Kailash Satyarthi Quotes

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Today, I see thousands of Mahatma Gandhis, Martin Luther Kings, and Nelson Mandelas marching forward and calling on us. The boys and girls have joined. I have joined in. We ask you to join, too.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Economic growth and human development need to go hand in hand. Human values need to be advocated vigorously.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“I am positive that I would see the end of child labour around the world in my lifetime, as the poorest of the poor have realised that education is a tool that can empower them.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“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

“Every single minute matters, every single child matters, every single childhood matters.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here. A lot of work still remains, but I will see the end of child labor in my lifetime.

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Each time I free a child, I feel it is something closer to God.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“There is a triangular relationship between poverty, child labour and illiteracy who have a cause and consequence relationship. We will have to break this vicious circle.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“I dream for a world which is free of child labour, a world in which every child goes to school. A world in which every child gets his rights.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“I call for a march from exploitation to education, from poverty to shared prosperity, a march from slavery to liberty, and a march from violence to peace.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

Denial of childhood and denial of freedom are the biggest sins which humankind has been committing and perpetuating for ages.

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Let us democratise knowledge. Let us universalise justice. Together, let us globalise compassion!”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Let us unite the world through the compassion for our children.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Every child matters. If we fail our children, we are bound to fail our present, our future, faith, cultures, and civilisations as well.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Today it is time for every child to have a right to life, right to freedom, right to health, right to education, safety, the right to dignity, right to equality, and right to peace.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“I have been very strongly advocating that poverty must not be used as an excuse to continue child labour. It perpetuates poverty. If children are deprived of education, they remain poor.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

I never go to temples, but when I see a child, I see God in them.

— Kailash Satyarthi

“For me, peace is a fundamental human right of every child; it is inevitable and divine.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“From my own experience, I want to say that you should follow your heart, and the mind will follow you. Believe in yourself, and you will create miracles.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

I am representing here - the sound of silence. The cry of innocence. And, the face of invisibility. I represent millions of those children who are left behind, and that's why I have kept an empty chair here as a reminder.

— Kailash Satyarthi

Elimination of child labour and access to education are like two sides of one coin. One cannot be achieved without the other.

— Kailash Satyarthi

“As the anti-slavery community, we must together ensure that this attention is transferred into concrete action and results.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“The fight against child slavery is the fight against traditional mindset, policy deficit, and lack of accountability and urgency for children across the globe.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

“If you keep on buying things made by child slaves in such conditions, you are equally responsible for the perpetration of slavery.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

“I have come here only to share the voices and dreams of our children - because they are all our children.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“Learning from the experiences of our ancestors, let us together create knowledge for all that benefits all.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“The biggest challenge or biggest crisis knocking on the doors of humankind is fear and intolerance.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“At about an age when most children start full time schooling, hundreds of thousands of their contemporaries start a lifetime of drudgery in factories and fields, working 12-16 hours daily.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“More than 30 years ago, when I had embarked upon the fight against child labour, it was not even considered an issue worth any discussion. It was accepted as a way of life in India, much like it was in other countries. Today, no country or business or society can throw this issue away.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“The first 'D' is to dream: dream big - not for yourself, but for the country and for the world. The second 'D' is to discover: discover your full potential and the opportunities that surround you; and the third 'D' is to do. 'Do' means to act on your dreams and make best use of the opportunities you have discovered.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

“The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm and courage of the young people.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

Today, in every wave of every ocean, I see our children playing and dancing. Today, in every plant, tree, and mountain, I see our children growing in freedom.

— Kailash Satyarthi

We as the governments, workers, employers and civil society must declare a war on child labour. This war cannot be won without strong, committed, coherent, and well-resourced worldwide movement. Equally needed is a genuine and active coordination between intergovernmental agencies at the highest level.

— Kailash Satyarthi

“The single aim of my life is that every child is:
free to be a child,
free to grow and develop,
free to eat, sleep, see daylight,
free to laugh and cry,
free to play,
free to learn, free to go to school, and above all, free to dream.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

“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

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

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

“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

“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

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

“India has hundreds of problems and millions of solutions.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

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

“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

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

— Kailash Satyarthi