UN Declares Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary As “International Non-Violence Day”
The United Nations General Assembly has decided to declare October 2 - the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi—as ‘International Day of Non-Violence’ in recognition of his role in promoting the message of peace around the world.
The move to get the international community to pay tribute to Gandhi’s ideology was a follow-up to the Satyagraha conference organised by the Congress early this year and a subsequent campaign launched by the government. Speaking at the conference, titled ‘Peace, Non-Violence and Empowerment — Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century’, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called for steps to get the Mahatma’s birthday marked as the International Day of Non-Violence.
The resolution to respect the apostle of humanity and peace, has been moved in the UN General Assembly by India and co-sponsored by 120 of total 191 members. The resolution expected to be passed on Friday, reaffirms the universal relevance of non-violence, the gospel taught by Gandhi through out his life and followed by many leaders world over to win the heart of the enemy.
Almost all major players of the world like the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany and countries from subcontinent like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan are among those co-sponsoring it. More countries are likely to join in sponsoring it by the time the Assembly considers it.
The resolution stresses the need for non-violence, tolerance, full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, democracy, development, mutual understanding and respect for diversity as reinforcements for peace and growth of mankind.
Great leaders such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela achieved immortal success following the Gandhian method of truth and non-violence where everything was perceived impossible by many.
If interested in more what and who Gandhi was, here is a nice document presented by UNESCO - Commemorating 125th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (.pdf)
June 18th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
The idea of Ahimsa Day, International Day of Non-Violence is originally an initiative of an English class of mainly Japanese and Korean children in Paris, working on Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’. This proposal was supported by Romila Thapar, Asma Jahangir, Noam Chomsky, K.R. Narayanan, Krishna Kumar, Immanuel Wallerstein, etc. and taken to the 2004 Bombay WSF by peace Nobel, Shirin Ebadi. Krishna Kumar (now director NCERT) had predicted that this call will take 3 years to be properly heard…
Hard News, the Indian associate of the international French monthly Le Monde Diplomatique, played a role too. Sanjay Kapoor discussed it with Mohsina Kidwai who took it to Sonia Gandhi just before the Satyagraha convention where archbishob Desmond Tutu formally proposed the Call for an ahimsa day to be sent to the UN.
If you wish to know more, search on Google (”Ahimsa Day, Shirin Ebadi”). Also see FAQ on Ahimsa Online !
Akshay Bakaya
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Thank you very much for your information. Would you like to pass me some information about who is going to what to celebrate Gandhi’s birth day and International Day of Nonviolence. Thank you very much.
In peace,
Md. Golam Mostofa
Peace student
Dhaka-Bangladesh
July 3rd, 2007 at 3:02 am
क्या हाल हैं अक्षय…बहुत दिन हुए कोई बातचीत नहीं हुई…विर्जीनी के क्या हाल हैं। आज ओरकुट में घूमते हुए तुम्हारा खयाल आया तो यह पत्र…
मेरा ई मेल पता है : hkjoshi@nic.in
देखो होती है मुलाकात ऐसे भी….
July 8th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
What could we do on World Ahimsa Day, i.e. the International Day of Non-Violence ?
The Paris children, initiators of this idea, then Shirin Ebadi, Noam Chomsky, Romila Thapar (see report in The Telegraph January 30 2006 - “Ahimsa Finds Teen Voice”) saw this as a day of worldwide experiments with Ahimsa, individual or collective. One intention was clear - this is not to be a day of pompous commemoration, nor of “India’s victory at the UN” as some reports pathetically put it, but of popular imagination and initiative, controlled by no hierarchy. See our Non-Violence Manifesto on line for some possible ideas, but there could be any number we had not imagined.
An interesting example is the Make-Music Day, an idea that was born in Paris. “Faites de la musique” (make music), pronounced exactly like “Fête de la musique” (music festival), was Maurice Fleuret’s proposal. He worked at the French Ministry of Culture, so expectedly the whole project was passed off as the Minister’s (Jack Lang’s) idea. That’s the logic of the politicians, and OK, it’s no big deal. After all, without Sonia Gandhi and Desmond Tutu finally taking up the idea (she seems to have preferred Gandhi’s birthday rather than day of his martyrdom for Ahimsa Day) we would not have been able to get our voice heard so widely. The point is that something like the Fête de la Musique is becoming a successful street-music festival day accross the world, releasing enormous popular initiative and imagination. Search “Make Music New York” for an example.
Some of the children’s proposals can be found in the “Call for Ahimsa Day” (2003-2004) on the Petition Online site.
August 10th, 2007 at 12:21 am
interesting post. gandhi was inspired by the gita. read about it at this site about gandhi’s writings about the gita
August 13th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Could television stations world-wide be asked to observe this as ta single day each year when they would show no violent death for entertainment purposes?
The average child in USA or UK sees more than 7000 violent deaths on TV before reaching i3 years of age.
This unquestioning acceptance of violent death as entertainment fosters a culture of violence
September 8th, 2007 at 12:37 am
Why honor this “apostle”?
Do you know some of the things he really believed?
Visit http://www.gandhism.net/
Gandhi was hired to serve as legal adviser to wealthy Indian traders in Colonial South Africa in 1893. He arrived there prior to Apartheid, but during a time when the nation still suffered severe political unrest and racial segregation. Gandhi soon initiated a movement for the creation of a third entrance to the Durban, South Africa post office entrance. The Durban post office had two doors - one for blacks and Indians and another for whites. Being Indian, Gandhi was of course required to share a door with black South Africans, which deeply offended him.
