This year United Nations used the occassion of Gandi’s birthday to establish the International Day of Non-Violence. The late leader’s “novel mode of mass mobilization and non-violent action” brought down colonialism, strengthened the roots of popular sovereignty, of civil, political and economic rights, and greatly influenced many a freedom struggle and inspired leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.
This is a great oppurtunity to discuss with your students and family the importance of using peaceful methods to make a point, as Gandhi inspired many of our greatest leaders to do. As a British-educated lawyer, Gandhi first employed his ideas of peaceful civil disobedience in the Indian community’s struggle for civil rights in South Africa.
Born on Oct. 2, 1869, Mahatma Gandhi was a leader in his native country of India, where his birthday is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.