashoka’s children, Mahendra and Sanghamitra, were born there. He chose the path of non -violence and service. If a child can inspire peace 2,000 years ago, why not today?
Question: NDTV highlighted a large -scale nutrition scam in MP, where money was stopped for children’s food. As someone is someone who works for children globally, how do you feel when you read such stories from your state?
A: It hurts deeply – like a mother’s pain. For those children who barely receive two foods a day, even shameful for any society. Whether it is Vidisha or elsewhere, I raise my voice – not only in India but in 145 countries – wherever injustice occurs.
Question: This report was really my investigation. The Comptroller and Auditor General confirmed this.
A: And this is the power of real journalism – truth that drives. Journalists who increase the voices of children are the real changemaker.
Question: You talked about misuse of drugs in children. NDTV recently did a sting nearby – young children use and sell drugs. Have you seen any positive changes in India since your Nobel victory?
A: Yes, I find a moral change. Officers, politicians, even judges now take more serious children’s issues. But the real change will come only when the society wakes up. Governments alone cannot do this.
Question: You have often said that compassion is only one thing that can unite the world. But today, reports of atrocities against minorities have become common around the world – whether it is Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus or himself in Bangladesh. Don’t you think the responsibility of Nobel Prize winner becomes even more in such a time?
A: Absolutely. Wherever there is oppression or injustice, it is the moral duty of every person – who calls himself a human – to raise his voice. From the same day I received the Nobel Prize, I felt a deep sense of responsibility. This struggle is no longer about children – it is now a fight for every victim, every marginalized person and every frightened soul. My dream is of a world where places of worship – temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras – are not in the name of religion, but in the name of humanity.
Question: In India, some forces talk about making it a Hindu nation. Is this not against our shared culture and the spirit of our Constitution?
A: Look, it is a matter of ideologies and personal outlooks. India imagine – the world that I dream and try to create – if I talk about faith, religion and belief systems, then in that world of dreams, in that world of my struggle, I see a place where every temple, every mosque, every gurudwara, every church opens their doors for all children, no matter that their religion.
If a child is hungry, they should find food. If a child is afraid, they should be protected. The day a temple priest sees a victim’s child – whether they are Muslims or Christians – and embrace them, “You are a child of God, and what you need is the most needed is security, love and dignity – and I will give you that” – this is the world I want to see.
The same should be the same in mosques, churches, gurudwaras. And this is not just my dream. I believe that fragmentation and violence are not eternal, they are not eternal. What is Sanatan is love for humanity, unity with each other. And for that, you do not need the Nobel Prize.
Question: When you see a child running in the rubble to save his books, what does a bulldozer feel after demolishing his house?
A: Pain. And anger. Whether it is Gaza, Ukraine, or India, these images reflect some deeply compared to the war. Violence begins in the mind – in hatred, greed, intolerance. We should basically teach values - especially compassion – to fight.
Question: You have said that compassion should be taught in schools and the money spent on war should be invested in education. What is the feeling behind this idea?
If the world stops spending on war – even for only ten days – if we close manufacturing weapons, every poor country can have access to education, security and healthcare. The world is not poor – we think.
Depression has become a global epidemic today because people are no longer shoulders to cry, nor have weapons left to catch each other. If India does not take the way, then who will do it?
Violence does not begin with bombs – it begins in mind. When we steal a child’s food, push them into drugs, or remain silent in front of injustice – we feed that violence. But India believes in ‘Vasudhiv Kutumbakam’ – the world as a family. This is not just a slogan. It is a way of life.
