October 2: Building Trust Through Non-Violence in Finance
The Citizen Advocate Summary: Declaring
April 11 as Safe ePay Day
Proposing April 11 as Safe ePay
Day to mark UPI’s pilot launch on April 11, 2016, by NPCI with 21 banks,
initiated by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan in Mumbai. This initiative celebrates UPI’s
seamless integration of banking and merchant payments.
October 02 – Appeal No 128
April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay
Day’,
Yes, April 11 is vacant in the UN
Observance Day calendar
UPI
10th Birthday -April 11 2026 – 191
Days to Go
October 2:
International Day of Non-Violence Meets SafePay
October 2 highlights non-violence; April 11 Safe ePay Day (Proposed)
highlights safety in ePayments. Together, they build a culture of financial
trust.
🌿 Non-Violence
in Finance: From October 2 to April 11
Part 1 – Opening
Reflection
On October 2, the world
pauses to remember Mahatma Gandhi, a leader whose principle of non-violence
(ahimsa) continues to inspire global movements for justice and dignity. The
United Nations, recognizing this timeless relevance, declared it the International
Day of Non-Violence in 2007.
But what does non-violence
mean in today’s interconnected, digital world?
If Gandhi saw violence as
any act that robbed people of dignity, then in the 21st century, digital
fraud, identity theft, and unsafe payments could be seen as subtle forms of
economic violence. They don’t wield weapons, but they wound trust. They
don’t break bones, but they break confidence.
This is where a parallel emerges.
Just as October 2 reminds us of Gandhi’s enduring call for peace and truth, April
11 (Proposed Safe ePay Day) aspires to remind us of the modern call for safety,
trust, and dignity in financial transactions.
Truth in payments. Transparency
in systems. Non-violence in finance.
The values remain the same — only the arena has changed.
Part 2 – Second
Movement: Non-Violence Beyond Physical Acts
When most people hear the word violence,
they imagine something physical — wars, weapons, conflict in the streets. Yet
Gandhi often reminded the world that violence is not only about physical harm;
it can also be structural, economic, and psychological. To deprive
someone of their dignity, their livelihood, or their sense of safety is, in its
own way, an act of violence.
In today’s digital era, this
broader understanding becomes especially important. Fraudulent messages,
phishing emails, identity theft, data breaches, and unsafe payment channels do
not leave visible scars — but they create wounds of a different kind. Victims
lose not only money but also their confidence in the system. Fear replaces
trust. Suspicion replaces openness.
Seen through the Gandhian lens,
these are not just technical glitches — they represent a modern form of economic
violence.
🔹 Here lies the parallel:
- Gandhi fought against colonial exploitation,
which stripped millions of dignity and security.
- Citizens today fight against digital
exploitation, where scammers, unsafe systems, and hidden traps threaten
financial dignity.
Just as Gandhi’s ahimsa
demanded systems that empowered the weak and checked the powerful, a digital
society built on safe ePayments ensures fairness for the everyday
citizen.
To practice non-violence in the
digital age means:
- Refusing to exploit loopholes.
- Refusing to harm others through fraud.
- Refusing to treat trust as expendable.
In this sense, non-violence is
not passive. It is active care — a discipline of choosing transparency over
deception, fairness over exploitation, trust over fear.
Just as October 2 calls the world
to ahimsa in human relations, April 11 aspires to call the world to ahimsa
in financial relations.
Part 3 – Third
Movement: From Gandhi to Global Finance
Gandhi’s life was not only about
resisting foreign rule; it was about building a framework for self-reliance,
fairness, and trust. His ideas were deeply practical, rooted in the
everyday lives of people. He urged citizens to spin their own cloth, to clean
their own villages, to see dignity in labor, and to pursue truth in
relationships. Each of these was an act of non-violence in practice.
In many ways, the world of
digital finance today faces similar questions of dignity and empowerment. What
Gandhi framed as Swaraj (self-rule), the 21st century might frame as financial
sovereignty — the ability for individuals to manage their resources without
fear of exploitation.
Gandhi’s Parallels with Digital
Finance
1.
Charkha (Spinning Wheel) → Digital
Wallets & UPI
o Gandhi’s
charkha was more than a tool; it was a symbol of economic self-reliance.
o Today,
mobile wallets, UPI systems, and secure online banking allow even the smallest
trader or rural artisan to participate in the global economy.
o Both
represent tools of dignity: one in handspun cloth, the other in secure digital
payments.
2.
