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Virtual Commemoration of the 

International Day of Non-Violence

 

(October 2, 2020)

 

Remarks by Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, 

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

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Excellencies,

 

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is indeed my great pleasure to welcome you to the virtual commemoration of the International Day of Non-Violence.  We are today commemorating the culmination of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.  I also thank all Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives for joining us on this occasion and thank all those who have kindly shared their views on the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the video which will be broadcast later in the event.  Mahatma Gandhi was born in India, but belongs to all humanity.

 

Excellencies,

 

The 2nd of October has been designated as the International Day of Non-Violence to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s single-minded pursuit of non-violence leading inter alia to India’s freedom from the British through a mass non-violent movement.

 

There is no doubt that Non-violence is, and will always be, directly relevant to address the burning issues of the day.  Let us not forget that these issues are not merely those which are external to us, but those which are internal to us as well.  It is, therefore, extremely important that when we discuss about Non-violence, we first understand what was the Non-violence that Mahatma Gandhi talked about.

 

When we look at Gandhi primarily as the Apostle of Peace and Non-violence, I feel that we will be missing the point.  That’s because we are not discussing Non-violence in a vacuum.  

 

Excellencies,

 

The autobiography of Gandhi is called “The Story of My Experiment with Truth”.  There is a very specific reason why it is titled that way.  Gandhi’s ultimate goal was Truth.  He realized that only the pursuit of Truth could result in true Non-Violence, just as for him, Non-Violence itself became the pursuit of Truth. As Gandhiji said, devotion to Truth is the sole justification for our existence. As he said “There should be Truth in thought, Truth in speech and Truth in action”.  That is why Gandhiji did not see political freedom as the only freedom worth fighting for, but involved himself with as much fervor and conviction in liberating human beings of all forms of bondage and injustice. 

 

It is in the context of his single-minded pursuit of Truth should we view his pursuit of Non-violence.  

 

Friends,

 

Non-violence for him was not merely absence of violence; Non-violence for him was not merely to stop people from fighting with each other; nor was it merely a virtue for the final salvation of the individual.  In Gandhi’s hands, Non-violence had a variety of meanings and uses, but always a tool for action.

 

To Gandhi, Non-violence was a weapon to fight injustice, both within and without.  As Gandhi reminds us, a fight for justice can never be passive.  It has to be an active fight, and in this, one can truly provide justice only when Non-violence is used as a weapon. There can be no doubt that his famous non-violent Salt Satyagraha, which exposed colonial brutality, was a giant step to ensure the departure of the British from India in 1947.  

 

Non-violence, Gandhi said, included the smallest things in our existence and started at home. He frankly admitted that it was from his wife Kasturba that he learned his lesson on Non-violence. He said “When non-violence is accepted as the law of life, it must pervade the whole being and not be applied to isolated acts”.

 

Love was another dimension of Non-violence. Gandhi was to say “Good brought through force destroyed individuality. Only when the change was effected through the persuasive power of non-violence which is love, could the foundation of individuality be preserved, and real, abiding progress be assured for the world.” For Gandhi, Non-violence in thought, action and existence was equivalent to the abundant love which we show to other human beings and indeed for all living things.  

 

Gandhi was equally categorical that Non-violence was “impossible without humility.” As he confesses, it was only when he reduced himself to “zero,” was he able to evolve the power of Satyagraha in South Africa. A fearless man has no ego.  

 

Gandhi was also trying to find meaning and bring about a synthesis of the various challenges that he faced in his life through his own understanding of Ahimsa or Non-violence, Non-cooperation and Satyagraha or Truth Force or Holding firmly to Truth.  He called his search as “experiments,” since he was always evolving both as a thinker, as a freedom fighter, and as a human being to finally become the great Mahatma.

 

Excellencies,

 

Non-violence for Mahatma Gandhi meant many things.  We need to practice Non-violence as a potent weapon for Truth, and to cleanse our own outer and inner-selves.  

 

Therefore, on this International Day of Non-Violence, let us not forget our pursuit of Truth even as we remember our pursuit of Non-violence. Today, let us rededicate ourselves not just to the path of Non-violence, but equally rededicate ourselves to our pursuit of Truth – both of which Gandhi showed us as indivisible. 

 

Thank you.

 

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