95 years ago and somewhat 15000 kms away from the bloody incident that we remember as 9/11, another event took place on the same date, which challenges the character of this date as perceived by the world. However, the incident is reasonable only in the context of India, especially the idea of India, which was laid by great Mahatma Gandhi.
While he was practising law in South Africa, he faced a lot of racial discrimination along with his fellow Asian colleagues. One example of such an incident is the Asiatic Registration Act of 1906, which stated mandatory registration for every Asian residing in Transvaal and required to produce an on-demand thumb-printed certificate of identity. Failing to adhere to this act could result in deportation without a right to appeal. Mohandas Gandhi resisted against the act, which he believed could result in humiliation for the Asian community.
On 9th September 1906, he, along with colleagues, decided to oppose the act in a non-violent manner. This non-violent protest is also considered as the inception of satyagraha in Mohandas’s life, which in the future turned out to be a significant driving force for Indian independence. On the same date, 95 years later, one of the most violent acts on the surface of the earth and timeline of the human race took place.
The question for us is how do we want to remember this date, going forward?
A date dedicated to the violent act incepted by a handful of humans who bring shame to their ideologies, or a date devoted to the act of resistance with the power of non-violence.