Today, 9 August, is ‘August Kranti Day’! On this day in 1942, Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement, calling for civil disobedience and ultimately Satyagraha. From that day onward, there was no turning back for India. On the previous day, Gandhi delivered a passionate speech to his fellow freedom fighters, saying, among other things:
“Here is a mantra, a short one, that I give you. You may imprint it on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra is: ‘Do or Die.’ We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery. Every true Congressman or woman will join the struggle with an inflexible determination not to remain alive to see the country in bondage and slavery. Let that be your pledge. Keep jails out of your consideration. If the Government keeps me free, I will not put on the Government the strain of maintaining a large number of prisoners at a time when it is in trouble. Let every man and woman live every moment of his or her life hereafter in the consciousness that he or she eats or lives for achieving freedom and will die, if need be, to attain that goal. Take a pledge, with God and your own conscience as witness, that you will no longer rest till freedom is achieved and will be prepared to lay down your lives in the attempt to achieve it. He who loses his life will gain it; he who will seek to save it shall lose it. Freedom is not for the coward or the faint-hearted.”
This day was, in fact, the beginning of a struggle that not only led to India’s full independence but also demanded immense sacrifice, hardship, and even martyrdom.
Today, 9 August, is ‘Nagasaki Day’! On this day in 1945—eighty years ago—American forces dropped yet another atomic bomb, this time on Nagasaki in Japan. This came just three days after the bombing of Hiroshima. The bomb completely destroyed the city, killing an estimated 73,000 people, and maiming or affecting thousands more for life. At the end of World War II, the world solemnly declared: “Never Again!”
In a powerful message to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (via Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima), Pope Francis stated:
“The scars still borne by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and still visible on the cities’ streets and buildings are a plea to pursue peace and disarmament. True peace demands the courageous laying down of weapons — especially those with the power to cause an indescribable catastrophe. Nuclear arms offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation, whose harmony we are called to safeguard.”
Pope Francis also expressed “sentiments of respect and affection for the hibakusha,” or survivors of the bombings, “whose stories of loss and suffering are a timely summons to all of us to build a safer world and foster a climate of peace. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are signs that urge us to reject the illusion of security founded on mutually assured destruction. Instead, we must forge a global ethic rooted in justice, fraternity and the common good.”
Today, 9 August, is the ‘International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples’. The theme this year is: “Indigenous Peoples and Artificial Intelligence: Defending Rights, Shaping the Future.”
In his message for the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:
“Indigenous Peoples are guardians of ancient knowledge, defenders of cultural heritage, stewards of biodiversity, and essential to our shared future.... On this important day, let’s build a future where technology supports cultural preservation and Indigenous knowledge, protects rights and advances dignity – for today and generations to come.”
In India, however, much of what is done for Adivasis (indigenous peoples) is mere lip service. Through mega-projects and lopsided policies, we have systematically displaced, deprived, and denied them of what is rightfully theirs—jal (water), jungle (forest), and jameen (land).
Fr. Stan Swamy, a victim of institutional murder, wrote shortly before his incarceration in October 2020:
“During the past three decades, I have tried to identify myself with the Adivasi People and their struggle for a life of dignity and self-respect. As a writer, I have tried to analyse the different issues they are faced with. In this process, I have clearly expressed dissent with several policies and laws enacted by the government in light of the Indian Constitution. I have questioned the validity, legality, and justness of several steps taken by the government and the ruling class.”
Today, 9 August, is also the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Born Edith Stein, a Jew who converted to Catholicism, she became a Discalced Carmelite nun. A brilliant German philosopher and phenomenologist, she was associated with the Göttingen school and later became a Christian metaphysician. Despite living in a monastery in the Netherlands, she was arrested in 1942 by the Nazis and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where she died in a gas chamber just before the war’s end.
Earlier, in a bold letter to Pope Pius XI, she wrote:
“As a child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years has also been a child of the Catholic Church, I dare to speak to the Father of Christianity about that which oppresses millions of Germans. For weeks, we have seen deeds perpetrated in Germany which mock any sense of justice and humanity, not to mention love of neighbour. For years, the leaders of National Socialism have been preaching hatred of the Jews. But the responsibility must fall, after all, on those who brought them to this point—and it also falls on those who keep silent in the face of such happenings. Everything that happened and continues to happen on a daily basis originates with a government that calls itself ‘Christian’.”
Today, 9 August, is ‘Raksha Bandhan’! On this day, sisters tie a rakhi—a thread—on their brothers’ wrists as a mark of affection and pray for their well-being. In return, brothers offer gifts and promise to protect their sisters throughout life. This beautiful festival is celebrated not only by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains but also by people across divisions of creed, caste, culture, and ethnicity. It emphasizes the importance of social harmony and the responsibility of all men to care for, protect, and respect their sisters—and all women.
Indeed, today—9 August—is rich in significance and pregnant with meaning: a day of remembrance and of challenge!
A challenge to say to ourselves and to others: quit all that is wrong and evil—especially the denigration and demonization of others. To remember the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to say no to nuclear warfare, hate, and violence. To stand with the Adivasis in their struggle for identity and rights—joining their chorus: Jai Adivasi! To emulate the prophetic courage and intellectual depth of Edith Stein in challenging the fascist, fanatic, fundamentalist forces that are destroying us—individually, collectively, and nationally.
Above all, let us ensure that harmony, peace, tolerance, and respect for human dignity prevail everywhere and always. Let us renew our pledge to all that is sacred in our Constitution: Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Unity, Integrity, Pluralism!
Today, 9 August, is truly a day of celebration:
A celebration of humankind and humanity—non-negotiable essentials for all pilgrims of hope!
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Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist and writer
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