India Climate Activist Licypriya Kangujam on Why She Took a Stand

Feb 6, 2020
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She is only eight, but Licypriya Kangujam has already been campaigning for action to tackle climate change in her native India for two years.

The young activist has pushed for new laws to curb India's high pollution levels and wants climate change lessons to be mandatory in schools.

"I cry when I see children lose their parents or become homeless due to the dangers of disasters", she told the BBC. 

But, she adds: "If you call me Greta of India, you are not covering my story."

Referring to Greta Thunberg, whose Fridays for Future school strike has grown into a global movement, Licypriya says that while she has much in common with the Swedish teenager, "I have my own identity, story".