September 11, 1906: Indian-born lawyer and South African resident Mohandas Gandhi spoke in Johannesburg calling for non-violent resistance to racial discrimination, in particular Transvaal's Asiatic Laws. This week is the centenary of Gandhi's first satyagraha.

It's a pity that the date of September 11 has become associated with an audacious act of mass murder. With both events in mind, the Mahatma's grandson, Arun Gandhi, has submitted that September 11 be observed as a Day of Prayer for Peace and Harmony. There's more information at the Gandhi Institute, including a PDF document of Arun's paper "The Duality of September 11".

Rather more fitting, I think, than the Bushite proclamation of September 11 as Patriot Day.