Sulakshana Nadig

Indian social reformer who pioneered child rights advocacy through grassroots education initiatives

Sulakshana Nadig is a transformative figure in India's social justice movement, best known for her 1980s work combating child labor and promoting education access. As founder of the Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) in 1986, she mobilized over 500,000 children into self-help groups to advocate for their rights. Her 'Child Parliament' concept, launched in 1992, trained 12-15 year-olds to engage in local governance, a model later adopted by UNICEF in 18 countries.

Ms. Nadig's 1995 campaign to close 1,200 illegal child labor factories in Tamil Nadu led to landmark legislation banning child labor under age 14. Her development of the 'Child Rights Index' in 1998 became a global standard for measuring child welfare.

In 1999 she pioneered the 'Education for All' initiative that built 300 schools in rural Karnataka, using innovative community-based funding models. Her work with UNESCO in 2000 helped shape the Convention on the Rights of the Child's implementation strategy.

Her advocacy led to the establishment of India's first child helpline in 2005, which now handles over 2 million calls annually. Learn more at CMCA's official website and view her documentary 'Voices of the Unheard' on Vimeo.