Donald Trump Has Raised the Prestige of the Nobel Prize: Kailash Satyarthi

New Delhi, February 22: “Because of U.S. President Donald Trump, the prestige of the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Committee and even my own stature has increased,” said Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi. “His eagerness to receive the Nobel Peace Prize has proved that the award cannot be managed or manipulated. For this contribution, I extend my greetings to him.”

India’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Kailash Satyarthi, expressed these views while speaking as the chief guest at the Padmashri Dr. Shyam Singh Shashi Memorial Lecture Series held in Delhi.

On the occasion, he elaborated on the significance of the Nobel Prize and highlighted the distinction between the Nobel Peace Prize and other Nobel awards.

Shri Satyarthi remarked that despite receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, he was not initially taken as seriously as he is today. However, after Donald Trump publicly demonstrated his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize, public respect for both the award and for him increased significantly—particularly in India, where people began to view him with greater seriousness. He emphasized that the Nobel Prize represents the highest honour bestowed upon humanity.

Reflecting on education, Shri Satyarthi observed that modern systems often teach relentless competition, which can become cruel and aggressive. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work in the field of peace and child rights, he called upon all those committed to the welfare of humanity to come together in a collective effort—like a sacred offering—to ignite the flame of knowledge.

He clarified that true education signifies liberation. If one advances by pushing others aside, that is not education. The world, he said, has learnt many things, but it has not learnt how to walk together—and it is only by walking together that collective well-being can be achieved. He cautioned that education must never be reduced to a mere commercial enterprise.