Nobel dedicated to country, will continue my fight: Kailash Satyarthi

New Delhi: Elated over winning the Nobel Peace prize, renowned child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi on Friday dedicated the coveted award to people of India and vowed to work with renewed vigour against exploitation of children and to ensure their welfare.

In his first reaction, 60-year-old Satyarthi, who has been leading Bachpan Bachao Andolan in his relentless crusade for child rights, thanked the Nobel Committee for recognising the plight of millions of children and said the award will help bring global focus on the issue.

Satyarthi, who is an avid follower of Gandhian philosophy, however, said he would have been much more happy if the award had gone to the father of the nation.

"I am thankful to Nobel committee for recognising the plight of millions of children who are suffering in this modern age. It is a huge honour for me," Satyarthi, who became the second Indian to win the award after Mother Teresa, told PTI.

"I was born after the death of Mahatma Gandhi. If the prize had gone to Mahatma Gandhi before me I would have been more honoured. I am really honoured. This award is for all the citizens of the country," he said.

Girls education rights activist Malala Yousafzai and Satyarthi have been named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The 60-year-old activist, who has a relatively low profile even in India, congratulated Malala, the 17-year-old Pakistani girl who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban. "The two of us have to work together, I know her personally, let us join hands for that (peace)," he said in comments broadcast on Indian television.

"After receiving this award I feel that the people will give more attention to the cause of the children in the world."

Satyarthi heads the Global March Against Child Labour, a combination of some 2,000 social groups and union organisations in 140 countries.

He is credited with helping tens of thousands of children forced into slavery by businessmen, landowners and others to gain their freedom.

Asked why he had become an activist, he replied that "somebody had to do it". 

"It was a passion from my childhood to work for children, I carried it forward," he said.

"I have been very strongly advocating that poverty must not be used as an excuse to continue child labour. It perpetuates poverty. If children are deprived of education, they remain poor."

Satyarthi, who is scheduled to meet India's President Narendra Modi later Friday, also credited his country's "alive" and "vibrant" democracy for the success of his campaign. "Something which was born in India has gone global and now we have a global movement against child labour," he said.

And he said it was a "good gesture" to give this year's prize to people from India and Pakistan, whose troubled relationship has led to three wars.