Two champions

Sir — Kailash Satyarthi, who is 60 years old and Malala Yousafzai, who is 17, have been jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (“Peace for peace”, Oct 12). Satyarthi — he hails from India — has been fighting for the rights of children since the 1980s. He has led raids on various factories where children are made to work as bonded labourers. His organization, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, has set up schools for such children. The organization has fought child labour by creating domestic and international consumer resistance to products made by children. He had also organized a global march against child labour in the 1990s which was dedicated to rescuing millions of children abused worldwide in a form of modern slavery.

Yousafzai, who hails from Pakistan, is a fighter herself. The Taliban had shot her in the head — it shattered her skull — for championing the cause of education for women. She survived the attack and went on to become an education activist.

It is a matter of shame that the Nobel Peace Prize is shared between two neighbouring countries which fail to maintain peaceful bilateral relations.

Yours faithfully,
Sudarshan Nandi, Jabalpur

Sir — The Nobel Peace Prize for Kailash Satyarthi is in recognition of the excellent work done by him in securing the lives of underprivileged children. Not many had heard his name before he became the second Indian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a pity that in our country people like him get very little media attention in spite of the selfless service they render to society. The 60-year-old activist has been a relentless crusader for children’s rights and his organization has been at the forefront of the drive against child labour in India for years. One hopes that with this award, his work will get the attention it deserves. The government should help Satyarthi in his fight for the rights of children. In India, children are not allowed to work in the industrial sector or in other hazardous fields. But around 50 million children still toil in factories that make fireworks, carpets, bangles and bricks, among other things. Satyarthi is an iconoclast, fighting against widespread social tolerance for child labour in India, where many argue that the children would die of hunger if they did not have the jobs.

Satyarthi will share the award with Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education activist whom the Taliban had shot when she was on her way to school. Yousafzai became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. She began campaigning for girls’ education at a very young age. She defied terror, showed extraordinary courage and inspires hope in millions of women. It would be excellent if these two icons from India and Pakistan can work together to secure the rights of children.

Yours faithfully,
Ambar Mallick, Calcutta

Sir — This year’s Noble Peace Prize is shared by an Indian and a Pakistani, at a time when military tensions between India and Pakistan have flared up again, with cross-border shelling in the disputed region of Kashmir. The richly symbolic selection brings together individuals who have much in common in their outspoken advocacy of the rights of children.

The prime ministers of the two nations may have an important and unusual chance to discuss the conflict in person at the Nobel awards ceremony, having been invited by the winners. The invitation puts pressure on both leaders to translate the warm feelings generated by the award into more concrete work to stop the violence.

Yours faithfully,
Vijay Dattatray Patil, Pune

Sir — The country is proud of Kailash Satyarthi for getting the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Malala Yousafzai, for his crusade to end child labour in India. Satyarthi is the first Indian-born Nobel Peace Prize winner; Mother Teresa, a naturalized Indian citizen, won the Peace Prize in 1979. Satyarthi has been struggling for the right of children to education. He also worked towards changing mindsets and against the practice of employing children as servants in homes. A lot still needs to be done for the economic and social rehabilitation of these children. More non-governmental organizations should come forward to help Satyarthi.

The Nobel committee should be thanked for selecting Satyarthi for the prize. According to Thorbjorn Jagland, the chairman of the Nobel committee, Satyarthi kept alive M.K. Gandhi’s tradition by leading “various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain”.

Yours faithfully,
Keshab Kumar Chowdhury, Calcutta

Sir — Malala Yousafzai has hardly done anything to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize at her age. She did show exemplary courage in defying the Taliban ban on female education but is now not in touch with the ground reality in her home country. She seems to be on her way to becoming another commercialized symbol of protest against Muslim fundamentalism. In India, a large number of poor village girls continue with their studies in spite of pressure from their parents or from society. The courage and determination shown by these girls go unnoticed and unrewarded. Moreover, they do not have the luxury of moving away from the hostile environment. It is infantile to think that making a global icon out of Yousafzai will demoralize the Taliban. The Noble Peace Prize has always managed to fuel controversy. The committee had refused to recognize M.K. Gandhi as an apostle of peace and denied him the honour.

Yours faithfully,
Purnendu Samajdar, Calcutta