Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Let’s Promote the Culture of Non-violence

Mahatma Gandhi, the well-known Indian spiritual and political leader, always promoted the golden teachings of non-violence. Most importantly, throughout his life, he practiced it with unshakable determination. He had once said, “There are many causes I would die for. There is not a single cause I would kill for.” Keeping his invaluable contribution for peace and non-violence in consideration, October 2, his birthday, is celebrated as International Day of Non-violence around the world. 
United Nations General Assembly designated the day on June 15, 2007 under the resolution A/RES/61/271 to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”. The resolution reaffirms “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence”.
The main objectives of the day also include highlighting the importance of non-violence in the world and promote peace and tranquility against violence and war. It is to make the nations of the world believe that they can achieve a better human world through non-violence as Mahatma Gandhi had said, “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”.
Violence has no doubt brought a great deal of misery to human civilization. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that humanity would breathe its last in the atmosphere of violence. If love is not provided immediately, no one can stop it from a certain death. Human beings have to love it if they want to see it alive.
The world we are living in can only be conquered through everlasting love and non-violence. Love has the capacity to bind human beings together. Though there are many in the world who are shouting in the favor of violence and antagonism, they are in fact the sadists who clap at the sight of human sufferings, appreciate cruelty and dance with the cries of human hopelessness and can think of no way to extract the humanity out of this dismal and horrible situation. So, they should know that they are also participants in the miserable holocaust of human beings with the weapons of antagonism.
As human beings, compassion and affection should be our distinguishing qualities that may categorize us as the best of the creatures among the existing species. Non-violence should be the most essential part of our nature. It is non-violence alone that can make us look above the pathetic division of human race. Non-violence alone can make us look above the religious extremism, nationalism, sectarianism and racism. History has the lesson that all the human beings have never been able to stand under a single flag. It is because all the ideologies of the world have divided the human beings into “we and “they”. None of them has ever been able to embrace all the human beings alike. That’s why followers of one religion and ideology have launched sanguinary wars against the others. Billions of people have been massacred in the pursuit of the same stupidity. It seems that the blood thirsty inclination of human beings have not been satiated yet.
Human beings definitely need to become one and make love and non-violence their guide in the rocky way to a better destination. They must think larger and make humanity proud. They need to see beyond the vicious circles of their cunning egos and join hands together for a peaceful world. They have to throw down the weapons and have smiles on their faces to win the hearts. They are supposed to teach their children the essential lessons of non-violence so that they may not be caught in the quagmire of hatred. They are to rise in the stature by bowing in front of sympathy and brotherhood. They should paint the world with the colors of bliss, contentment and pleasure, instead of the blood of the human beings. They require keeping in their books the immortal words of invincibility and prosperity, instead of destruction and disorder. It is important for them to be human in the real sense of the word and conquer the world through non-violence, not antagonism.
The day is of immense importance for the people of Afghanistan, as well, as the country has been suffering because of different forms of violence and wars. It is important that the people must realize now that nothing can be achieved through violence. They have spent decades of their lives pursuing their objectives through violence and what they have achieved is destruction and instability. Now, they have to value non-violence and peace and make every sort of effort to introduce them in their social and political lives. To some it may seem impossible but the life, teachings and practices of Mahatma Gandhi clearly shows that it is possible to pursue even the most difficult objectives through non-violence and strong resilience against antagonism, hatred and violence.