History, Significance and Observance
The International Day of
Non-Violence is observed on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. In
January 2004, Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi had taken a proposal for an
International Day of Non-Violence from a Hindi teacher in Paris.
On 15 June 2007 the United Nations
General Assembly voted to establish 2 October as the International Day of
Non-Violence. The resolution by the General Assembly asks all members of the UN
system to commemorate 2 October in "an appropriate manner and disseminate
the message of non-violence, including through education and public
awareness".
The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) in New York City prepared a special cachet to commemorate this event, following a request from the Indian Ambassador at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.