Nobel peace prize for Kailash. And. Shame on India & the World.

[Anonymous]

Nobel peace prize for Kailash. And. Shame on India & the World.

Published by : Socialist Center

Author: Paramjeet Singh

 

 

60 years old Kailash Satyarthi (Indian) and 16 years old Malala Yousafzai (Pakistani) won Nobel Peace prize (2014). The whole country (India) jumped with ecstasy when the news broke out. People (society as a whole) came forward to claim their share of recognition and the sense of achievement surrounding it. A number of politicians including those in the government came forward and gave statements embracing the recipients of the awards and appreciating them and their struggle. Someone even said that Kailash is from Madhya Pradesh (a state in India) and it was a matter of pride for the whole state. Of course! It is a matter of great achievement; rather, a great moment of recognition. But only for those individuals (i.e. Kailash and Malala) who spent their whole lives fighting for a social cause that was so dear to their hearts. Rest of the world had nothing to do with it. Nobel prizes are awarded to individuals and organizations. It is not awarded to a country. I would even go to the extent of saying that such events expose the fallacy in the working of the world. It is a matter of shame. I will explain – WHY? One should not forget that an individual like Kailash Satyarthi was fighting the menace of child labor throughout his life facing hardships and even threats to his life in the same society which is now coming forward to have a share in his ‘glory’ or ‘recognition’. He was an individual against ‘child labor’. Where was the society or the world when Kailash was struggling for the cause? God knows! Where was the Indian or the Western media when he was struggling? Nowhere to be seen. Wasn’t the efforts and the work of Kailash Satyarthi visible to the world and the society during all this time? Yes. Was not the problem of child labor visible to the concerned authorities throughout this time? Yes. Did they do something to end the child labor effectively? Nothing. Is it not a matter of grave concern? Nobel Peace Prizes and other such prizes play a great role in recognizing an individual efforts or achievement in addressing a particular issue or in some specific field. They encourage an individual to fight for social cause at an individualistic level and set an example before the world that an individual can make difference. It is not a matter to be proud of. Rather, it is matter to be ashamed of ourselves. I am not undermining the significance of the efforts of Kailash. All I am saying is that it should have been the duty of the states to have assumed the responsibility to fight for the cause that Kailash was fighting for. The same state that escaped its duty then is now coming forward to bask in the glory of an award that recognizes an individual’s efforts is a matter of grave concern for everyone. Not only this! The goodness has become so rare a commodity in the normal course of life that it is celebrated and the ‘bad’ has become order of the day and people have accepted it. The individualization of a social issue or a social cause might be a means to appreciate and encourage an individual or an organization but does not contribute anything in ameliorating the society. It is for the society or the social setup to undertake steps in order to address the problems like child labor. Do not make mockery of the braveness of these individuals like Kailash and Malala by first creating and sustaining the evils in the society and then forcing these individuals to fight them; and thereafter, encashing the recognition of these individuals for cheap “populist” politics. Instead, the state should shoulder the responsibility of fighting these social issues.

[Author]

Posts