For former Toronto Mayor Barbara Hall, it is no longer winter. “It’s the season of non-violence,” she told a crowd who had gathered at Metro Hall on the anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Hall explained that the 64 days between Gandhi’s death and that of fellow human rights leader Martin Luther King are a Season of Nonviolence—a four-year-old movement now celebrated in 115 cities world-wide.
Based on Gandhi’s famous axiom, “be the change you wish to see in the world,” the celebration of non-violence as a means for social and political change was founded by Gandhi’s grandson Arun and his wife Sunanda.
“These are 64 days where each person can make a difference in the world,” said Connie Phelps, minister with the Religious Science Centre of Toronto and an organizer of the event. “After the tragic events of September 11, it is everyone’s responsibility to do what they can to move the world toward peace and non-violent action.”
Organizers handed out a booklet detailing one simple act of peace or protest to perform each of the 64 days.
For instance, compassion is the theme for day 46 and it is suggested the people follow Mother Teresa’s advice to “find someone who thinks he is alone and let him know that he is not.”
Before initiating this event, Dr. Arun and Sunanda Gandhi co-founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence in Memphis, Tennessee. Realizing that 1998 was the fiftieth and thirtieth anniversaries of the assassinations of these two human rights leaders, they decided to create the Season for Nonviolence.
Amidst all the singing and dancing of the night, education was noted as one of the most important themes of the campaign. Hall said that because the cycle of violence starts when children are young, it is necessary to implement more school programs aimed at promoting nonviolence.
The Season, which begins January 30 and runs through to April 4, has received large support from the United Nations and its Secretary General Kofi Annan, as well as from the Dalai Lama of Tibet.
The goals of the campaign are long-term. “Soon we’ll stop calling it a season for nonviolence because we will be living in a society of nonviolence,” said Hall. Voicing a similar opinion, the local Echo Singers said, “May it be not just 64 days, but 64 generations.”
The Season will finish on April 4 with closing ceremonies at Metro Hall, where local heroes who have implemented the peaceful teachings of Gandhi and King will be honoured.
