Phoolka congratulates Satyarthi on winning Nobel Peace Prize

Senior advocate and counsel of NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, H. S. Phoolka, on Friday congratulated child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize and said it is a great achievement.

Phoolka said it is a great moment not only for Bachpan Bachao Andolan but for the whole country that an Indian has got a Nobel Peace Prize.

"Kailash Satyarthiji has been fighting for the rights of children since the last 40 years. Now, he has working against the trafficking of the girl child, against the child labour, against the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, against the missing children. There are many cases pending of Bachpan Bachao Andolan in the Supreme Court and in the High Court where landmark judgements are given, I am the lawyer in most of the cases," Phoolka told ANI.

"Not only the cases in the courts, but in the ground also Kailash Satyarthi and Bachpan Bachao Andolan has made a tremendous difference for the rights of the children," he added.

Earlier in the day, Satyarthi and Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

"Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Mahatma Gandhi's tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children's rights," the committee said.

Pointing out that the figure for child labourers had come down by 78 million globally, the committee also said that the fight for the right of children led to fraternity between nations.

"The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the 'fraternity between nations' that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize," it stated.