Truth (Satya) →
Transparency in Transactions
o Gandhi
anchored his life in truth, believing deception corrodes society.
o Safe
ePayments are built on transparency — every debit, credit, and ledger entry
verifiable.
o Just as
Gandhi called for truthful living, Safe ePay Day calls for truthful systems.
3.
Non-Exploitation →
Financial Safety
o Gandhi
warned against systems that exploit the weak.
o Fraudulent
apps, hidden fees, and unsafe platforms are today’s exploiters.
o Secure
payment systems protect the vulnerable from modern-day “colonial” forces of
digital fraud.
Towards a Global Financial Ethic
The International Day of
Non-Violence (October 2) is recognized by the United Nations as a call for
peace, trust, and dialogue. But the principle of non-violence is not limited to
conflicts between nations. It extends to how societies structure trust in
their everyday interactions.
If a shopkeeper cheats, if a
lender exploits, if a system hides — that is violence in economic form.
Similarly, if digital systems allow fraud unchecked, they quietly sanction
violence in the financial sphere.
This is where April 11 – Safe
ePay Day (Proposed) can complement October 2.
- October 2: calls for peace in human
relations.
- April 11: calls for peace in financial
relations.
Both days emphasize the same foundation — dignity through trust.
Building Global Trust
Today’s financial flows are no
longer limited to villages or even nations; they are global. A small business
in Mumbai may receive a payment from New York in seconds. A farmer in Kenya may
use mobile money to sell produce across borders.
In such an interconnected world,
the ethic of non-violence must also be global. Safe ePayments, free from
fraud and fear, are a global peacekeeping tool in their own right. They ensure
that commerce remains a bond, not a battleground.
The world once rallied around
Gandhi’s idea that freedom was incomplete without fairness. Today, citizens can
rally around the idea that progress is incomplete without safety in finance.
Part 4 – Fourth
Movement: International Day of Non-Violence (Philosophical Frame)
When the United Nations declared October
2 as the International Day of Non-Violence in 2007, it did more than
honor Gandhi. It universalized a truth: that the principle of ahimsa is
not bound to time, geography, or religion. It is a call for humanity itself.
But non-violence is often
misunderstood. People imagine it simply as the absence of conflict, the
choice not to strike, not to retaliate. Yet Gandhi — and the thinkers who
inspired him — made it clear that non-violence is far more profound. It is not
a passive void but an active presence. It requires cultivation,
discipline, and daily practice.
1. Non-Violence as Inner
Discipline
At its core, non-violence begins
not with the outer world, but with the self. Gandhi often said that one
cannot give to the world what one does not practice inwardly. Non-violence
is a conscious restraint of ego, greed, and deception.
In the digital world, this inner
discipline translates into honesty in transactions. Not exploiting others
through hidden fees, not manipulating through misinformation, not seeking
unfair advantage in financial systems. Safe ePayments — transparent, secure,
fair — echo this principle. They reflect the truth that trust must first
live inside before it can flow outside.
2. Non-Violence as Community
Trust
A society that practices
non-violence is one where trust replaces fear. People interact without
suspicion, because they know their dignity will be honored. Gandhi envisioned
villages where neighbors cooperated in fairness, not competition.
In the financial sphere,
communities thrive when payments are safe. A farmer who sells produce, a
student who pays fees online, a family sending remittances abroad — all these
actions depend on trust. If systems are weak and fraud is rampant, fear destroys
the fabric of community. But when payments are secure, society experiences what
Gandhi called Sarvodaya — the upliftment of all.
3. Non-Violence as a Daily
Practice
One of Gandhi’s profound insights
was that non-violence is not reserved for great leaders or historic protests.
It is in the everyday choices — choosing words of kindness, choosing
fairness in trade, choosing simplicity in life.
In the same way, safe ePayments
are not just about grand technologies or policy declarations. They are about
the small, repeated acts of protection: verifying a link, educating a neighbor
about fraud, building systems that default to safety. Each careful transaction
is an act of non-violence — a decision not to harm.
4. Financial Violence as Its
Mirror Opposite
If non-violence is dignity, then
its opposite is the stripping of dignity. Today, financial violence comes in
subtle, invisible forms.
- The phishing scam that empties an elderly
person’s savings.
- The fraudulent app that traps a student in
debt.
- The hidden exploit in a system that leaks
data.
These are not acts of physical
aggression, yet they violate the same ethical principle: they harm, they
deceive, they destroy trust. They leave scars no less real than physical
wounds. To ignore such harms is to weaken the moral core of society.
