The character arc of Kailash Satyarthi
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 11 January 1954 in India. Between then and now sit a campaign against child labour and for the universal right of children to education and to life, the founding of Bachpan Bachao Andolan and of several other organisations, more than 138,000 children liberated from labour, slavery and trafficking according to his team, an eighty thousand kilometre march across 103 countries in 1998 with trafficking survivors walking in it, an international convention adopted unanimously the following year, board seats at international bodies, a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, and a nineteen thousand kilometre march at home. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Kailash Satyarthi?
They walked eighty thousand kilometres. The convention passed unanimously.
He is an Indian social reformer who campaigned against child labour and for the universal right to education and the right to life for children. That is a short sentence for work that mostly consists of going into places where children are being held and getting them out.
He founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan, and he and his team there state they have liberated more than 138,000 children in India from child labour, slavery and trafficking. He also founded the Global March Against Child Labour, the Global Campaign for Education, a childrens foundation in his own name, and a trust and a movement for global compassion.
In 1998 he conceived and led the Global March Against Child Labour: eighty thousand kilometres across 103 countries, to put a global demand against the worst forms of child labour. It became one of the largest social movements ever mounted on behalf of exploited children, and crucially the marchers included children and young people who had survived the thing being marched against, trafficking for forced labour, exploitation, sexual abuse, illegal organ transplants and armed conflict.
The point of a march is what it produces. The demands of those marchers were reflected in the draft of an International Labour Organization convention on the worst forms of child labour, and the following year that convention was unanimously adopted at the ILO conference in Geneva. A unanimous international convention is an extremely rare object.
He has served on the boards and committees of several international organisations, including a centre for victims of torture, an international labour rights fund and a cocoa initiative. He was among Fortune magazine World Greatest Leaders in 2015 and on LinkedIn Power Profiles list in 2017 and 2018. He led a nationwide march in India, Bharat Yatra, covering nineteen thousand kilometres in thirty five days, to demand legislation on the sexual abuse of children. And in 2014 he was co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, with Malala Yousafzai, for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. He had founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan and led the global march long before the prize arrived.
The moments
Kailash Satyarthi's timeline.
The 1950s
Born in India
Everyday. India, 1954.
The 1980s
The campaign begins
Milestone, and it changed everything. Two rights, argued for over four decades.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan
Milestone, and it changed everything. The organisation that does the actual getting out.
The 1990s
A hundred and thirty eight thousand children
Milestone, and it changed everything. The figure is the organisation own, and it is 138,000.
Lobby the conference, or walk to it
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: organise the march, taken, or work the conference rooms. The convention was adopted unanimously in Geneva the following year, and remains the international standard.
Eighty thousand kilometres
Milestone, and it changed everything. A hundred and three countries, on foot.
The survivors walked too
Milestone, and it changed everything. The people it had happened to walked at the front.
Adopted unanimously
Milestone, and it changed everything. Unanimous, at an international conference, which almost never happens.
The 2000s
More organisations
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Five organisations, all pointed at the same thing.
Boards and committees
Milestone. Three international bodies, including one about chocolate.
The 2010s
The Nobel Peace Prize
Milestone, and it changed everything. Shared with a teenager, for the same argument.
The world greatest leaders
Milestone, and it changed his direction. On the lists, the year after the Nobel.
Nineteen thousand kilometres at home
Milestone, and it changed everything. Nineteen thousand kilometres in thirty five days.
The convention his marchers helped write is still the international standard on the worst forms of child labour. What he set moving is the most literal campaign on this site, which was to walk eighty thousand kilometres, with the survivors walking too, until enough governments agreed to sign something.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His is measured in kilometres walked and children counted, which is an unusual way to keep score. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Kailash Satyarthi: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Kailash Satyarthi's character arc?
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What organisations did Kailash Satyarthi found?
Where does this timeline of Kailash Satyarthi's life come from?
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Sources
- Kailash Satyarthi, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The Nobel Peace Prize citation of 2014.
- ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, adopted 1999.
- The figures published by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, attributed to that organisation.