New Delhi. Spiritual leaders across different faiths and beliefs in the country joined Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), the organisation led by Nobel Laureate Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, to forge the motto of Surakshit Bachpan Surakshit Bharat (Safe Childhood-Safe India). They wholeheartedly endorsed the agenda of working to eradicate child sexual abuse, trafficking, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence against children to create a safe and fear free India for children today and tomorrow.
The roundtable hosted by Mr.Satyarthi in Delhi was attended by faith leaders spanning the country including Syed Aziz- Secretary- Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,Dr. Anil Arya- Head- Arya Yuva Kendra, Archbishop Samuel P. Prakash- Anglican Church of India, Bhramkumar Sushant Ji- Brahma Kumaris – Mt. Abu, Mr. Alwan Masih- General Secretary, Church of North India, Sadhvi Jaya Bharti Swami Vishwanand- Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan, Ms. Nilakshi Rajkhowa- Director- National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India Office of Public Affairs, Sufi Ajmal Nizami- Head- Nizamuddin Dargah, Mr. C.L. Gulati- General Secretary- Sant Nirankari Mission, Shri. Ram Mahesh Mishra Ji- Director- Vishwa Jagrati Mission, among others.
Leading the Roundtable discussion, Nobel Peace Laureate and Child Rights Activist Kailash Satyarthi said, ‘Children are always the worst victims of all forms of violence; sexual abuse is among the gravest and is growing at an alarming rate. This is a crime, an evil and the reflection of societal sickness hidden beneath the widespread silence of social taboo. It is the moral obligation of all faith leaders to help break this silence. Protecting God’s children, I believe, is the most powerful act of worship’.
Religious leaders and faith communities are the largest and most organized civil institutions in our society, claiming the allegiance of billions of believers and bridging the divide of race, class and nationality. More than any other civil society representatives, faith leaders have the experience of establishing and working with local, regional and international partners. Their influence can contribute effectively to ending violence against children. This roundtable seeks to bring all faith leaders together under the same roof who will commit to supporting the cause of ending violence against children and mobilising their followers to join and pledge for this cause.
During the discussion, Salim Engineer- Jama’at-e-Islami Hind said, “Violence against children is a very important issue in this country. We will support you, the cause and the campaigns wherever you will go.”
“Be assured of our support to the campaign, the Catholic Church supports you as the cause is a very noble one”, said Archbishop, Anglican Church of India.
The dignitaries that attended the event include Gautam Gill and Gaurav Verma, Art of Living; Bharamkumar Sushant Ji, Brahma Kumaris; Dr. Sarabjit Roy, Brahma Samaj; Syed Aziz Ahmed, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; Swami Adityananda Saraswati, Parmarth Niketan Ashram; C.L. Gulati, Sant Nirankari Mission; Yudhistir Govinda Das, ISKON; Sandhvi Jaya Bharti, Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan; Shri Ram Mahesh Mishra Ji, Vishwa Jagrati Mission; Jama’at-e-Islami Hind, salim Engineer; Maulana Arshad Madani, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind; Sufi Ajmal Nizami, Nizamuddin Dargah; Alwan Masih, The Church of North India; Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, All India Imam Organisation; Junaid Harris, Jamia Millia Islamia; Nilakshi Rajkhowa, National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India Office of Public Affairs; Dr. Anil Arya, Arya Yuvak Kendra; Swami Aryavesh, Arya Prtinidhi Sabha Methodist Church in India; Acharya Vivek Muniji; and Prasanna Kumar Patasani; Father Felix, Sadbhavna; Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, Judah Hyam Synagogue; Ramakrishna Mission; Acharya Pratishtha, Adhyatmik Guru; Pandit Deepak Dubey, Peeth; Bishop Subodh C. Mondal, Founder President, Shiva Foundation; and Vedic Jyotish.
About Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi
Mr. Satyarthi has been a tireless advocate of children’s rights for over three decades. He and the grassroots movement founded by him, Bachpan Bachao Andolan have liberated more than 84,000 children from exploitation and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation. He has been at the forefront for driving child related agendas into The Sustainable Development Goals announced at The United Nations SDG Summit in September. He has been highlighting the need of governments to prioritize the child related SDGs and put children first.
Mr. Satyarthi was also the architect of the single largest civil society network for the most exploited children, the Global March Against Child Labour, whose mobilization of unions, civil society and most importantly, children, led to the adoption of ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour in 1999. He was also the founding president of the Global Campaign for Education, an exemplar civil society movement working to end the global education crisis. In 2014, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”
About Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation
The Foundation’s mission is to create, implement and advocate child-friendly policies that ensure the holistic development and empowerment of children. For achieving these goals, the Foundation encourages government, businesses, civil society as well as children and the youth to participate in strategies and action that will safeguard children from the worst forms of abuse, including lack of education and health.