Non-violence a Benign Attitude for Life

 

International Day of Non-violence / 02 October / Article

Non-violence a Benign Attitude for Life

Fr Dr M. D. Thomas

Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi

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The 2nd day of October is observed as ‘International Day of Non-Violence’. It was established by the United Nations in its General Assembly on 15 June 2007. The day is designated on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation in India. It is not a public holiday, except in India thanks to Mahatma Gandhi.

Disseminating the message of non-violence through public awareness and education is the purpose of the day. Re-affirming the desire for a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence as well as drawing attention to global issues is also part of the objective.  

The idea took off from a Hindi teacher who taught international students during the World Social Forum in Mumbai in 2004. Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi processed a proposal out of it for International Non-violence Day.

Further, the idea attracted the Congress Party of India for a Satyagraha Conference in New Delhi in 2007. Furthermore, President of the Indian National Congress and Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi, along with Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, proposed to the United Nations to adopt the idea.

The United Nations Postal Administration in New York city prepared a special cachet to commemorate the event, followed by a request from the Indian Ambassador at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN. All outgoing UNPA mail between 02 and 31 October was scheduled to carry the cachet.

Mahatma Gandhi was leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The four pillars of non-violence for Mahatma Gandhi were ‘Sarvodaya, Swaraj, Swadeshi and Satyagraha’, meaning ‘justice for all creatures, self-rule, genius of the local and non-violent revolution’, respectively.

Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It is the general philosophy of abstention from violence. Hurting people, animals or environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome. Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is the mightiest weapon devised by the ingenuity of man.

Michael Nagler observes, “violence sometimes works but never works, in making things or relationships better, for example. Nonviolence sometimes works and always works”. Cesar Chavez says, “we can change the world if we do it non-violently. If we can just show people how they can organize non-violently, we can’t fail. Nonviolence has never failed when it’s tried”.  

Jesus was a great ambassador of non-violence. He said, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also”. Again, if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well (Luke 6.29). Yet again, if anyone one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles (Mt 5.41). These words of Jesus had a great impact on Mahatma Gandhi in formulating his idea of non-violence.

Violence is a comprehensive reality that cruelly tears the fabric of reality. It is any physical, emotional, verbal, institutional, structural or systemic behaviour, attitude, policy or condition that dominates, dehumanizes, diminishes, disrespects, or destroys ourselves, our fellow beings, or our world.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “We have to make truth and nonviolence not matters for mere individual practice but for practice by groups and communities and nations. That at any rate is my dream. I shall live and die in trying to realize it.”

According to Mahatma Gandhi, ‘nonviolence avoids injury to anything on earth in thought, word or deed’. Nonviolence is a new way of life, a new spiritual path and a new methodology for social and political change. It is a new way to organize through grassroots movements as the best hope for humanity.

People around the world are using active nonviolence in grassroots nonviolent movements to build more democratic societies, to champion human rights, to challenge racism and sexism, to struggle for economic justice, and to safeguard the planet.  Recent quantitative research has demonstrated that nonviolent strategies are twice as effective as violent ones.

Organized and disciplined nonviolence can disarm and change the world – and our lives, our relationships and our communities. Techniques for everyday nonviolence are spreading – from nonviolent communication to restorative justice; from peaceful parenting to trauma healing; and from anti-racism training to nonviolent community-building.

Mahatma Gandhi states, “Nonviolence is a powerful and active way of working for human liberation that firmly and clearly resists and refuses to cooperate with evil and injustice, while attempting to show goodwill toward all and taking suffering on itself rather than inflicting suffering or violence on others.”

Richard K. Taylor opines, “Nonviolence is the power of love in action resisting and disarming violence, healing relationships, and fostering reconciliation, justice, and peace, all achieved without relying on the trauma of violent means.”

Dr Martin Luther King has a few principles of nonviolence. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. Nonviolence works to defeat injustice, not people. Nonviolence holds that voluntary suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. 

Nonviolence is a paradigm of the fullness of life, even deeper than the comprehensive violence.  It is a force for transformation, justice, and the well-being of all that is neither violent nor passive. It is a powerful method for challenging and overcoming violence without using violence, for creatively transforming and resolving conflict, and for fostering just and peaceful alternatives. 

On the occasion of ‘International Day of Non-violence 2024’, let us imbibe and live the spirit of nonviolence and contribute to a more harmonious country and society. Hail International Day of Non-violence!

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The author is Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, and has been committed to education, cross-cultural perspectives, cross-scriptural values, constitutional values, interfaith relations, social ethics, communal harmony, national integration and social wellbeing, for the past nearly 45 years. He contributes to the above cause through lectures, articles, video messages, conferences, social interactions, views at TV channels, and the like.

He could be viewed, listened to and contacted at the following portals – websites ‘www.mdthomas.in’ (p), ‘https://mdthomas.academia.edu’ (p), ‘https://drmdthomas.blogspot.com’(p) and ‘www.ihpsindia.org’ (o); social media ‘https://www.youtube.com/InstituteofHarmonyandPeaceStudies’ (o), ‘https://twitter.com/mdthomas53’ (p), ‘https://www.facebook.com/mdthomas53’ (p); email ‘mdthomas53@gmail.com’ (p) and telephone 9810535378 (p).

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