New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) Kailash Satyarthi, India's best known face against child labour, was Friday awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Pakistani teenager Malala Yousufzai "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people".

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a proud nation in congratulating the Delhi-based 60-year-old activist, who pledged to keep fighting to secure freedom for the hundreds of thousands from poor families who slog away as child workers in pitiable conditions.

Satyarthi is the fifth Indian to win a Nobel prize after Rabindranath Tagore (1913, Literature), C.V. Raman (1930, Physics), Mother Teresa (1979, Peace) and Amartya Sen (1988, Economics). Rajendra K. Pachauri accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for the Inter-governmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC) in 2007. 

Born in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, Satyarthi, who gave up a promising career as an electrical engineer when he was 26, expressed hope this recognition would strengthen the struggle of child labourers.

"This award is a dedication to all those people and activists fighting for the cause of children. I hope this will give strength to the struggle of children working as labourers," Satyarthi told IANS.

The lanky Indian, who is usually dressed in a simple khadi kurta-pyjama, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Malala, the Pakistani teenager who stood up to the Taliban and survived a near fatal shooting.

Satyarthi's Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA, or Save Childhood Movement), has for years not just campaigned against child labour but raided factories as well as sweat-shops that employ children illegally, turning them into virtual slave labour and often paying them a pittance for hours of hard toil.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was awarding Satyarthi and Malala "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education".

It said that showing great personal courage, Satyarthi, "maintaining Gandhi's tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children's rights".

Malala was shot by a Taliban gunman as she took a bus home from school in Pakistan's northwest in 2012. She went to Britain for treatment.

The Nobel Committee regards it "as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism".

It said there were 168 million child labourers in the world now. In 2000, the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour.

Satyarthi's group has so far freed about 80,000 children from servitude, including bonded labourers, and helped in their successful re-integration, rehabilitation and education.

Officially, there are only about five million child workers in India. But activists say the actual figure is ten times as much.

President Mukherjee said: "The prize should be seen as recognition of the contributions of India's vibrant civil society in addressing complex social problems such as child labour and the important role played by them in collaboration with the government in the nation's efforts to eliminate all forms of child labour in the country."

Prime Minister Modi hailed Satyarthi for devoting his life to a cause "extremely relevant to entire humankind". He added: "The entire nation is proud of his momentous achievement. I salute his determined efforts."

Modi also congratulated Malala, saying her "life is a journey of immense grit and courage".

Amnesty International praised Satyarthi and Malala for promoting the "rights of the world's most vulnerable children". "Satyarthi has dedicated his life to helping the millions of children in India who are forced into slavery and work in torrid conditions," it said. 

Several prestigious awards have been conferred on Satyarthi, including Defenders of Democracy Award (2009, US), Alfonso Comin International Award (2008, Spain), Medal of the Italian Senate (2007, Italy) and Robert F. Kennedy International Human Rights Award (US).

Satyarthi is credited with the enactment of national and international legislations, treaties and conventions besides constitutional amendment on child labour and education.

Terming the Nobel Peace Prize to Satyarthi as a "big and historical" occasion, Shireen Vakeel Miller, advocacy director with NGO Save the Children, told IANS: "This event will bring into the spotlight the problem of child labour in India."

Said Meenakshi Kohli, well known child rights activist: "It is great that a person who has contributed so much to eradication of child labour has won the Nobel Prize. But we have to continue with the momentum gained and not forget the issue once the spotlight goes."