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The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, this day is referred to in India as Gandhi Jayanti.

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 teaching international students to the World Social Forum in Mumbai. The idea gradually attracted the interest of some leaders of India’s Congress Party (“Ahimsa Finds Teen Voice”, The Telegraph, Calcutta) until a Satyagraha Conference resolution in New Delhi in January 2007, initiated by Indian National Congress President and Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called upon the United Nations to adopt the idea. On 15 June 2007 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence.

The resolution A/RES/61/271 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. The boxed pictorial cachet design was prepared by the UNPA and was limited to cancellation at UNPA’s NY location (not Geneva and Vienna). The UNPA has indicated that all outgoing UNPA mail between 2 and 31 October carried the cachet. The Khadi & Village Industries Commission failed to spread non violence message on this day, never observed as International Day of Non Violence, always opposed by Naresh Kadyan, Chief National Commissioner, Scouts & Guides for Animals & Birds.

Links:
International Day of Non-Violence

Between 2017 and 2030, the number of persons aged 60 years or over is projected to grow by 46 per cent (from 962 million to 1.4 billion) globally outnumbering youth, as well as children under the age of 10.

Moreover, this increase will be the greatest and most rapid in the developing world (A/RES/73/143). Population ageing is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the 21st century. Older people have always played a significant role in society as leaders, caretakers and custodians of tradition. Yet they are also highly vulnerable, with many falling into poverty, becoming disabled or facing discrimination. As health care improves, the population of older people is growing. Their needs are also growing, as are their contributions to the world. The International Day of Older Persons is an opportunity to highlight the important contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world.

The 2026 United Nations International Day of Older Persons, under the theme “The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives,” calls on Governments, civil society, the private sector, researchers and older persons themselves to examine how societies can ensure that the additional years gained translate into healthy, productive, dignified and equitable lives for all. Humanity is living longer than ever. Global life expectancy has risen steadily for over seven decades, yet the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy reached 9.6 years in 2019, reflecting the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases. Longer lives are drawing greater attention to how health, social and economic conditions, and human rights are experienced across the life course.

Longevity intersects with health systems, labour markets, social protection, education, housing and fiscal sustainability in ways that cannot be addressed in isolation. Where years are lived in good health and supported by inclusive labour markets and effective social protection, longer lives can generate a longevity dividend. Conversely, without improvements in healthy life expectancy, older persons may spend more years in poorer health, limiting their functional ability, well-being, autonomy and participation. The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), adopted in 2002, remains the cornerstone of international efforts, alongside growing momentum to strengthen the human rights framework for older persons. This year’s commemoration invites all stakeholders to examine how societies can ensure that the additional years gained translate into healthy, productive, dignified and equitable lives for all.

World Population Prospects

DESA United Nations Programme on Ageing

Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons

United Nations principles for older persons

Tackling abuse of older people: five priorities for the United Nations decade of healthy ageing (‎2021–2030)‎

Ageism in artificial intelligence for health

Ageism is a global challenge: UN