International Day of Non-Violence and Gandhi Jayanti Observed on 2 October

2 October 2026National

2 October 2026 marks the 157th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, born at Porbandar, Gujarat, on 2 October 1869, and the 122nd birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, born in 1904. The day is observed worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence, established by UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007 and first observed that year, to spread the message of non-violence through education and public awareness. National Wildlife Week also runs from 2 to 8 October, and the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on Gandhi Jayanti in 2014 - the mission PRAGATI-50 now benchmarks.

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Mahatma Gandhi was born at Porbandar, Gujarat on 2 October 1869 and Lal Bahadur Shastri at Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh on 2 October 1904 | Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram is at Ahmedabad and his Sevagram Ashram near Wardha, Maharashtra | Lal Bahadur Shastri coined the slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' and signed the Tashkent Declaration in January 1966

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