Kailash Satyarthi’s Autobiography Diyaslai Unfolds Many Fascinating Incidents

New Delhi, 10th March 2025: Diyaslai is the autobiography of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi. This book narrates his life journey, struggles, and inspiring stories of freeing children worldwide from exploitation. Satyarthi writes, “The end of darkness always begins with a small spark. Similarly, a matchstick may cut across centuries of thick darkness to disseminate light. This very idea became the cornerstone of my existence. Thousands of children whom I freed from slavery, exploitation, and tyranny are now emerging as matchsticks, illuminating thousands of lamps.

In 24 chapters, Satyarthi narrates his path from being born into a humble family of a police constable in Vidisha to becoming internationally acclaimed and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He speaks about his travails and what he did for the liberation and well-being of children. For example, when he was young, he was boycotted by his own society for accepting food from the hands of a so-called “untouchable” woman. Following this incident, he abandoned his caste-based surname Sharma and took up Satyarthi. In the same way, in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, he encountered opposition and violence when he struggled for the admission of Dalits into the Shrinathji Temple. In Allahabad, when he went to free two enslaved children from a carpet factory, a mob of 30-40 individuals armed with sticks and axes was prepared to attack him. He also narrowly survived when he saved children from a circus.

Satyarthi remembers how, after saving child laborers, he would take them for school enrollment, but teachers would simply refuse, since education was not yet a constitutional right under India’s Constitution.

The book records a number of fascinating moments, including his dislike for traditional studies as a young person, his idea of becoming a monk, his journeys to 186 nations in the name of child rights, and even his initial experience of purchasing a locker following a burglary at his apartment. In an easy and entertaining manner, Diyaslai motivates, sensitizes, and acquaints readers with important facts.

Kailash Satyarthi dedicates his autobiography to his parents and the three friends who laid down their lives in the struggle against child labor, exploitation, and injustice.