International Day of Non-Violence
Next: October 2, 2027
Choose the gentle way today.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly established the International Day of Non-Violence on 15 June 2007, in resolution A/RES/61/271, and set it on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, born in Porbandar, India, in 1869. Introducing the resolution on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India's minister Anand Sharma quoted Gandhi's own words: 'Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.' The day is a chance to spread that message and to build a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding.
How it's celebrated
In India, 2 October is Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday marked with prayer meetings, community service and tributes at Raj Ghat in New Delhi. The UN asks governments, organisations and individuals everywhere to mark the day by spreading the message of non-violence through education and public awareness. A simple way to join in is to settle a disagreement kindly, or to write to someone you have fallen out with.
Did you know
- Outside UN Headquarters in New York stands 'Non-Violence', a sculpture of a revolver with its barrel tied in a knot, by the Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd.
- When Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in India in February 1959 to study Gandhi's methods, he told reporters, 'To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim.'
- The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial on Race Course Lane, in Singapore's Little India, was paid for by the city's Indian community, and India's prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid its foundation stone on 18 June 1950.
Coming up next
- Gaecheonjeol (National Foundation Day) · October 3, 2027
- Pierre Bonnard's Birthday · October 3, 2027
- World Animal Day · October 4, 2027
- World Teachers' Day · October 5, 2027
- International Geodiversity Day · October 6, 2027
- World Cotton Day · October 7, 2027