JALUKBARI, Sept 22 - Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi launched the North-east leg of the Bharat Yatra in the city today. The North-east leg of the Yatra was ceremoniously launched from the Gauhati University Sports Complex.
The Bharat Yatra is a three-year long campaign to create awareness for making India a country safe for children. The theme for this year�s Bharat Yatra campaign, which was launched by Satyarthi from Kanyakumari on September 11, is �Let us together create a safe childhood for our children�.
While launching the campaign, the Nobel Peace Prize winner stated that schools and homes have become insecure places for kids today.
Citing example of the recent murder of a 7-year-old student in a private school in Gurugram, he spoke how the nation needs to understand the grave dangers that children are in today and the North-east remains most vulnerable in terms of child trafficking.
Lamenting how the society�s moral ethos is fast degrading, Satyarthi stated that child abuse can lead to instable social fabric. He also narrated how every hour two children are molested in the country.
�Child rape and sexual abuse have become a moral epidemic that haunts our nation and we can no longer remain silent spectators. Our silence is breeding more violence. That is why this Yatra is the beginning of an all out war against rape, abuse and trafficking,� he added.
Satyarthi has been campaigning for the freedom, safety and security for children across the globe for the past 36 years.
The Nobel Laureate further said earlier campaigns undertaken by him led to stricter national and international laws against child labour and a constitutional amendment making education a fundamental right.
During the launch of this campaign, Satyarthi appealed to the youth to join the march to ensure the safety and security of the children who are the future of India.
Students from altogether 20 schools in the city participated in the Bharat Yatra in a show of solidarity. Satyarthi was joined by the Gauhati University authorities, school children, teachers and media persons as he marched for the children of the country.
Later, a rally was taken out from the venue to the Jalukbari flyover, which was led by the Nobel Laureate himself. The programme was attended by his wife Sumedha Satyarthi, GU Vice-Chancellor Dr Mridul Hazarika and a host of other dignitaries.
Starting from Kanyakumari and passing through Kashmir, the Bharat Yatra will conclude in New Delhi on October 16.