5. Safe ePayments as Non-Violence
in Action
Seen in this light, Safe
ePayments are a form of non-violence made tangible. They protect citizens
from deception. They honor truth through transparency. They replace fear with
trust.
October 2 reminds us of the
International Day of Non-Violence.
April 11 — if recognized as Safe ePay Day — would remind us of non-violence in
the digital financial world. Together, they would create a rhythm: one
emphasizing peace in human relations, the other emphasizing peace in financial
relations.
This is the philosophical bridge.
Non-violence is not only a principle for nations at war; it is a practice for
citizens at market. It is not only a path for protests in the streets; it is a
discipline for transactions in the digital space.
✨ Thus, the International Day of Non-Violence
and the Proposed Safe ePay Day share a quiet kinship. Both are grounded
in the belief that a world built on trust, fairness, and safety is not
just ideal — it is practical, necessary, and achievable.
Part 5 – Fifth
Movement: April 11 – Safe ePay Day (Proposed)
1. Why Safe ePay Day Matters
In the 21st century, money rarely
changes hands as coins or notes. It flows silently, invisibly, through digital
channels. This invisible flow can empower — but it can also endanger. A single
fraudulent message can strip someone of their savings. A single weak link in a
system can destroy trust built over decades.
April 11, proposed as Safe
ePay Day, seeks to be more than a date. It is a reminder. A reminder that
in a digital age, safety is dignity, and trust is non-violence.
If October 2 is the International
Day of Non-Violence, April 11 could be the International Day of Safe
Digital Finance. Both speak to the same human aspiration: a life free from
fear, a life lived in fairness.
2. Gandhi’s Parallels in Safe
ePayments
Gandhi’s ideals offer striking
guidance for what Safe ePay Day could represent.
- Satya (Truth) →
Transparent systems where every transaction is traceable, clear, and
honest.
- Ahimsa (Non-Violence) →
Financial platforms that do not harm, deceive, or exploit.
- Swaraj (Self-rule) →
Citizens empowered to manage their own financial dignity, free from fear.
- Sarvodaya (Upliftment of All) →
Systems inclusive of the poorest and most vulnerable, leaving no one
behind.
Safe ePay Day is not about
technology alone — it is about values. Just as Gandhi’s spinning wheel was both
practical and symbolic, digital safety tools are both technological and
ethical instruments.
3. Why April 11? The Symbolic
Timing
Dates matter. October 2 is
Gandhi’s birth anniversary; January 1 marks new beginnings; June 5 celebrates
the environment. Observances gain power when linked to symbols.
April 11 is envisioned as a
citizen-led proposal for Safe ePay Day. It does not commemorate a single
historic event but seeks to anchor itself in the rhythm of spring renewal.
As trees sprout fresh leaves, Safe ePay Day calls for fresh trust in
financial ecosystems.
This symbolic freshness makes
April 11 an ideal day to pause, reflect, and commit to safe digital practices.
4. The Forms of Financial
Violence
To understand why such a day is
needed, we must see the violence hidden in unsafe finance.
- Fraud & Phishing →
Deceptive acts that strip people of savings.
- Data Breaches →
Invisible leaks that harm dignity.
- Hidden Exploitation →
Fees, unfair terms, and predatory designs that weaken trust.
These are not random errors; they
are forms of systemic harm. Gandhi taught that injustice anywhere
corrodes justice everywhere. In the same way, financial violence anywhere
erodes trust everywhere.
5. Safe ePay Day as Non-Violence
in Finance
If non-violence is the choice to
reduce harm, Safe ePay Day is its digital financial embodiment.
- It educates citizens: reminding them to act
with caution, verify sources, and reject deception.
- It inspires institutions: urging banks,
fintechs, and regulators to design for safety, not just speed.
- It unites communities: spreading awareness
that safety is a shared responsibility.
Like Gandhi’s marches and fasts,
it is both a practical action and a symbolic reminder. Practical
because it teaches real safety steps; symbolic because it signals a culture
shift toward financial dignity.
6. A Global Day with Local
Relevance
Non-violence was not only India’s
gift to the world; it became a universal value. Likewise, Safe ePayments are
not only about India’s UPI or Europe’s PSD2; they are about global trust in
finance.
Safe ePay Day can be celebrated
in local forms:
- In schools with awareness skits.
- In banks with customer education sessions.
- In homes with conversations about fraud
prevention.
