Mahatma is more relevant today
On Friday the United Nations paid a special tribute to Mahatma Gandhi whose image as a promoter of peace and nonviolence is becoming all the more relevant in today’s fast changing and aggressive world.
Since we are observing the International Day of Non-Violence, the world body on this occasion featured the Mahatma in a special life-size hologram which was projected during a panel discussion organised by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN and UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) at the UN headquarters to commemorate the International Day of Non-Violence.
The UN shared the Mahatma’s message on education at the world organisation as it commemorated the International Day of Non-Violence. The world body alos passed a resolution reaffirming the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.
The International Day of Non-Violence celebrates not only Gandhi’s birthday, but the values he embodied that echo across the decades. These values like peace, mutual respect and the essential dignity are still relevant today and their importance has grown manifold.
Today’s world needs all the emphasis and reiteration on the principles laid down by Mahatma Gandhi and we can restore some sanity in the world by securing and upholding the rights and dignity of all people especially the most vulnerable, and girls and women who are too often denied their basic rights.
We also need to stress on taking concrete action for inclusion, recognising multicultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies as richness and not as a threat. This way the world can redefine the true values of real living and co-existence.
The world is presently witnessing a huge turmoil as only economics and expansive thoughts have been securing ground rather than establishing peace and true human values. Gandhi throughout his life lead with an example and proved that peace and non-violence can be used as a means to achieve the ends.
Gandhi’s life and example reveal a timeless pathway to a more peaceful and tolerant world which everyone needs to strive for during this phase that the world is undergoing.
Presently, the world is not living up to those values which the Mahatma taught and followed. The world has ignored the true leaders spirit and as a result we see growing conflicts and climate chaos. Poverty, hunger and deepening inequalities. Prejudice, racism and rising hate speech. And a morally bankrupt global financial system that entrenches poverty and stymies recovery for developing countries.
On this occasion when we observe the International Day of Non-Violence we can strive to achieve a peaceful world , a world that can defeat these challenges by embracing Gandhi’s values and working across cultures and borders to build a better, more peaceful future for all.
KV News