In his Collected Works (CWMG), Vol. I, pp. 367-368, Gandhi wrote: “In the Durban Post and telegraph offices there were separate entrances for natives and Asiatics and Europeans. We felt the indignity too much and many respectable Indians were insulted and called all sorts of names by the clerks at the counter. We petitioned the authorities to do away with the invidious distinction and they have now provided three separate entrances for natives, Asiatics, and Europeans.”
Read more details about that incident here: http://www.gandhism.net/postoffice.php
Note: All quotes are from the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CWMG). Find many more quotes here: http://www.gandhism.net/southafricanblacks.php
“When one reflects that the conception of Brahmanism, with its poetic and mysterious mythology, took its rise in the land of the ‘Coolie trader,’ that in that land 24 centuries ago, the almost divine Buddha taught and practised the glorious doctrine of self-sacrifice, and that it was from the plains and mountains of that weird old country that we have derived the fundamental truths of the very language we speak, one cannot but help regretting that the children of such a race should be treated as equals of the children of black heathendom and outer darkness.”
>>Reference: Vol. I, p. 225
“The Indian is being dragged down to the position of a raw Kaffir.”
>>Reference: Vol. I, p. 193
“Ours is one continual struggle against a degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the Europeans, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir whose occupation is hunting, and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with and, then, pass his life in indolence and nakedness.”
>>Reference: Vol. I, pp. 409-410
“The £3 tax is merely a penalty for wearing the brown skin and it would appear that, whereas Kaffirs are taxed because they do not work at all or sufficiently, we are to be taxed evidently because we work too much, the only thing in common between the two being the absence of the white skin.”
>>Reference: Vol. III, p. 74
“First, why should we bear such hardships, submit ourselves, for instance, to…live among the Kaffirs…? Better die than suffer this.”
>>Reference: Vol. IX, p. 292
“Of course, under my suggestion, the Town Council must withdraw the Kaffirs from the Location. About this mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians, I must confess I feel most strongly. I think it is very unfair to the Indian population and it is an undue tax on even the proverbial patience of my countrymen.”
>>Reference: Vol. III, p. 429
“We humbly submit that the decision to open the school for all Coloured children is unjust to the Indian community, and is a departure from the assurance given by the then Minister of Education, as also Sir Albert Hime and Mr. Robert Russell, that the school will be reserved for Indian children only.”
>>Reference: Vol. IV, p. 402
“Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilised - the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty and live almost like animals.”
>>Reference: Vol. VIII, p. 199
“Are we supposed to be thieves or free-booters that even a Kaffir policeman can accost and detain us wherever we happen to be going?”
>>Reference: Vol. VI, p. 363
“The British rulers take us to be so lowly and ignorant that they assume that, like the Kaffirs who can be pleased with toys and pins, we can also be fobbed off with trinkets.”
>>Reference: Vol. VIII, p. 167
Visit http://www.gandhism.net/ to learn more.
September 16th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Great! after all so called peace lovers(Indian Congress) will get another chance to cash on though responsible for masacre of thousands of people in 1984 riots and all through out the history of India(It is largly belived that Gandhi was responsible for hanging of Bhagat Singh by Britishers and Nehru responsible for Netajee’s disappearance-2 persons in India’s unfortunate history who never tolerated any one who had potential of providing an alternative leadership).
Also,lesson of Ahimsa has lived in the heart of Indians and is the base of Hindu religion and philosphy (has every one forgot about Jains )and Gandhi at best can be called a follower who as clever men knew Indians simply can not take to violence and he can not take up arms(the reasons any one can guess) and rest all is history.Within his heart and thoughts he was most violent and intolerant ,but on week or those who opposed him(examples are from his treatment of his own family,Netajee when he defeated his sponsored candidate in Congress President election and so many others).I am not saying he has no contribution but it is so called congress which has it’s rank and file full of criminals and known bad characters which has is using his name for making Hindus and Muslims fight each other to continue in power more than anything else.
Well, it is unfortunate that one can not compare what would have happened if Gandhi and Nehru were not in charge of the country as others could be seen and tried and India despite all claims remains an underdeveloped country.????
I have often wondered how Gandhi never realised that India was under Bristish rule until he was already established in South Africa ,before going to England for study,after returning and going to South Africa and living there for 25 years whereas there are numerous others who were borne,lived and died with only one aim and that was to liberate India from Britishers??????????????
Let us get the courage to call a spade a spade?
September 20th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Gandhi Ashram Trust - GAT of Noakhali, Bangladesh working at Noakhali since 1947 with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Every year, it organises different program on Gandhi and his life.
This year, from January to April, it organised a country wide campaign program on Non-violence and peace.
We are going to observe 2nd October, Birth day of Gandhiji as well as “International Day of Non-violence” at our main campus of Noakhali, Bangladesh.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:59 pm
I was so delighted when i heard that our great leader’s birthday is going to be used as the Date DAY for Non-Violence internationally. As a Sierra Leonean knowing the odd papetration a conflict. We in Sierra Leone tasted ten years of bloody violence. Also as a peace activistn it is very good to make such an intelligent and noble individua.
Today being celebrated as the birth date of Ghandhi in commeration for INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR NON-VIOLENCE. I rather hasten to say that it is a right step in the right direction.
May peace Prevail on EARTH
November 16th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
BLESSINGS ONE AND ALL!
CO~CREATE PEACE
November 20th, 2007 at 5:52 am
It’s a shame what happened to Bangladesh. I hope the world steps up and helps them.