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Champions of peace: Nobel honour for Malala Yousafzai, Kailash Satyarthi

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It was a rare occasion when India and Pakistan— together—carried the day in the Norwegian capital. Amidst thundering applause in the famed City Hall, child rights activists Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Prize for Peace and solemnly pledged to end exploitation of children in their lifetimes.

The day dawned brighter and warmer than Tuesday as the sun shone briefly on the guests in saris, kurta-pajamas, salwar-kameez and colourful dupattas who gathered in the City Hall to cheer Satyarthi and Malala, the world's youngest and first Pakistani to be honoured with a Nobel. The hall, shimmering with the colours of South Asian attire amidst sharp western suits and sober ties, resonated with repeated applause for nearly an hour and a half as Satyarthi and Malala delivered their impassioned lectures at the Nobel Prize-giving ceremony. Both laureates received more than one standing ovation and the audience—comprising royalty, celebrities and Norway's political, social and cultural elite—simply couldn't stop applauding the words of Satyarthi and Malala. The ceremony was livened with some great music that brought to the stage, among others, Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and the Pashto legend Sardar Takkar Ali.

South Asia took centre-stage and the Norwegians only too happy to cheer them on. Satyarthi and Malala, who were described as "champions of peace", received the awards from Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland, a former prime minister of Norway, in the presence of King Harald V and his family who were very much a part of the admiring and applauding audience.

Satyarthi, who respectfully declined to "deliver a lecture" – because he was "here to represent the sound of silence" – nevertheless had his say and ended his acceptance speech with a "Call for a march from exploitation to education, from poverty to shared prosperity, a march from slavery to liberty and a march from violence to peace".

Saying that the single aim of his life is that "every child should be free to grow and develop... to play, learn, go to school and, above all, dream, Satyarthi called upon governments to invest in education and young people. "Let us march", was the ringing end note of his talk.

Malala, who radiated extraordinary confidence for a 17-year-old, began her lecture saying: "Today I am very happy that we are standing together for an important cause".

The activist for girls' education who has, perhaps, made more headlines than any other teenager and spoken from some of the most important platforms, including the United Nations, said: "This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change".

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