2nd Oct: International Day of Non-Violence

This world has seen its share of bloody wars that ended countless lives and filled many more with grief. No matter what country you go to, there are stories of how someone’s greed or lust for power resulted in the killing of innocent people and the destruction of beautiful cities. Even wars that were fought for a good cause, like the Civil War of the United States of America, that resulted in slavery being abolished, have been responsible for a great many deaths.

The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on October 2nd in honour of the birthday of Mahatma Ghandi, one of the most influential political activists of all time. Ghandi used nonviolent civil disobedience to eventually overthrow the British, who ruled India at the time. Despite being thrown in jail numerous times, but nothing ever caused him to abandon his peaceful approach, which eventually resulted in India finally gaining the independence they’d wanted for years.

On June 15th, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly voted to make the anniversary of Mahatma Ghandi’s birth the International Day of Non-Violence. The day is mostly dedicated to spreading the message of non-violence to as many people as possible in all countries of the world.