In 'dangerous, divided' times, Gandhi's message gives strength to work peace: Guterres

United Nations, Oct 3 (IANS) 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.

It is in the Arabic greeting wishing Al-Salaam or peace, and the Jewish greeting of shalom or peace”, he said.

"The strong connection between Gandhian values and sustainable peace creates a compelling case for practicing these principles, even amid today's complex global challenges”, he said.

Economic and Social Council President Lok Bahadur Thapa, said that the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mesh with Gandhian values.

Thapa, who is also Nepal’s Permanent Representative, said, “Gandhi's belief in non-violence, self-reliance and inclusive progress aligns with our call for transformations based on empathy, equity and shared responsibility”.

“Non-violence is not the absence of actions”, he said. “It is the resistance with moral principle. It is the strength to confront injustice without hatred, and it is about building peace through empathy and shared divinity”.

The seeds of Gandhi’s ideas for non-violent activism germinated when he was a young lawyer in South Africa and the principles returned there during the struggle against apartheid.

That country’s Permanent Representative Mathu Joyini said, “His ideas, first shaped in the face of discrimination experienced in South Africa, evolved to become the liberation force of India and many other liberation and revolutionary movements across the globe.”

“His principles have influenced, not only the leadership in India, but also left a profound influence on the struggle against apartheid” in her country, she said.

“South Africa’s own peaceful transition to democracy achieved through dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness reflects the enduring strength of non-violence as an instrument of justice and nation building, she added.

Germany’s Permanent Representative Ricklef Beutin said that the next day, Friday, is German Unity Day commemorating the reunification of the West and the East.

"German Unity came about with not a single shot being fired”, he said, and this showed the relevance of non-violence .

"Gandhian principle of building sustainable global peace could not be more timely ... because it reminds us that while our challenges are complex, the tools of dialogue, patience, reconciliation remain as powerful as ever”, he said.

Romania’s Permanent Representative Cornel Feruta said the International Day of Non-Violence, “starts from the assumption that we can create a positive context to prevent violence from happening” and “not reacting to violence".

“This is the part of the wisdom that we in the United Nations need to absorb and to inform our own deliberations and discussions”, he said.

“This is probably something that we cannot create much better than Mahatma Gandhi or other spiritual leaders or thinkers around the world”, he said. “But we can only actually find inspiration in that moral guidance and spiritual guidance”.

Earlier, Harish garlanded the statue of Gandhi in the UN complex.

India’s Consul General Binaya Pradhan participated in celebrations of Gandhi Jayanti at two of Mahatma’s statues in the area.

At the statue in New York City’s Union Square bhajans were sung in tribute to Gandhi.

Pradhan said that Gandhi’s message was not only about the ends but also the means adopted while non-violence remained central.

The other celebration was at the Peace Garden in the State University of New York Campus in Old Westbury on Long Island honoring Gandhi with a statue.

--IANS

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