As the UN marked Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday as the first International Day of Non-violence, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday spoke of the international community’s “collective failure” to move towards comprehensive universal disarmament.

She also referred to the “disturbing emergence” of non-state players in the spread of terrorism.
“It is not the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi that is in question today... it is whether we have the courage to emulate his preachings and what he lived and died for,” she said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

She was heard in rapt attention by leaders from different nations and her son Rahul Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his deputy Anand Sharma.

She said the world is facing violence of various kinds and there was a collective failure of the international community in tackling terrorism and checking nuclear proliferation.

Not an annual ritual
Ms Gandhi also had a word of caution for representatives from across the world asking them not to make Mahatma Gandhi birth anniversary another annual ritual.
“Fallacies” about non-violence abound, Ms Gandhi said, rejecting the contention by some that it is a sign of weakness or cowardice.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” she told sceptics, adding that non-violence goes far beyond passive resistance or even civil disobedience.
“To practice it in its true spirit demands strict discipline of mind, the courage to face aggression, the moral conviction to stay the course and the strength to do so without harbouring any malice towards the opponent,” she told the 192-member General Assembly.

At the heart of Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence, she said, was his belief that strength comes from righteousness, not force, power comes from truth, not might, victory comes from moral courage, not imposed submission.

“He held that means and ends are inseparable, and that in fact the means themselves shape the ends. He believed unworthy means can never produce worthy ends,” she added.
History, both past and contemporary, she emphasised, confirms that violence only begets violence in an unending spiral, fostering hatred and revenge. “Violence seeks to impose and overwhelm, which is why its victories are transitory. Non-violence seeks to engage and persuade, which is why its results are enduring,” she said amidst cheers.

Emphasising that the Mahatma himself was, first and foremost, a man of action, she said he was indeed a man of deep contemplation and galvanic energy.

“It is this energy that enabled him to overcome resistance arising from hostility, indifference and cynicism. It is this energy that gave him the resilience to press ahead, in spite of tremendous obstacles and tribulations,” the Congress leader told the delegates and recalled the Mahatma’s remark, “we must ourselves become the change we seek”.

If the 20th century was the most bloody in human history, it was also the century when non-violence saw its greatest triumphs, cutting across the boundaries of continents and faiths, she said.

“It is worth remembering that among the myriad civil disobedience movements, the only army of non-violence was the one led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known to history as ‘The 'Frontier Gandhi’”.

Today, individuals and movements all over the world, Ms Gandhi said, continue to develop innovative, non-violent ways to overcome oppression, combat discrimination and build democracy. “These are the successes which keep the flame of hope burning bright,” she added.