2.5 - Let's March - Std 10 - Kumarbharati

Author: Kailash Satyarthi

Genre: Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech / Autobiographical Speech

Textbook: English Kumarbharati – Std X

Board: Maharashtra State Board

Summary:

Let’s March is an extract from the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech delivered by Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi in 2014. In his speech, Satyarthi expresses his lifelong commitment to freeing children from child labour, slavery, and exploitation. He honours child activists from India and abroad and reminds the world that education, safety, and dignity are every child's basic rights.

Through stories of real children and powerful metaphors (like the forest fire and the little bird), he emphasizes that even small individual efforts can lead to global change. He calls upon governments, civil societies, and individuals to unite and "march" together—from darkness to light, from poverty to prosperity, from exploitation to education. The speech is a powerful appeal for compassion, justice, and collective responsibility.

Theme / Central Idea:

The speech highlights the urgency of protecting children’s rights across the world. It promotes the message that every child deserves freedom, education, and dignity. It urges individuals, governments, and societies to join hands and work actively against child labour and injustice.

Character Sketch – Kailash Satyarthi

• Courageous and committed: Dedicates his life to fighting child labour and exploitation.

• Compassionate leader: Feels deeply for every child, shown in his emotional recounting of rescue stories.

• Visionary thinker: Sees global education and compassion as keys to peace and justice.

• Inspiring orator: Uses powerful metaphors, stories, and quotes to move his audience.

• Persistent and hopeful: Believes even one person’s action can make a difference, and never gives up.

• Global humanitarian: Appeals to people from all walks of life across borders and religions.

Word Meanings

Grammar Questions

Q1. Identify the infinitive and explain its function:

“Every child is free to grow and develop.”

→ Infinitive: to grow, to develop

→ Function: It shows the purpose of being free.

Q2. Change to passive voice:

Governments must make child-friendly policies.

→ Child-friendly policies must be made by governments.

→ Explanation: The object policies becomes the subject in passive voice.

Q3. Identify the modal and its use:

We can do this.

→ Modal: can

→ Function: Expresses ability or possibility.

Q4. Identify the tense and rewrite in future perfect:

We have made progress in the last couple of decades.

→ Tense: Present Perfect

→ Future Perfect: We will have made progress in the next couple of decades.

Q5. Frame a Wh-question:

He met a cobbler boy outside his school.

→ Wh-question: Who did he meet outside his school?

→ Explanation: Begins with who, asks about the object of the verb met.

Personal Response Questions

Q1. What message does the story of the little bird and the forest fire convey?

→ The story of the bird teaches us that even the smallest individual efforts matter. It shows that we should not be discouraged by the scale of a problem. If each of us does our part, it can lead to powerful collective change. The bird symbolises courage, hope, and action.

Q2. How does Kailash Satyarthi highlight the importance of education in his speech?→ Kailash Satyarthi believes that education is the most powerful tool to fight poverty, exploitation, and injustice. He mentions that just a week's global military spending could send all children to school. According to him, education restores dignity, hope, and peace in society.

Q3. What is your impression of Kailash Satyarthi’s acceptance speech?

→ His speech is emotional, powerful, and inspiring. He speaks with deep conviction and shares real experiences of child labour. His words connect personally with the audience, and his call for global compassion leaves a lasting impact. The speech encourages everyone to take action.

Q4. According to Kailash Satyarthi, what role should individuals and societies play in ending child exploitation?

→ Satyarthi calls upon all people—governments, NGOs, teachers, faith leaders, and common citizens—to unite for children’s rights. He believes everyone must break the silence and take responsibility. Collective and urgent action is needed to protect children and give them a better future.

True or False (Answer in one word)

1. Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Prize in 2014. → True

2. He was honoured for his work in environmental activism. → False

3. Satyarthi believes that fear and intolerance are humanity’s biggest challenges. → True

Probable Board Questions

Q1. What does Kailash Satyarthi mean by “Let us globalise compassion”?

→ The phrase “Let us globalise compassion” means that compassion should become a shared global value, just like trade or technology. Kailash Satyarthi urges people worldwide to unite in kindness, empathy, and action, especially for the rights and welfare of children across the globe.

Q2. Why does Kailash Satyarthi describe himself as “the voice of silence” and “the face of invisibility”?

→ The description “voice of silence” and “face of invisibility” symbolises Satyarthi’s role as a representative of millions of children who suffer quietly. Through his speech, he gives voice to the voiceless and reminds the world to see and act for those who are otherwise ignored.

Q3. What rights does Satyarthi demand for every child in his Nobel speech?

→ The rights that Satyarthi demands include freedom, safety, health care, education, dignity, equality, and peace. He insists that these rights are not privileges but basic entitlements that every child should enjoy unconditionally.

Q4. What inspired Kailash Satyarthi to begin his fight for child welfare?

→ The incident that inspired Kailash Satyarthi was seeing a poor cobbler boy outside his school while he himself had access to education. This moment made him question inequality and became the foundation for his lifelong commitment to children’s rights.

Appreciation / Reflection Paragraph

Kailash Satyarthi’s speech Let’s March is a heartfelt appeal to the world to take action for children’s rights. He shares real stories that touch the heart and uses powerful language that inspires courage and compassion. His message is clear: each one of us can make a difference. He believes that education, not slavery, should shape a child’s future. The metaphors and emotions in the speech make it both thought-provoking and motivational. It is not just a speech—it is a call for global responsibility and collective action.

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