- In governments with policy reflections.
The day gains strength not from
uniformity but from universality — many voices, one message: Safety is
dignity.
7. Subtle Fibonacci Parallels
The very structure of Safe ePay
Day can follow a Fibonacci rhythm:
- 1 citizen → the
advocate (a spark).
- 2 observances →
October 2 (Non-Violence) and April 11 (Safe ePay Day).
- 3 values →
truth, safety, trust.
- 5 commitments →
honesty, transparency, education, inclusion, dignity.
- 8 global communities →
citizens, banks, fintechs, regulators, NGOs, educators, media,
governments.
Just as Fibonacci appears in
nature — leaves, shells, galaxies — it can appear in our social architecture.
Safe ePay Day can be that natural unfolding of order, bringing beauty and
balance to finance.
8. The Citizen Advocate Spirit
Safe ePay Day is still a
dream, not yet an institution. It begins with citizens, not decrees. Gandhi
himself often reminded people: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
By observing April 11 even
informally, citizens show that change does not wait for official sanction.
It grows quietly, like a seed, until one day it becomes a tree of recognition.
This is why every blog, every
visual, every conversation matters. Each is a leaf in the unfolding canopy.
9. A Gentle Disclaimer
It must be said with clarity: April
11 – Safe ePay Day is a proposed observance.
- It is not yet recognized by the United
Nations.
- It is not officially endorsed by banks,
governments, or institutions.
- It is a citizen-led vision, a call for
dialogue, reflection, and eventual adoption.
This disclaimer is not weakness —
it is truth. And in Gandhi’s philosophy, truth is strength. A proposal carried
with honesty is already half a reality.
✨ Thus, April 11 — Safe ePay Day (Proposed) — is
not merely about technology, nor only about finance. It is about carrying
Gandhi’s ahimsa into the digital world: a refusal to harm, a commitment
to trust, a celebration of dignity.
Part 6 – Closing Reflection
Non-violence is not bound by
centuries or continents. It is as relevant in the spinning of cloth in Gandhi’s
time as it is in the spinning of digital code today. It is as essential in
preventing wars as it is in preventing financial exploitation.
October 2, the International
Day of Non-Violence, reminds us that peace begins with trust in human
relations. April 11, the Proposed Safe ePay Day, aspires to remind us
that peace must also extend into our financial lives.
Together, they form a rhythm —
one personal, one systemic; one historic, one emerging.
- October 2 →
dignity through non-violence in society. 🌿
- April 11 →
dignity through non-violence in finance. 💳
Both days whisper the same truth:
safety is not optional, trust is not luxury, dignity is non-negotiable.
As Gandhi once said, “The
future depends on what you do today.” Observing Safe ePay Day today, even
as a proposal, is a way of planting a seed for tomorrow. A seed of financial
trust, watered by citizen awareness, nourished by collective will.
May October 2 inspire us to walk
in peace.
May April 11 inspire us to transact in trust.
And may both remind us that non-violence — in life and in finance — is simply
another name for the **joy of dignity.** 🌎✨
🌐 The Joy
of Safe ePayments
💳
Nayakanti Prashant
Citizen Advocate – Safe ePay Day
🌿💳🧠🌍Appeal for Safe ePay Day 🌟
## Call to Action
I urge governments, financial institutions, businesses, and
communities worldwide to join hands in declaring April 11 as **Safe ePay Day**.
Let’s celebrate UPI’s milestone by making **Safe ePay Day** a
global movement for secure, innovative fintech.
Together, we can build a future where financial access is
universal, and every e-payment is safe—starting with **Safe ePay Day** in 2026.
No Vada Pav,
not even one bite,
Till SafeePay Day takes off in flight.
Quirky vow with a Mumbai flair—
Announce the date, and I’ll be there!
📌
References
1. Nayakanti,
P. (2025, September 7). September 07 — National Buy a Book Day and April 11
— Safe ePay Day: Building Trust, One Page and One Payment at a Time.
Medium.
Retrieved from https://medium.com/@nshantin/september-07-national-buy-a-book-day-and-april-11-safe-epay-day-building-trust-one-80483f34d7e7
2. Nayakanti,
P. (2025, August 13). 218th Lalbagh Flower Show via RV Road Interchange!
Innovation in Banking.
Retrieved from https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com/2025/08/august-13-metro-rides-blooms-218th.html
Prashant Nayakanti. (n.d.). LinkedIn profile. Retrieved
September 2025, from
https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti
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