Rally to celebrate Mahatma's first non violent action

When the world remembers the victims of 9/11 terrorist attack in America on September 11, a US-based institute is organising a public rally in Washington to mark the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's first non violent public action, on the same day.

The Tennessee-based M K Gandhi Institute is organising a public rally on the historic Lincoln memorial grounds in Washington on September 11 to highlight Gandhi's philosophy of peace and non-violence. The rally will be led by Arun Gandhi, the grandson of India's father of the nation.

On September 11, 1906 Mahatma Gandhi had launched his non-violence, non-cooperation movement against the British in India. The rally will be a "Day of prayer, peace, reconciliation against terrorism and other forms of violence worldwide," said Arun Gandhi, founder of the Institute. "While for all American people, September 11, 2001, is a black day of mourning and hopelessness, it can be transformed into a day of hope and harmony," he said.

The rally in Washington DC will be preceded by a daylong conference on peace and non-violence on Sep 10 at Georgetown University, Washington. This conference is expected to bring together policy makers, mediators, activists and educators to see how diverse actors can work together to increase their impact.

Among the institute's activities planned includes an appeal to communities worldwide to host an Interfaith Prayer on September 11 and to make this an annual event as well as launching a programme to include standardised curriculum on nonviolence in middle and high schools across the US.