UNITED NATIONS: In this “dangerous and divided” time, Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for finding strength in Gandhi’s message to work for a “just, sustainable, and peaceful world”.
“Gandhi understood that non-violence is not a weapon of the weak, it is the strength of the courageous” with “the power to resist injustice without hatred; confront oppression without cruelty; and build peace through dignity, not domination”, he said in a message to the observance of Gandhi Jayanti coinciding with the UN’s International Day of Non-Violence.
In today’s world, he said, “Violence is displacing dialogue” and “the foundations of peace are under strain”.
“In these dangerous and divided times, let us find the strength to follow his lead, end the suffering, advance diplomacy, heal divisions, and create a just, sustainable and peaceful world for all”, Guterres said.
The General Assembly created in 2007 the Day of Nonviolence to promote "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" on Gandhi’s birth anniversary every year.
In observance of Gandhi Jayanti and the Day of Non-Violence, India’s UN Mission hosted a discussion on the theme, “Relevance of Non-Violence and Gandhian Principles for Building Sustainable Global Peace”.
India’s Permanent Representative P Harish said the yearning for peace has been expressed over millennia and across civilisations through invocations and greetings.
It is expressed in “the Indian Shanti mantras of the Vedas and Upanishads calling for Shanti or peace within us in the external world and in the divine realm”, he said.