“The cry for peace will be a cry in the wilderness, so long as the spirit of nonviolence does not dominate millions of men and women”
“... we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead on January 30, 1948 at 17:17 hours as he headed towards a multi-faith prayer meeting. He was assassinated by fundamentalist forces opposed to his idea of Swaraj promoting nation-building on the principles of equality of all citizens and communal harmony. Gandhi's Swaraj focused on the composite nature of Indian nationalism.
The freedom movement under Gandhi's leadership successfully mobilized and drew people into the struggle for independence against colonial rule: men and women, people from all faiths, regions, speaking different languages, having varied castes, traditions, customs, cultures, beliefs and inhabitants of both rural and urban areas. He dreamt of an India where people lived together and respected each other's differences; where interactions, protest and negotiations would be shaped by the principle of non-violence/ahimsa.
It was during the course of our Freedom Struggle, that the 'Idea of India' further evolved and we bequeathed a modern Constitution unto ourselves. Today this very Idea, our very Constitution is under threat from the forces of majoritarian religious extremism and fascism. Today, in India, we witness hatred and prejudices based on region, caste, gender, religion and class. Society is becoming increasingly violent. Communal violence, caste based violence, hate crimes are on the rise. Farmers and students are getting marginalized because of growing apathy.
It is to defend these very ideals, the ideals of an Inclusive India, committed to a modern Secular Democracy, to Social Justice and Gender Equality, an Egalitarian society - that some of us came together last month and we have reached out to large civil society networks to be part of a national call to Commemorate the Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi and the moral values that he stood and died for.
Anhad , CPD (Mumbai), CSSS (Mumbai), India Inclusive , PUCL- Maharashtra,
ICWM-Mumbai , Sadbhavna Sangh & YWCA of Bombay are coming together to organise a Convention for Non-Violence & Communal Harmony on January 30, 2019 at Sophia College Auditorium, Breach Candy, Mumbai. The convention will be followed up with a thematic cultural evening.
